A famed Melbourne pub with a few stories to tell
One of Melbourne’s oldest and most storied pubs, the Water Rat Hotel, is on the market.
The iconic South Melbourne venue opened in 1858 as the Druids Hotel and was subsequently called the Freemason’s Hotel, before reopening as the Water Rat in 1991.
Not short on stories after almost 160 years in a once notorious area, the hotel was famously the scene of the 1973 shooting murder of Dockers and Painters Union chief Pat Shannon.
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Shannon was gunned down by Kevin Taylor while sitting just inside the door of the Moray St pub – the latest in a series of killings in an escalating union war.
The Water Rat Hotel was the scene of Dockers and Painters boss Pat Shannon’s murder in 1973.
But the hotel is now a far cry from those turbulent days, having undergone extensive renovations prior to reopening as the Water Rat. The 513sqm, two-storey venue now has two separate bar areas, a rooftop terrace, outdoor seating area and function space.
CBRE’s Tim Last, Justin Dowers and Will Connolly are selling the property in conjunction with Burgess Rawson’s Terry Board and Nick Breheny, via expressions of interest.
The pub’s 1991 renovation included a rooftop garden.
Last says the hotel’s corner position holds it in good stead as an investment.
“South Melbourne has become one of Melbourne’s most desirable suburbs over the past five years, with a significant uplift in investor and developer demand for well-located, mixed-use assets,” he says.
“In particular corner properties with a mixed-use zoning have become one of the most highly sought after assets due to their high exposure nature and potential for medium to long-term holding income.”
The Water Rat Hotel has two large bar areas.
“We expect there to be strong demand from both local and offshore parties given mixed use zoning and development potential for the property.”
The building’s current tenant is operating on a short-term lease for $100,000 per annum, plus GST.
