MALING ROAD'S ONCE IN A CENTURY SALE

A PRIME asset within one of Melbourne's most iconic retail shopping villages is being offered for sale for the first time in more than 100 years.

Colliers International's Tom Noonan, Tim McIntosh and Ben Baines have been appointed to sell the high profile, corner retail asset within the Maling Road Village in Canterbury.

The 930sqm island site is expected to attract interest around $6 million.

"This is the first time this trophy asset, within what is arguably Melbourne's most iconic retail shopping village, has been offered to the market in more than a century," Noonan says.

The sale represents only the ninth retail purchasing opportunity on Maling Road in the last decade.

Noonan says Maling Road has a low retail vacancy which reinforces just how highly sought after and tightly held the strip is, and anticipates the site will attract interest from both local and offshore investors.

Situated on the corner of Maling Road and Canterbury Road, the two-level freestanding building has a net lettable area of 790sqm and is fully leased to five local retail tenants including The Maling Room café, Bendigo Bank, Tim's Bookshop, Nourish on Maling and Micky Junior Shoes.

"Three of the five current tenants have been occupants for over a decade," says McIntosh.

"The property has experienced almost zero vacancy since 2003 as is typical for retail properties in the prime Maling Road Village precinct.

"Four of the tenants have signed new leases in the last 12 months, providing a secure income over the immediate, medium and long-term."

Originally a post office, until 1996, the property is situated at the gateway to the popular Maling Road Village retail strip.

Baines says it is located just metres from Canterbury Gardens and Canterbury Train Station, providing direct access to the Melbourne CBD.

"The property benefits from a fantastic, super-prime location on the corner of Maling Road and Canterbury Road in one of Melbourne's most affluent suburbs, Canterbury," he says.

"The Maling Road retail strip is one of the most prestigious and iconic suburban retail strips in Victoria, with its history as a popular retail destination dating back over 100 years to its inception in the late 1800s.

"Canterbury is a prestigious inner eastern suburb that has long been a popular residential destination given it is only 8km from the Melbourne CBD and boasts outstanding amenity, including numerous elite private schools in close proximity, attractive parklands and recreation ovals, considerable retail amenity and an abundance of public transport."

The property is for sale by auction on Thursday May 19, 2016.