Skipping Girl set to jump again as Abbotsford icon hits the market

One of Melbourne’s most recognisable landmarks is poised for its next chapter, with the ‘Skipping Girl’ site in Abbotsford brought to market, offering a rare combination of development scale and value-add office potential in a tightly held city-fringe precinct. 

The property at 651–653 Victoria Street occupies a prominent Yarra River frontage just 3.2 kilometres from the CBD, comprising a 2,931 sqm* landholding improved by a 3,620 sqm* office building and 129 car spaces. 

While the neon sign has long defined the site’s identity, the opportunity for incoming capital is grounded in its flexibility. The existing office provides immediate income and occupancy potential, while the underlying landholding and Commercial 1 zoning support a range of future development outcomes. 

First installed in the 1930s, the Skipping Girl sign has become one of Melbourne’s most enduring pieces of urban iconography, synonymous with the city’s industrial heritage and riverside manufacturing era. Towering above the Yarra for decades, the sign has transcended its original advertising purpose to become a cultural landmark, widely photographed, fondly referenced and deeply embedded in Melbourne’s collective identity. The building itself forms part of that legacy, anchoring a site that has evolved alongside the city while maintaining its unmistakable profile on the skyline. 

This week, the iconic Skipping Girl sign has been temporarily replaced with a new figure, marking a shift in messaging to promote healthier, more active lifestyles among young people. Instigated as part of a Dairy Farmers campaign aimed at encouraging kids to be more active and spend less time on screens, the change is only short-term, with the original sign set to return after the lifestyle campaign concludes. 

The site is for sale through for sale through Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Wolman, Hamish Burgess and Joe Kairouz, in conjunction with Colliers’ Alex Browne and Ben Baines and it is clear that opportunities that combine holding income with genuine redevelopment upside remain increasingly scarce across Melbourne’s inner-east, particularly in locations offering both connectivity and lifestyle amenity. 

Daniel Wolman of Cushman & Wakefield said the campaign is expected to attract a broad mix of buyers seeking to deploy capital into well-located, repositioning opportunities. 
“We’re seeing strong interest from private investors, syndicators and developers who are focused on assets that offer multiple value creation pathways, particularly those with the ability to generate income in the short term while retaining longer-term development optionality. 

“Furthermore, the site’s positioning within a proven high-density corridor, alongside proximity to Victoria Gardens and the Yarra River parklands, further strengthens its appeal to both occupiers and future end users”. 
Alex Browne of Colliers said the asset’s fundamentals underpin its significance beyond its landmark status. 
“What sets this opportunity apart is the combination of scale, river frontage and flexibility. It’s a site that can support a high-quality office repositioning in the near term, while also offering the scope for a more substantial redevelopment over time. 

“As Melbourne’s city-fringe markets continue to tighten, assets that offer both immediate utility and long-term transformation potential are increasingly sought after, placing the Skipping Girl site firmly in focus for a wide spectrum of capital”. 

The iconic ‘Skipping Girl’ site at 651–653 Victoria Street, Abbotsford site is for sale through Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers, via International Expressions of Interest, closing Thursday 28 May at 2pm (AEST).