Deja vu as Brighton’s Marine Hotel to sell again

Brighton’s iconic Marine Hotel is on the market again just 12 months after it sold for $13 million at auction.

The landmark 4,670sq m property at 199-217 New St has already attracted “very good interest” at a price point $2 million higher this time around, according to the listing agent.

CBRE director Mark Wizel says the short-term owner has decided to try and capitalise on strong demand for land in the sought-after bayside locale.

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“The agent that sold the property originally was more focusing on attracting buyers for the hotel investment … and the owner who bought it felt that there wasn’t a lot of emphasis when he bought it placed on the land component of the property,” he says.

“It’s very difficult to find over 1 acre (4047sq m) of land in Brighton. If you look at the way we are marketing it, we are very much focused on the land component rather than what it is at the moment.

“In saying that, while there is obviously a lease in place to an operator running the Marine Hotel he (the vendor) just feels land is getting more and more valuable in Brighton and maybe people out there can work with the existing tenant to potentially unlock the land over time to make way for luxury residences or an aged-care facility.”

The 4,670sqm land parcel could be developed into luxury residences or an aged-care facility.

A marketing brochure states there is a “five year net lease with option periods” in place.

Ahead of its sale last April, the Marine Hotel’s then operator Craig McDonald told Leader Newspapers that “I guarantee we will be open (as a hotel) for another 27 years.”

But a Marine Hotel staff member told the Herald Sun McDonald had not been the tenant since around Christmas time and the pub had been taken over by a new operator.

The Herald Sun has contacted the new operator for comment.

Wizel says there is “very good interest in excess of $15 million” for the property.

“Obviously we specialise within that Asian buyer space and I think the owner’s recognised more and more Chinese interest coming to Brighton and what prices are being achieved for some houses on only 1000sqm or 2000sqm, so there’s a bit of an opportunity to see what someone is willing to pay,” he said.

The property is zoned neighbourhood residential, which allows for development up to two storeys and 9m in height, the City of Bayside confirmed.

A joint CBRE and Vinci Carbone expressions of interest campaign private sale campaign closes on May 5.

This article from The Herald Sun was originally published as “Brighton’s Marine Hotel back on market 12 months after selling for $13 million“.