By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
THE Facey name has been in central Dandenong for more than 100 years – and for several years was famous for its yellow real-estate advertising insert in the Journal.
Cranbourne farmer Frank Facey started the trade by buying a carriage-works business in a tin-roofed, wooden building in Pultney Street in 1913.
Mr Facey expanded into painting, trimming and clearing sales before entering into the real estate business in 1917.
The real-estate baton has since been duly passed down to his son, the late Angus Facey, then onto grandson Andrew who heads the business to this day.
In 1992, Facey’s residential real estate arm was sold to Michael Hall to trade as Hall and Partners First National in 254 Lonsdale Street.
The Facey name lives on as Facey Industrial Commercial – co-partnered by Andrew, football legend Graham ‘Josh’ Kendall and Mark Bond – in Clow Street.
Frank Barrett, an accountant with Facey for nearly 30 years, said older readers would remember the late Angus Facey and wife Adele as keen Rotary, Uniting Church and Dandenong Music and Art Society members.
He said Andrew also set up a separate company, Parklea, a significant developer of housing and industrial estates in Narre Warren, Hallam, Berwick, Pakenham and Officer.
Just as Frank Facey left the family farm, so, too, is Dandenong re-branding itself beyond its agricultural roots.
Facey Industrial Commercial director Mark Bond, surveying the prominent tall buildings such as the Government Services Offices, the under-construction Australian Tax Office’s new digs, and the civic centre-library complex, said the future was exciting for the business.
“For a long time, Dandenong was just about industry and the commercial heart wasn’t a great part of it.
“We’re well and truly on track to change the amenity of the area with those offices.”
Infrastructure such as the EastLink tollway had helped drive development in the region and helped Dandenong re-establish its position as a government services hub.
Getting more government entities to set up in Dandenong was the next phase.
“Hopefully, the government will not be too Melbourne-centric and make Dandenong that hub it’s always been.”
Mr Bond predicted then there would be enough activity to entice more private investors to “want to be around such as significant area”.
