The spectacular former Fairfax print centre in Tullamarine is to become a prestige car distribution centre. Tullamarine and the Fairfax Chullora site were sold last month for a combined $55m to property group Charter Hall, and Tullamrine has now been bought by Bobby Zagame, importer of marquee car brands, for around $16m. Zagame will use it as the entry point for his cars. Fairfax invested some $220m in Tullamarine, opening it a decade ago to great fanfare, as it moved out of its old Spencer Street building. However analysts later blamed the board for focusing on newsprint at a time when investing in the internet should have been its priority. Critics say the focus on building Tullamarine meant that the board allowed the likes of realestate.com, seek.com, and carsales.com to flourish unfettered, and so destroy much of the Fairfax business.

Car centre: the former Fairfax print site at Tullamarine

Along with Chullora in Sydney Tullamarinewas shut down last year, and presses either sold, scrapped or moved to upgraded regional facilities in Richmond, NSW and Ballarat, Vic which were charged with producing the flagship metro titles the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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