The Somerton Logistics Centre.
Toll Holdings is set to become the anchor tenant of the $135 million Somerton Logistics Centre (SLC) in Melbourne.
The transport and logistics giant has signed a short-term lease contract with the centre at an annual cost of $1.7 million. Under the contract, which is one of the largest leases in the region this year, the company will rent units 1 and 2 on the property, reportedly to service Coles supermarkets.
The SLC, one of the biggest industrial property projects in Australia, occupies an area of around 125,000 sqm featuring eight warehouses.
SLC director Nigel Hunt said it was the second time that the centre worked with Toll and its anchoring at the site would have a positive impact on prospective tenants.
“Having a big name gives other tenants confidence, and it also puts us in an active position in the industrial property sector. There’s nothing negative about it,” Mr Hunt said.
The 22-hectare site sits on the corner of Cooper Street and Hume Freeway, and has direct access to Melbourne’s airports and ports.
Mr Hunt said there were three or four potential businesses currently negotiating lease agreements with the centre.
He said the centre had a small management team who could directly interact with tenants, which enabled it to provide properties at a cheaper price.
“We don’t charge for administration or management services, which results in a cost saving of $7-9 per sqm. When you think about the size of the space that they use, that’s a significant amount of saving,” he said.
Toll’s contract with the SLC follows the announcement that it had rented a 27,000 sqm site at ING Industrial Fund’s warehouse facility in Sydney.