Brookfield Buys Former Ford Site for Melbourne Industrial

Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to purchase a former Ford Motor Company assembly plant site in Melbourne's north. The 11-hectare Campbellfield property will be developed into a multi-unit industrial estate with approximately 64,000 square metres of net lettable area.

Brookfield is partnering with local developer Time & Place, which bought the brownfield site at 1731-1733 Sydney Road in February 2025. The transaction value was not disclosed. Ruban Kaneshamoorthy, Brookfield’s co-head of Australia real estate, said the project will be classified as super prime upon completion and help fill a significant gap in Melbourne’s logistics supply.

"We expect to be active during the coming years in this space as we build out a A$3 billion logistics portfolio across Australia and New Zealand," Kaneshamoorthy stated.

Strategic Location and Infrastructure

The site is connected to major arterial roads with access to the Port of Melbourne and Melbourne Airport. Brookfield says it will attract small to medium-sized tenants servicing a major economic corridor. Future infrastructure, including the Melbourne Intermodal & Industrial Exchange in nearby Somerton, is expected to create further supply chain efficiencies for tenants.

This acquisition follows Brookfield's progress on another Victorian project. The company has largely filled the first phase of its Cardinia Logistics Estate in Pakenham, acquired in 2022.

Brookfield's Australian Logistics Portfolio

The Campbellfield purchase is part of a series of Australian logistics investments by the Toronto-based firm. Last month, Brookfield announced the acquisition of a multi-unit logistics project in western Sydney's Penrith, with a reported end value of A$225 million. That project, the Cornerstone Logistics Estate, will provide 47,000 square metres of space across 13 warehouses upon completion in mid-2027.

These deals have expanded Brookfield's Australia and New Zealand logistics platform to 10 investments. The portfolio now comprises 850,000 square metres of operating or planned warehouse space across Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.

Earlier this year, Brookfield teamed with Singapore's GIC for the A$6.7 billion take-private of National Storage, Australia's largest owner-operator of self-storage facilities.

Site History and Previous Transactions

The Campbellfield site was part of a larger Ford property developed from the late 1950s. At its peak in 1995, the complex covered 249,484 square metres and employed around 4,000 workers. Local production ended in 2016. The first major land parcel was sold to Pelligra Group in 2019, which is developing it into a mixed-use precinct called Assembly Broadmeadows.

The specific Sydney Road parcel was listed for sale in mid-2023 with an estimated price of about A$90 million. Ford ultimately sold it to Time & Place in early 2025 for a speculated price of A$80 million.

Brookfield has already secured tenants for its first Victorian industrial park. At the Cardinia Logistics Estate, Brookfield sold a 6.2-hectare parcel to Costco in 2024. Tenants signed for the estate include Ballarat Food Manufacturing, a subsidiary of China's Yida Group, which leased 14,660 square metres in 2025, along with BCI Furniture and Pick Packers.