Rare chance to buy into Manly’s Corso

A rare freehold property on Manly’s Corso has come to market for the first time in half a century and there is huge potential for redevelopment as the rear of the property opens to a bustling square.

Number 70 The Corso has been run as Patrick’s Variety gift shop for the past 16 years and before that was a family run shoe shop called Daltons. It hasn’t been on the market for 53 years.

James Economides, of Red Property, said the 224 sqm block was attractive for developers with the potential, subject to council approval, to redevelop the rear of the site which opens onto Rialto Lane.

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The Corso frontage is heritage listed and on the first floor there is a three-bedroom unit currently being used as storage for the shop.

The rear of the block opening onto Rialto Square.

Manly’s Corso is the suburb’s most prominent walkway linking the harbour and ferry with the ocean at the most narrow part of the isthmus.

It was first laid out in the 1850s by the father of Manly, Henry Gilbert Smith, and was at first a boardwalk. Today it is home to 200 shops, many of them fashion, top brand outlets and eateries.

The last sale on the Corso was two years ago when a similar-sized commercial site on the opposite side sold for $5.6 million. The property goes to auction on March 29.

This article from the Manly Daily first appeared as “Corso property comes to market after half a century”.