St Kilda Road Strategic Disposal: Dual-Mandate EOI for Revenue and Affordable Housing
Aerial map Source: City of Port Phillip
Precinct map Source: City of Port Phillip
Site photo Source: City of Port Phillip
The Challenge: The Council held a parcel of underutilised surplus land that was effectively "dormant capital" on the public balance sheet. While not a "prime" development site, its inactivity represented a significant opportunity cost. The challenge was to activate this lazy asset and extract maximum public value without triggering the community friction often associated with standard land disposals. The site needed a transaction structure that could justify its divestment by delivering a clear, tangible return to the ratepayer, as well as delivering planning framework and social housing outcomes.
Our Intervention: Transactional innovation and strategic fund generation We designed a publicly defensible EOI process that used the market to bid on both commercial and social outcomes, effectively turning a disposal into a multi-leveraged strategic acquisition fund.
Our Impact:
Strategic Leverage: The sale enabled three distinct, high-priority Council mandates from a single transaction: (1) Generated revenue towards purchasing future strategic open space, (2) enabled future built-form alignment critical to the St Kilda Road South Land Use and Urban Design Framework (3) future delivery of affordable housing via enforceable s173 Agreement.
Dual-Pathway EOI: Created a transparent, auditable evaluation plan around both fully commercial bids and innovative affordable housing bids (with an abated purchase price and Section 173 obligations)
De-risked Approval: Ensured the entire process was aligned with the rigorous requirements of the Local Government Act (s114), providing maximum public defensibility and de-risking the sale from political or legal challenge.
Social Outcome Execution: Successfully leveraged the transaction to secure market-led affordable housing outcomes and community benefit obligations.