By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The freehold of the Duke of Wellington in Melbourne’s CBD has been placed on the market.
Property developer Morry Schwartz is looking to divest two Melbourne CBD properties, including the freehold of the Duke of Wellington Hotel. The other property is the Adina Hotel at on Flinders Street. The two assets are being touted through an international EOI campaign by CBRE, with several agents handling the campaign. The freeholds are being offered together or individually.
Established in 1853, The Duke is Melbourne’s oldest pub. It is currently leased to Dixon Hospitality, with a 3am licence. The 2 Russell Street freehold also includes a nine-level office tower behind the hotel, which is currently tenanted to various technology and design businesses. The corner site also has frontages on Russell and Flinders Streets.
“The Eastern Core is currently experiencing a major shortage of office space and we envisage that, if positioned correctly, 2 Russell Street can take full advantage of the rental uplift that owners are seeing for similar assets in the precinct,” stated Josh Rutman, one of the CBRE agents leading the campaign.
“The property also presents a very real opportunity for strata subdivision or conversion to residential accommodation, subject to relevant approvals.”
The EOI campaign closes on Friday 27 October 2017.