Former Holden dealership site in Melbourne's Vermont listed for about $12 million

Historic Holden site hits the market

A former Holden dealership site in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Vermont has been listed for sale at about $12 million, with the listing agent pitching it as ideally suited to a new automotive dealership or distributor. GoAutoNews Premium reports that the corner property at 407 Canterbury Road was formerly home to Patterson Cheney Holden and retains much of its original dealership equipment and layout. ¹

The two-level building, with a showroom floor below and administration offices above, includes a total building area of 2882 square metres, an office area of 516 square metres and a showroom area of 815 square metres. The industrial zone-one site has full drive-around access, four large roller doors and a significant yard and parking area. ¹

Much of the original dealership's equipment remains, including workshop fittings such as hoists and fluid tanks, along with a wash bay, warehousing facilities and expansive forecourt and service-area parking. The property is being offered through Colliers at an asking price of about $12 million. ¹

From Holden service centre to vacant listing

The site closed as a Holden service centre in November 2025, seven years after Holden stopped vehicle production in Australia. Before its closure, the site had become a Mahindra dealership, and Patterson Cheney subsequently moved that franchise to Dandenong along with the Holden service business, according to GoAutoNews Premium. ¹

A Patterson Cheney spokesperson told GoAutoNews Premium that the dealership in the past delivered more than 250 new and used vehicles a month and handled more than 60 repair orders a day from government and private owners. "It was one of the last remaining Holden service centres in the country," he said. The spokesperson attributed the high workshop and sales volumes to the site's extensive permitted market area and its location, and said the building is "in very good condition with all permits ready for a new automotive business to start selling and servicing." ¹

Agent pitches a 'turnkey' automotive asset

Colliers' director of industrials and logistics Jonathan Mercuri told GoAutoNews Premium that opportunities on the scale of this site are no longer available in Melbourne's eastern corridor. "Securing an 8847 square metre parcel with 114m of direct frontage, purpose-built for automotive retail, service, and extensive vehicle display, is genuinely unprecedented," he said. "For an operator looking to establish a dominant flagship presence with complete drive-around functionality, it's a turnkey asset in a league of its own." ¹

Mr Mercuri described the property as a fixture of Vermont's motoring landscape for generations, offering exposure and a client catchment across Melbourne's eastern suburbs. GoAutoNews Premium notes the site sits along a major arterial corridor surrounded by established residential neighbourhoods and parklands, with schools nearby, direct access to Eastlink via Canterbury Road, and a location 21km east of the Melbourne CBD. ¹

No buyer or confirmed future use has been announced; the listing describes the property as suitable for an automotive dealership or distributor, but whether the site remains in automotive use will depend on the purchaser. ¹

Dealer networks still expanding elsewhere in Victoria

While the Vermont site is on the market, GoAutoNews Premium separately reports that family-owned Beer Auto Group has opened a greenfields dealership in Kilmore, adding Kia and MG to a lineup that spans 11 brands across its Seymour and Kilmore locations. Co-owner and dealer principal Jacob Rowlands said the expansion was driven by the need to diversify and attract a new permitted market area in more Melbourne-centred corridor suburbs, and forecast the two businesses would turn over about $80 million in 2027. ⁶

In Melbourne's north, Essendon Fields has continued to consolidate its role as a dealership precinct. GoAutoNews Premium reports that a new Airport Toyota showroom opened on December 15, 2025, four times the size of the previous premises, while Zagame Automotive opened Audi and Cupra dealerships in November 2025 and BYD opened a showroom at the precinct in early 2025, bringing the estate to 22 brands. ⁷

Automotive land changing hands across Melbourne

The Vermont listing is part of a broader reshaping of Melbourne's former automotive sites. The Age reports that veteran auto dealer Darren Bourke bought the East Doncaster office at 888 Doncaster Road for $8.8 million in July 2026, with BYD distributor Harmony Automotive Group as the incoming tenant; the same report notes BYD sells through 110 dealerships in Australia, nearly double its location count a year earlier. ⁵

Elsewhere, realestatesource.com.au reports that developer Marwood Property paid $11 million for the former Courtney & Patterson car yard at 11 Yarra Street, Heidelberg, with the 7918-square-metre Commercial 1-zoned block expected to make way for commercial product rather than continued dealership use. ²

Former manufacturing sites have also been repurposed. CarExpert reports Ford's former Broadmeadows Falcon plant is slated for a data centre development by Singapore-based Zerra DC, though that planning permit is not yet approved, and realestatesource.com.au separately reports Brookfield has agreed to buy an 11-hectare piece of the former Ford site for a 64,000-square-metre industrial estate. For the Vermont property, no future use beyond the listing agent's automotive retail pitch has been confirmed. ³⁴¹