The 140-year-old premises of the Celtic Club has been sold to Malaysian developer Beulah International for $25.6 million after more than 75 per cent of voting members backed the deal on Wednesday night.
"After a long night with 344 votes cast, you as members have decided to support the sale of our current Club premises to Beulah International. There were 274 votes for the sale; 68 votes against, and 2 informal," said the club on its website.
The deal marks the end of an acrimonious battle among members over whether to cash in on rising land values in the city centre and sell the green and white imposing former hotel on the corner of Queen and La Trobe Street in Melbourne.
The club's premises sold through CBRE and CBRE Hotels with a permit in place for a 48-level tower on the 676 square metre site. Artists impressions indicate the elaborate Victorian-era facade would be retained in any new development.
As part of the deal, the club has the option to buy back 2,000 square metres of the Queen Street premises including the ground and first floors to establish a new contemporary club.
The Celtic Club, the oldest surviving Irish club in the country, has occupied the premises since 1959. Its current lease expires in April next year.
Without agreeing to the sale, the Celtic Club stood to lose more than $9 million noting on its website that advice from Melbourne City Council and the Minister for Planning's Office indicated that the current redevelopment permit would not be extended.
"If sale does not proceed, we have received advice that the value of the premises without the air rights permit is approximately $12-16m," the club said.
To take advantage of the existing permit, Beulah needs to commence work on the tower by October next year.
Beulah International, founded by Adelene Teh, the daughter of Malaysian developer, Datuk Teh Kean Ming, is backed by West Australian-based private investors with ties to Singapore. It has a number of projects underway across Melbourne.
"We recognise the importance of the Celtic Club within Melbourne and Australia history and it's important for us to work closely with the club to discuss any concerns or reservations the club may have," said Beulah International's head of sales Jamie Baldwin.
"We have presented the Celtic Club with the option to buy back a portion of the Queen Street site, and if purchased, would be a free hold property owned by the Celtic Club and its members for many more years of enjoyment," he said
Earlier this year, Beulah International acquired a permitted townhouse site on Toorak Road South Yarra in January for $17.5 million and was also a bidder on the massive Telstra site, which was bought by SP Setia in a record-breaking deal.
