Can’t park the Ferrari? Just pay a record $600,000 for a patch of concrete near Circular Quay
Capital Gain
If your living room window looks out over Circular Quay or leafy Government House, chances are you can’t find a spot to park your swish car. That’s not a problem, however, if you’re prepared to pay a cool $600,000 for a 14 square metre patch of concrete.
The lack of car parking spaces in central Sydney has seen six sites go under the hammer for a combined $3.65 million. That works out at a rate per square metre of $42,857 or $600,000 for each car park – big money by anyone’s standards.
The carpark bonanza at Lot 51, 2 Phillip Street beat pre-auction expectations and is almost double the $304,700 paid for a park spot in Notts Avenue, Bondi, believed to be Sydney’s previous car-park record.
Located on the ground floor of the 29-storey The Quay tower, the six car spaces total 85 square metres and were bought by wealthy residents living in the nearby Bennelong Apartments, Opera Quays and 2 Phillip Street enclave.
The City of Sydney has placed restrictions on the number of car parking spaces to be built in the CBD to lower the amount of private traffic clogging up city thoroughfares.
Colliers agents James Cowan and Cameron Colquhoun handled the sale.
Pub sale
Property developer Rocco Lagudi is opting to sell the former stately Forbes Hotel in the heart of Sydney.
Sitting on the corner of York and Market Streets opposite pub baron Justin Hemmes’ CBD pub, the 1000 square metre building has stood empty since 2017. It was built in 1901 in an Edwardian-era style.
Hemmes’ Merivale has earmarked the Kings Green precinct, as it is known, as the new focus for his pub empire as he looks to redevelop the IVY properties in George Street down the track.
Lagudi, who made headlines with his wife, Frances, when they paid $13.5 million for a Point Piper apartment in 2016, is selling the freehold of the four-storey red brick heritage building and while no sale price was disclosed, expectations are it will go for more than $20 million.
The 30 York Street property has undergone a major refurbishment, with an upgraded lift, a new roof featuring a rooftop skylight, updated amenities and refreshed flooring.
It sits at the gateway to the luxury retail precinct, surrounded by flagship stores including Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Cartier. There is zoning for luxury retail, boutique office, or a reimagined hospitality venue.
The pub has a hotelier’s licence with 11 gaming machine entitlements and approval for 24-hour trade.
JLL’s Willem Watson, Harry Borger and Kate MacDonald have been appointed to manage the sale in conjunction with Cabmon Property’s Peter Seeto.
In a separate deal, the multistorey Agincourt Hotel in Sydney’s southern CBD has been sold for the first time in 25 years for about $30 million.
It was bought by a new, private pub investor from a consortium headed by former publican Terry Reichel, who once owned The Courthouse Hotel in Darlinghurst.
HTL Property agent Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe handled the sale.
Hotel deals
The Crowne Plaza Sydney Coogee Beach, the favoured spot for the NSW Rugby League State of Origin team to stay when in training, is to be rebranded as the InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach as part of a deal between IHG Hotels & Resorts and the Salter Brothers.
It is part of a wider scheme that will also see Crowne Plaza Melbourne become the InterContinental Melbourne and the Crowne Plaza Canberra to be redeveloped into the new InterContinental Canberra.
A second hotel will also be developed on this site, to bring Hotel Indigo to Canberra.
InterContinental Melbourne the Rialto will transform into the Regent brand. The deal is said to be a precursor for an ASX listing by Salter for its portfolio worth about $2 billion.
The deal comes hot on the heels of Accor, the largest hotel operator in Australia and New Zealand, signing a significant portfolio of hotels with Bayview International Hotels & Resorts.
The partnership will see Accor take over the management of three properties including the Sydney Boulevard Hotel in East Sydney, Bayview Geographe Resort in Busselton Western Australia, and Wairakei Resort Taupo in the North Island of New Zealand.
Multistorey shed
In a major deal, Australian and New Zealand fashion retailer Glassons will be the first tenant to move into Stockland’s first multistorey logistics facility, Stockland Momenta, located within the south Sydney industrial precinct in Banksmeadow.
Glassons will occupy the second storey, which spans around 7800 square metres, for an initial six-year period. Once it has been redeveloped, the 15,000 sq m Momenta will be a part of Stockland’s $6.1 billion national logistics development pipeline.
Colliers’ Trent Gallagher and Michael Crombie advised on the lease.
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