Rare Bondi rainbow block hits the market with $9.2m buyers guide

A rare entire block on the corner of Warners and Wairoa avenues in Bondi Beach has hit the market with a bidding guide of about $9.2 million.

Raine & Horne agents Ric Serrao and Paul Langsam are selling the distinctive “rainbow” coloured property in conjunction with Metro Commercial. Mr Serrao said the guide was based on feedback he has received since the property launched late last week.

While Mr Serrao declined to identify the vendor, records show that the property is under the company name of philanthropist Tanya Nelson Carnegie.

Carnegie is no stranger to prestige property deals in the area. In May 2017, her clifftop North Bondi house smashed a suburb record when she sold it for $10.35 million. That record was later toppled by the penthouse of retail boss Mark McInnes, which exchanged for $12 million last September.

Sitting across from Campbell Parade, the property consists of two commercial premises – up-market clothing boutique Camilla and Good One Cafe – as well as three apartments on the upper level, each with two bedrooms.

Because the block falls under one title, the successful buyer will need to purchase the property in its entirety.

According to Mr Serrao, the leases for the apartments have expired. He said one of the commercial leases has 18 months left, while the other has three years to run.

Prior to listing, two of the apartments had been leased under short-term rental contracts, and one had been used as an office space.

Mr Serrao has received 43 inquiries since the listing went live. “We have had clients looking […] for a potential site for their corporate head offices, we’ve had a business express interest in the premises, and we’ve had builders and developers [showing interest] too,” he said.

From those inquiries, the selling agents are now speaking with three interested parties.

Mr Serrao said such an eclectic mix was expected. “It’s quite an iconic building in Bondi, so it’s going to attract a lot of diversity,” he said. “They don’t come up every day, not that close to the beach.”

Allan Levy from Metro Commercial is selling the property in conjunction with Raine & Horne. When asked how the price guide of $9.2 million sits in the context of Bondi’s market, Mr Levy described the building as “extremely difficult to compare”.

“You can’t find the same building around the corner,” Mr Levy said.

“The location across from the beach is incredibly irreplaceable. The biggest asset from a commercial perspective is that it has one of the [largest] frontages of corner property in Bondi that I’ve seen.”

He said the building’s well-liked history also set it apart. The site was once home to a restaurant run by late cafe patron Jackie Milijash. A fixture on Sydney’s social scene, the venue is said to have attracted celebrity customers such as Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, Megan Gale and Nicole Kidman.

Mr Levy said the entire block currently produced a gross income of $450,000 per year.

He  said potential investors should be buoyed by the success of the nearby Bondi Pacific development and by bullish apartment sales in the area.

Last August, James Packer broke a national coastal suburb record by selling his bachelor pad on Campbell Parade for $29 million. In January this year, a “Lighthouse” penthouse in the Bondi Pacific building listed with a $14 million price guide. This was after two Lighthouses sold for a total of about $26 million in 2016.

“There will be people who want to keep it simply as it is, and tap into the incredible rental capital that Bondi Beach offers and should continue to offer,” Mr Levy said. “There are also people who will want to redevelop.”

Mr Serrao agreed that the block had flexible uses. Given that the property was commercially zoned, he suggested that the site could be used for a variety of purposes, including cafes and restaurants, yoga studios and retail.

The building is in a tightly held part of Bondi that Mr Serrao says is increasing in popularity.

“A lot of new eateries have opened and there are lots of young families here now [as well as] professionals. There’s certainly a changing demographic,” he said.

The block exchanged for $7.2 million in December 2010. This time, it is scheduled to go under the hammer on April 16.