Capital gain

Rich lister Solomon Lew, the biggest shareholder in department store Myer, has taken a lift down to the bargain basement and snapped up a cheap St Kilda Road office building.

Records show a new Lew company, Market Street Projects, has a caveat over 417 St Kilda Road. Rumours emanating from the leafy boulevard suggest he nabbed it for $90 million and is settling this week.

The 10-storey A-grade building, overlooking Fawkner Park, was bought in 2017 by Singaporean government investor Mapletree for $144.4 million. Ouch.

Some pundits note the land alone – 6071 square metres – is worth $100 million, and the cost of building the office anew would be about $200 million.

“If the building was vacant, it would be worth more,” Capital Gain was told.

The building is already home to

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