Historic Melbourne music favourite up for grabs

Melbourne’s iconic former live music venue the Barley Corn Hotel is on the market, more than 140 years after it opened its doors.

The well-known hotel, which closed its doors to pub patrons last year and is now being operated predominantly as a 100-bed backpackers hostel, is set to be auctioned in November and is tipped to attract considerable interest from developers.

The Barley Corn, at 177 Johnston St in Collingwood, and its band room were pillars of Melbourne’s music scene for decades before the owners abandoned a battle with the local council to renovate the venue and instead elected to open a hostel.

Teska Carson agents Michael Taylor and Tom Maule have been appointed to market the property, which will be auctioned on-site on November 12.

The three street frontages provide maximum flexibility for any development while the current lease provides a handy income stream during planning and permit application stages

Taylor says the 558sqm site was zoned as part of a mixed-use precinct, with nearby properties comprising cafes and shops at street level and apartments and offices above.

The Barley Corn Hotel will be sold at auction on November 12

“The City of Yarra’s plans give a degree of certainty for that type of development of 177-181 Johnson St, which would maximise its utility under the zoning and its place in what is anticipated to be a vibrant new mixed-use precinct,” he says.

“The three street frontages provide maximum flexibility for any development while the current lease provides a handy income stream during planning and permit application stages.”

The hostel portion of the property operates as ‘Travellers Trax’ and is currently subject to a three-year lease, ending in April 2017, with a three-year option and currently returns just over $88,000 in rent annually.

Maule says he expects the auction to be hotly contested among developers keen to capitalise on the site’s potential for different uses.

“Given that context this property provides an excellent development opportunity in the heart of a rapidly growing precinct with the full support of planning authorities,” he says.