Klosters Motor Group has bought the huge Annie Street, Wickham, redevelopment site after a spectacular fire levelled warehouses on the block last year.
The Newcastle Herald reported in December that previous owner Investec Australia Finance had reimbursed the NSW government and City of Newcastle $13 million for the fire clean-up operation after finding a buyer for the site.
Property records show KMG Properties Pty Ltd bought the land in Annie Street in November for at least $14.85 million.
Two of the three lots on the site contain the foundations of the two woolstores that burned down in March and the other retains a surviving four-storey warehouse.
Klosters, part of the national Tony White Group, is one of Newcastle's leading vehicle retailers and operates several car showrooms on either side of Tudor Street, Hamilton, and at Raymond Terrace.
Tony White and Salvatore Pagano are the directors of KMG Properties Pty Ltd.
The Newcastle Herald contacted Klosters to find out its plans for the site and confirm the sale price but did not receive a response.
The company also owns a 1.1-hectare site in nearby Railway Street, Wickham, where it stores vehicles.
The Railway Street depot is listed as a potential low-rise redevelopment site under City of Newcastle's Wickham Master Plan.
Investec put the 3.1-hectare Annie Street lot on the market in September as a light industrial redevelopment site.
Investec inherited the land when a former owner, Asset Strata Investments, went into administration.
The Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel rejected a development application for a massive $125 million residential redevelopment of the warehouses in March 2021 after deeming the land was too close to the neighbouring Ampol fuel storage depot.
City of Newcastle recommended refusing the proposal after a consultant's report found the risk of fatality from a "vapour cloud explosion" at the fuel terminal exceeded Department of Planning thresholds for residential development.
Meanwhile, Australian investment giant Perpetual has listed its two adjoining office towers on Honeysuckle Drive on the market.
The Sparke Helmore building at 28 Honeysuckle Drive, the home of NBN's television studios and offices, and the connecting building at 26 Honeysuckle Drive are for sale by expressions of interest. The offices have a total lettable floor area of 9500 square metres.
The 8000-square metre NIB building at 22 Honeysuckle Drive sold for $46.6 million in 2016.
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