It could be a case of second time lucky for the Andrews Government in its attempt to sell off the EVO Apartments in Parkville’s university bio-precinct.

The last time the 175-unit apartment block at 107-115 Manningham Street hit the market in 2017, it was quietly withdrawn from sale because the building was covered in flammable cladding.

Grenfell Tower in London had burned mid-year and by December 2017 a local audit had found the dangerous cladding on 1400 buildings, including hospitals and other government structures.

After five years and a few million dollars in remediation, the timing couldn’t be better for the state government as a wave of build-to-rent developers and investors jostle for likely sites and assets.

In the nearby Macaulay precinct, on the other side of Royal Parade from EVO, a swathe of industrial and commercial properties are poised for redevelopment and a railway station in the new Metro Rail Tunnel.

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US group Hines is planning a 220-unit project; and a joint venture between Macquarie Bank and Local paid $50 million for an 8803 square metre site – previously Vision Australia headquarters – where it’s planning 424 units.

The Liberal Napthine Government reportedly paid $90 million for the newly finished flats because the building was rather too close to a proposed East West Link off-ramp, but the property is no longer new, and the expected price range is now $60-$70 million.

Evo, built by Pace Development Group in 2014, faces the northern end of Royal Park and is just 4km from the city and a decent walk to the University of Melbourne, hospitals and research centres.