Private equity-backed childcare investment, co-located with primary school and parish church, hits Melbourne market 

A rare childcare investment opportunity has been launched to market at 69 North Street,  Hadfield, in Melbourne's north, offering investors a brand-new, purpose-built early learning centre leased to Story House  Early Learning and co-located with both a Catholic primary school and its adjoining parish church. 

CBRE's Australian Healthcare and Social Infrastructure team of Marcello Caspani-Muto, Jimmy Tat and Paul Tran is  marketing the property, which comprises a 120-place long day care centre completed in April 2026 and leased to Story House  Early Learning on a 17-year term to 2043, plus three further 10-year options extending to 2073.  

Story House is majority-owned by private markets investment firm ROC Partners, which manages approximately $9 billion in assets, providing the asset with a highly capitalised tenant backed by a strong financial covenant. 

The property sits on land held under a ground lease with the Roman Catholic Trusts Corporation for the Diocese of  Melbourne, on behalf of St Thomas More, Hadfield Parish, and is positioned directly adjacent to St Thomas More Primary  School. This dual anchoring to an established parish and primary school is a rare feature among childcare investments  currently on the market, reinforcing the asset's deep integration into the local community and its long-term appeal to local  families. 

Mr Caspani-Muto said the property's community anchoring set it apart from typical childcare investments. "It's uncommon  to find a childcare asset this tightly woven into its community, sitting on parish land, right next door to a primary school, in a catchment that is genuinely undersupplied," Mr Caspani-Muto said. "That combination gives investors a level of locational  permanence and community entrenchment that is very hard to replicate, and it's a key reason we expect strong interest from  both childcare specialists and passive investors." 

Mr Tran said the quality of the tenant covenant was a key drawcard of the campaign. "Story House's backing by ROC  Partners gives this asset an institutional-grade financial covenant, and when you combine that with fixed 3% annual rent  growth and a lease running to 2043 with options to 2073, it's a ‘set and forget’, low-maintenance income that investors are  actively chasing right now," Mr Tran said. 

Hadfield sits within an undersupplied childcare catchment, with a ratio of 4.18 children aged 0–5 years to every long day care  place, and is further supported by 20 primary and secondary schools within a 3km radius. Located approximately 12km north  of the Melbourne CBD within the City of Merri-bek, the suburb continues to benefit from strong population growth and consistent owner-occupier demand. 

The property is being offered for sale via Expressions of Interest (EOI), closing late July 2026. Fixed annual rent reviews of  3% underpin strong income growth over the balance of the lease term, with Story House's current rent of $552,000 per annum  plus GST projected to grow to approximately $885,798 per annum by 2042, an increase of more than 60%. 

Further information, including access to the lease, contract of sale, floor plan and depreciation schedule, is available to qualified parties upon request via the exclusive selling agents.