Investors ready to take bite out of rare Pakington St listing
A rare commercial property in Newtown’s Pakington St is poised to set a new price record for the premium retail strip.
The freehold premises at 313 Pakington St is tipped to spark strong interest from investors and developers when it goes to auction on February 14.
It presents a chance to acquire a prime corner site of 775sqm in the tightly-held river end shopping precinct.
Price hopes are $2.3 million to $2.5 million for the property, which includes a heritage building and another neighbouring building.
It comes with long-term leases to two longstanding tenants, Steampocket Pizzeria and Cafe and Pamper Medical Skin Clinic.
The listing comes hot the heels of a record $2.29 million sale in the strip, for a nearby retail premises at 322 Pakington St late last year.
The prime corner site is part of premium retail strip.
Buxton agent Ben Riddle, who is joint listing agent with Darcy Jarman, Geelong West agent Simon Jarman, says commercial opportunities in the blue chip location are few and far between.
“Obviously it’s rare in that pocket, it’s hard to get a big site of just under 800sqm,” Riddle says.
He said with two buildings and three street frontages, there was scope to further develop the site, subject to council approval.
“Newtown is more tightly held (than the Geelong West end of Pakington St) because there is less development,” Riddle says.
“It’s the highest priced suburb in Geelong and Pakington St is a world-famous strip.
The Steampocket cafe occupies part of the site.
There is also an outdoor space.
“And the good thing about having two tenants is that it spreads your risk.”
The property has an annual rental income of $109,923 (net) and comes with five rear carparking spaces, accessed off Huntingdon St.
The buildings including multiple reception rooms, treatment rooms, sitting rooms, a kitchen, dining room and outdoor seating/dining area.
Jarman says the fact both the tenants are established businesses that want to stay on makes it an appealing proposition.
“It has already attracted interest both locally and from Melbourne who want to get into the prime location with quality tenants,” he says.
Pamper Medical Skin Clinic is also a longstanding tenant.
The property comes with rear carparking.
A clutch of sales in recent years have highlighted the river end shopping strip’s strong commercial property sector.
The quality of the tenants and the location drove competition for nearby 322 Pakington St, a 411sqm property home to Newtown’s pharmacy and a fashion boutique, when Darcy Jarman auctioned it in October.
A Geelong investor paid a record price to secure the site ahead of four other bidders.
In 2018, the nearby site of the suburb’s post office sold for $930,000 at auction, eclipsing price hopes by $300,000.
Demand is also strong for commercial properties in Pakington St’s Geelong West shopping strip where an investor paid $3.21 million last August for 196-198 Pakington St. It had been home to Murphy’s Newsagency, which has relocated to the opposite side of the street.
The auction of 313 Pakington St, Newtown will be held on February 14 at noon.
This article from The Geelong Advertiser originally appeared as “Big appetite for prime commercial site in Newtown’s Pakington St”.
