Heritage-listed hotel in Pyrmont set for auction

Colliers International has announced that The Woolbrokers Arms Hotel in Pyrmont will be publicly auctioned on 29 November, with price hopes of $11 million.

The heritage-listed building sits on a 442-square-metre site, on the corner of Allen and Pyrmont Streets, and was built in 1886, during a significant period of development spurred on by the subdivision of the Harris and Macarthur Estates.

The three-storey Victorian-era building has received a lot of interest from a wide range of investors. Picture supplied

Colliers International agent Miron Solomons, who is selling the property in partnership with Ray Larkin from Manenti Quinlan, described it as “a special, irreplaceable building” and portrayed the auction as a rare opportunity for investors to get their hands on a historically significant freehold close to the harbour.

“It’s probably one of the last remaining opportunities up there. And it’s versatile. A hotel’s obviously one use. It could be an amazing boutique hotel, it could be apartments, who knows what it will be,” he said.

“Interest has been very broad, in terms of buyer profile. That being said, with a freehold in that area, you’re always going to get a lot of inquiries.”

The building is currently configured as a 27-room hotel, but is zoned for mixed-use development. Buyers can choose to keep in place the current $450,000-a-year lease, which would run until April 2023, or purchase the building as a vacant property, leaving the door open for a quick renovation, or redevelopment.

The hotel comes with a 43-seater dining room. Picture supplied

The current owners bought the hotel for $9 million in October 2017, which means they will pocket a tidy $2 million if the property realises their price hopes.

Solomons said that significantly high levels of recent investment into the area’s infrastructure, as well as the building’s close proximity to numerous educational institutions, the CBD, the Darling Quarter and the soon-to-be renovated Sydney Fish Market, meant the owners’ price expectations were reasonable.

“Pyrmont is arguably one of the only suburbs in New South Wales that has increased in value over the last 12 months… and the reason for that is significant infrastructure investment,” he said.

“It’s almost happened organically around the building, which means the owners haven’t had to do anything, other than sit on its intrinsic value.”

The current owners chose not to carry out major upgrades. Picture supplied

The heritage-listed property also includes a 23-seater courtyard. Picture supplied