Hong Kong comes calling for Chinatown hotel
A Hong Kong investor has swooped on a Chinatown hotel paying $14 million for the City Limits and its adjoining carpark.
The buyer is planning to rejuvenate the hotel at 20-22 Little Bourke Street and redevelop the land next door at No.18.
The Hong Kong-based Chow family put it on the market towards the end of last year’s long lockdown but it didn’t sell.
Tiga Commercial’s David Sia, Martin Leong and Nicholas Hii made the off-market deal this winter with a 30-day settlement.
The nine-level hotel and land last changed hands in the 1990s for less than $4 million.
The combined 471 square metre site is on a triple-fronted parcel of land, bordered by Little Bourke Place and Gordon Place. It has 32 strata-titled studio apartments and car parks.
Little Projects
Veteran rag-trader Geoff Bade has sold its long-held premises in Richmond for a price believed to be around $20 million.
Records show LPC, a company owned by Little Projects directors Paris Lechte and Leighton Pyke, have put a caveat on the 1461 sq m property at 9-15 Brighton Street.
It’s across the road from the permitted site Fortis bought from Icon Developments earlier this year for $19 million.
Despite lacking a permit, it’s understood the price paid by Fortis was close to the $14,000 per sq m.
Tesla Carson agent Michael Taylor declined to comment on any of the details of the off-market purchase.
Little Projects was established by transport mogul and former Essendon Football Club president Paul Little in 2006 as his post-Toll Holdings gig.
He sold the business to Mr Lechte and Mr Pyke in 2018 but retained ownership of the existing development book, including a tower in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, a hotel in Flinders Lane and a student accommodation building in Carlton.
The records show Mr Lechte and Mr Pyke have ownership of this project.
Showroom
The owners of the $5 billion Chemist Warehouse chain have splashed out $8.3 million on a two-storey showroom next door to Richmond Town Hall.
The deal, brokered by Teska Carson agents George Takis and Larry Takis, reflects a super-sharp passing yield of just 1.22 per cent or $11,806 per sq m.
The 685 sq m building at 335-341 Bridge Road is expected to turn into a Chemist Warehouse when its current leases conclude.
Australia Post started a five-year lease term in October 2018 and NAB has a month-by-month tenancy.
The property is on a 703 sq m site and came with a preliminary scheme for a 14-level apartment building designed by RBi Architects.
Pokie pub
The Zagame family is off-loading another of its pokie pubs after reaping $28 million from the sale of the Edwardes Lake Hotel in Reservoir during the week.
The Boronia Hotel, in the city’s outer east, is leased to the Francis family’s IPR Hotels, the same operator as the pub in Reservoir and is expected to sell on a similar 5 per cent yield, which would come in around $24 million.
The hotel is on a 7079 sq m site and returns $1.2 million a year. It has 80 gaming machines and a 20-year lease expiring in 2041.
JLL agents John Musca, Will Connolly and Stuart Taylor are handling expressions of interest in conjunction with Cropley Commercial’s Steve Cropley and George Iliopulos.
Mr Connolly said there was a spike in interest in hotels late last year as Melbourne came out of lockdown.
“People are anticipating the same thing happening this year,” he said.
The Zagame family own and operate one last pub – Zagame’s Caulfield. In July, they sold the leasehold to their hotels in Boronia, Reservoir, Berwick and Ballarat to the Francis family.
Cavalier men
The longest running business on Burke Road, the Cavalier menswear retailer, has sold at an online auction for $4.39 million. The result for 632 Burke Road reflected a 2.6 per cent yield.
Fitzroys agents David Bourke and Chris James handled the auction. It was the first time the property was for sale since 1977 and it is understood a local Boroondara resident made the purchase.
Established in 1955, Cavalier made a name for itself in the early years of television dressing Bert Kennedy for his appearances on The Graham Kennedy Show, the Don Lane Show and New Faces.
Down at the Junction, Mr Bourke and Mr James also sold a 700 sq m development site at 561 Riversdale Road to a local developer for $3.5 million. The off-market deal was struck at $5000 a sq m.
7-Eleven
A 7-Eleven servo in Altona’s industrial heartland has sold for around $6.6 million on a super sharp 4.6 per cent yield.
The servo was built by Cadence Property Group in 2017 as part of the Maidstone Industrial Park and was bought and sold by local investors.
CBRE agents Nathan Mufale, Scott Hawthorne, David Minty and JJ Heng handled the sale at 210 Maidstone Street.
Nine expressions of interest were received from a range of domestic, interstate and international buyers, Mr Heng said.
“In the past 18 months we have seen more international investors enquire on retail investments than ever before with an average of 39 per cent Asian enquiries for each retail campaign,” he said.
TGI Fridays
Meat & Wine Co is taking over TGI Fridays’ space at Freshwater Place.
Seagrass Hospitality, the restaurant’s operator, is planning a new concept for the ground floor of the 513 sq m multi-level space.
The deal was negotiated by Colliers agents Jennifer Tai and Adam Lester.
Multiple offers were received for the space during an expressions-of-interest campaign with food and beverage operators keen for larger spaces, Ms Tai said.
“Larger footprints of this size allow operators to cater for capacity limits which we expect to stay in place for the forseeable future,” she said.
On Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, the former home of the shuttered Picasso restaurant has been leased to Chinese street food chain Foodao.
The 690 Glenferrie Road shop sold last November for $2.74 million.
It’s the fourth Melbourne store for Foodao which is branching out from shopping centres to suburban strips.
The 150 sq m space was leased for seven years by A-P agents Josh Luftig and Tan Thach in conjunction with Fitzroys’ Tom Fisher.
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