For those unfamiliar with this complex, we provide this image –
Sadly, residents will have noticed a for sale sign that has gone up at Extra Fresh Bentleigh. Expressions of interest close in early March. For at least a decade and probably more, this complex has included a café, a grocer, delicatessen, baker, butcher, and fish monger. It always seems to be busy and provides a great alternative to supermarket shopping. What will happen now remains to be seen.
Our guess is that after laying out multi-millions to purchase the property, the new owner will in all likelihood be looking to:
Option 1: keep things as they are and maintain the current tenants with an increase in rent
Option 2: keep a handful of shops at ground floor but decide that greater and immediate profit resides in residential dwellings above. So given the existence of 7 and 8 storeys nearby, this could be the plan. With no permanent structure plan in place, there is no reason to assume that the application could not be even higher.
Another landmark in Bentleigh is thus on the chopping board. We extend our best wishes to the current tenants and will certainly miss them if they have to go.
Glen Eira Debates 
February 5, 2023 at 9:19 AM
What a bummer. I shop there regularly and would hate to see it turn into another bunch of apartments.
February 5, 2023 at 10:52 AM
At the back of these shops there is heritage and nrz zoning. We could have seven storeys overlooking two storeys.
February 5, 2023 at 6:35 PM
Council has always argued that unlike Carnegie and Elsternwick, Bentleigh is far more “residential” and therefore deserve lower building heights. Given the tardiness in getting anything done, and the seven and eight storeys that are already there, that idea can be kissed goodbye. Five storeys have gone out the window and the most likely outcome for Extra Fresh is another high rise. The future looks bleak. Most of Centre road will be turned into a concrete canyon irrespective of the surrounding heritage and single and double storey buildings on surrounding sites. Wind tunnels, urban heat rise and greater density will be the result of awful planning by this council.
I don’t even expect any permanent structure plan to be gazetted this year. Anyone know if any other council would have taken 8 years to get a structure plan done since Wynne’s directive of December 2015? I doubt it.
February 5, 2023 at 12:55 PM
Let’s hope not but then it’s more likely🥲
February 5, 2023 at 10:34 PM
I like this place. They people that work there are tops. The cakes that come out of the bakery are second to none. The owner/owner has been running-down the building for a few years. My feeling is they are likely to cash-in with a developer. We will get a big block building view as you come up Wheatley Road. It will look really bad.
February 6, 2023 at 2:32 PM
I had a chat with a few of the folks in this place, and they think and are confident it’s just the building changing hands. They said they had leases on their areas and that will be expensive to break. If they are not worried maybe it all OK. Time will tell.