Pawson House home of Coda restaurant listed for $35m

Nathan Mawby

First published 19 October 2021, 4:43pm

141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne - for herald sun real estate

The 141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, home of Coda restaurant is for sale at $35m.

The Pawson House home of Adam D’Sylva’s popular Coda restaurant is up for grabs as part of a $35m deal expected to attract a “Melbourne Cup” field of buyers.

The top chef appeared as a guest on MasterChef earlier this year and is also the driving force behind up-market Indian venue Tonka.

Coda, a popular French Vietnamese venue, has been open in the basement of Pawson House at 141 Flinders Lane since 2009 — and been regarded as one of the city’s best eateries since.

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The eight-storey building’s tenants also include architectural, business management, pharmaceutical and bridal wear groups.

It also comes with historic overtones, having been built for clothing manufacturers Pawson and Company in 1935 from a design by HW & FB Tompkins architects who oversaw a range of prominent Melbourne buildings around the turn of the century including the iconic Dimmeys and Forges building in Richmond.

141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, was built in the 1930s.

It was listed on a Central City Heritage Review as significant for its example of a well-preserved factory warehouse from a time when clothing manufacturers dominated the laneway now popular for its eateries and boutiques.

Colliers head of investment services Daniel Wolman said the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” was already attracting local, interstate and international interest — primarily from private investors and family office groups — though a luxury fashion brand may also look to buy it.

“It’s like lining up the Melbourne Cup field, it’s going to be the best of the best who are looking at this,” Mr Wolman said.

He said last year’s sale of the nearby Louis Vuitton building at 139 Collins St for $65m had attracted bids from 16 groups around Australia and the world, and Colliers expected “this will follow a similar path”.

Former CBD real estate sales heavyweight Mark Wizel is consulting on the sale as a vendor adviser through his new firm Advise Transact.

Mr Wizel said over the past 15 years there had been a growing trend of similar properties being bought with a view of being held for multiple generations.

This was being driven by buyers viewing them as akin to sought after addresses in London, New York and Hong Kong, he said.