From Kanye to can’t stay: Sing Sing Studios site sold

They’ve hosted international stars including Jay-Z, Kanye West and Mariah Carey, but Melbourne’s iconic Sing Sing Recording Studios now face an uncertain future after the sale of their Cremorne home.

The studios, famous for recording a procession of A-list artists and bands over the past 33 years, will likely be forced out after a Melbourne investor bought them for $4.55 million.

The Gordon St studios have seen a cavalcade of famous names walk through their doors since the early 1980s, including The Black Eyes Peas, Elvis Costello, KISS, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil and Powderfinger.

But with little more than a year left to run on the lease, studio managing director Kaj Dahlstrom says the studios’ days are numbered.

“We have to shut it down, basically,” Dahlstrom says.

“We’ve got 14 or 15 months left. They’ll probably bulldoze it. They haven’t been in contact with us yet.”

Sing Sing Recording Studios’ Cremorne home will likely shut down after the site was sold.

While Sing Sing has a ‘B’ studio in neighbouring South Yarra, Dahlstrom says progress might force his hand there, also.

“They’re changing times,” he says.

“I’ve still got that (South Yarra studios), but we’ve got The Olsen (hotel) next door to us and on the other side there’s a cake shop and they’re building 14-storey apartments next to that.”

We have to shut it down, basically … they’re changing times

“If nobody buys all the equipment, the whole lot, maybe we’ll organise a longer lease at South Yarra or we’ll have to shut down, I guess, which is a bit sad,” he says.

Dahlstrom says he was approached to buy the Gordon St site but the asking price was out of reach.

CBRE’s David Minty, Ed Wright and Jamus Campbell negotiated the sale on behalf of a private vendor.

The Gordon St site is in a nominated urban renewal precinct.

Minty says the 852sqm site attracted strong interest from both local and international investors, with Cremorne proving ever popular with potential buyers.

CBRE last year sold properties nearby at 4-6 Cubitt St and 2-12 Gwynne St, with Minty hinting that Gordon St’s inclusion in one of the area’s nominated urban renewal precincts made it doubly attractive due to its potential for residential development.

“The opportunity to secure this Cremorne icon was met with a strong flurry of interest, with its premium location and established reputation some of the key selling factors,” he says.

“This early new year sale reflects the continued interest and appetite from buyers to secure development opportunities, and is a great sign for property owners considering selling in 2016.”