Source : THE AGE NEWS
Capital Gain
A couple of Carlton pubs with histories richly steeped in Melbourne’s sporting and political circles are on the market.
Close to Trades Hall in South Carlton, the Lincoln has been the scene of a slew of raucous election parties, shadowy unofficial union meetings and bitter ALP factional disputes.
At the northern end of the neighbourhood, the Green Man’s Arms, currently a vegan gastro pub, was run by former Carlton footballer and coach Percy Jones for about 30 years.
On the corner of Elgin Street, the pub at 414-422 Lygon Street, had a long association with the Carlton Football Club.
In September 1865, when the Rifle Brigade Hotel stood on the corner, the fledgling club held a meeting and dinner to celebrate the end of its first season. The Blues had been founded four months earlier down the road at the University Hotel.
In 1925, club president David Young bought the Rifle Brigade, demolished it and built the Astor, the two-storey hotel that stands today.
After renaming it Percy’s Bar in the late 1990s, Jones shut up shop 15 years later citing his landlord’s plans to develop the site.
Well, that didn’t happen. Records show the vendor, the taxi fleet-owning Gange family, splashed out £15,000 in 1965 – the transaction only just predates the shift to decimal currency – and are only moving on now.
After Jones left, the pub became the Roving Marrow and then, with great fanfare, it went vego under the stewardship of actor Alison Whyte and her husband, Fred Whitlock.
Grant Turvey’s FGThree now owns the lease, which has two five-year options (taking the August 2029 expiry date out to 2039) and paying about $140,475 a year in rent.
Gray Johnson’s Matt Hoath and Brett Simpson have the listing and are expecting a price in the high $2 millions, reflecting a yield of about 5 per cent.
Down the road, at 91 Cardigan Street, Iain Ling has had the lease on the Lincoln since 2014 and recently renewed for a further seven years (with two options), paying nearly $128,000 a year in rent.
This pub was built in 1854 on land bought by Patrick Costello, the great-great-grandfather of former treasurer Peter Costello and his brother, the anti-gambling reverend Tim Costello, who heads up World Vision.
CVA’s Jarrod Moran is running the private sale campaign and is expecting between $1.35 million and $1.4 million.
Meanwhile, the freehold of the Mountain Culture brewpub in Richmond is also up for sale.
The microbrewery, which numbers Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins among its investors, has a 10-year lease on the building and pays about $370,000 a year in rent.
The building is on a 1000-square-metre site and has had a significant revamp. Current values suggest a likely price in the high $6 millions.
Records show the 1350-square-metre former industrial building at 148-150 Murphy Street last sold in 2014 for $2.02 million.
Gorman Commercial agents Tom Maule and Jonathon McCormack are selling the building with Teska Carson’s Matthew Feld and Larry Takis.
Huge site
A vacant site on the edge of the Queen Victoria Market has hit the market carrying a hefty price tag of $90 million.
The huge 3915-square-metre site at 388 William Street is opposite the Flagstaff Gardens on the corner of Franklin Street.
For many years, City Mazda occupied the two-storey art deco building, but it was demolished in 2019.
Records show it last changed hands in 2009 for $16.2 million, snagged by private education operator MIT Group during the global financial crisis.
Since then, the $1 billion QVM high-rise residential project proposed for the land and car parks around the market has vastly increased its value.
MIT boss Shesh Ghale has had several plans for the site, including office and hotel developments, and it has a planning permit for a 36-storey mixed-use development.
“Although we considered alternative uses, including build-to-rent and purpose-built student accommodation, MIT Group does not currently have the appetite to undertake a residential development of this scale,” Ghale told Capital Gain.
“We have decided the appropriate course is to offer the site for sale, allowing another developer to realise its considerable potential,” he said.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman and Leon Ma are running the campaign, with Pat Burke of MP Burke acting as transaction adviser.
Footpath auction
More than 100 people crowded the footpath on Russell Street during the week to watch three bidders compete for a two-storey restaurant.
A local bidder beat investors from China and Singapore and will pay $3.925 million for the shop, reflecting a tight yield of 3.85 per cent.
The 180-square-metre property at 179 Russell Street is on a 102 square-metre parcel of land.
It has a new five-year lease to Jin Noodle Restaurant and was back on the market for the first time since 1994, when it traded for $1.05 million.
Auctioneer Paul Tzamalis ran the show, while Savills’ Julian Heatherich and Tom O’Halloran, and Di Petta Group’s Winnie Chow, handled the campaign.
There’s a clutch of properties on the market in Chinatown, inspired by the stellar result in June when 172-176 Little Bourke Street fetched $6.11 million.
Next week, Fitzroys is auctioning 218-220 Little Bourke Street, leased to the Lost Bar. But the loveliest of the lot, at No. 107, is no longer going under the hammer.
Lemon Baxter’s Hans Fan has converted the auction into a private sale. Designed by Nahum Barnett in 1903, the three-storey building last changed hands in 1970 for $27,000.
Elsewhere in the CBD, shop 1 at 220-226 Collins Street is for sale.
The 59-square-metre shop, at the foot of the Manchester Unity building, is leased to ASX-listed Accent Group’s sports retailer Merrell.
It pays $351,842 a year in rent, but the lease is coming to an end in December 2026 and the tenant is moving on.
Agents Vinci Carbone’s Frank Vinci and Zach Molinaro are expecting about $5.5 million.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty of fresh leasing action in the city. Collingwood vintage store Top Floor Gallery is moving out of Wellington Street and into Mitchell House at 352-362 Lonsdale Street.
It will occupy a 163-square-metre shop and pay $78,000 a year in rent.
The heritage-listed art deco building has been substantially re-let since Calvin Huang’s Monarc Holding paid $56 million in 2023.
There’s not much space left in the building, according to The Leasing Agency’s Tess Quinn, who did the deal.
Top Floor Gallery’s shop is on level one of Mitchell Annex on Lonsdale Street and there is an 87-square-metre space remaining on the same floor. There are two vacant offices on levels two and three.
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
