Prospect property operating as motel listed for sale with development opportunity

The Prospect property at 288-292 Main North Rd has hit the market. Pic: realcommercial.com.au

A huge property just outside the Adelaide CBD that is home to a well-known motel has hit the market and is offering prospective buyers a unique development opportunity.

The sprawling Prospect landholding at 288-292 Main North Rd is known as the Comfort Inn & Suites Sombrero, which includes 42 rooms, a restaurant and bar with function room, and a pool.

The 4345sqm site is being offered to prospective buyers with the option of purchasing two neighbouring properties also owned by the seller, which together span 1792sqm, and extensive concept plans for future expansion.

Savills Adelaide agent Rob Williamson, who is selling the property with Steve Bobridge and Chet Al, said the plans included adding more than 50 additional rooms to the site.

The site is being sold via an expressions of interest campaign. Pic: realcommercial.com.au

“What we did with this particular owner is we appointed an architect to do some interim designs to add more rooms to this site,” he said.

“Rather than just see this as a development site, we’ve explored what the development would look like.

“We have six significant brands who have put their hands up to operate a larger hotel if it was to be created there.”

Mr Williamson said if the buyer didn’t want to develop the site, they could continue to lease it as a motel.

The property is currently leased for an initial term of five years from 2017 with renewal rights and generates an income of around $315,000 per annum.

“There is a development clause in the lease that can be activated (but) the lease remains in play,” Mr Williamson said.

“The idea of (investigating development options) was just to explore what the value of the site might be.

“Someone could so something completely different with that site.”

Mr Williamson said there was strong demand for urban accommodation so the opportunity could prove to be a lucrative investment.

“There is a need for urban hotels (and) this site is very, very central to pretty much everything happening in the north,” he said.

“Due to the fact that there’s such a high interest in certain accommodation, this is a very good site for that.”

The property is being sold via an expressions of interest campaign, with first tenders closing on August 12.