Imperial Homestead Hotel in York listed for sale following extensive renovations
A heritage listed 136-year-old hotel in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt has hit the market for $1.8 million following a substantial refurbishment.
The Imperial Homestead Hotel, at 83 Avon Terrace, York, is one of just two hotels in the popular historic tourist town.
Listed by Goodwin Mitchell O’Hehir & Associates with agent Graeme Clarke, the fully-licensed country pub is situated on a main thoroughfare and offers several different revenue streams via a restaurant, bar, coffee business, accommodation, as well as a function space.
Patrons enjoy a drink in the beer garden. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale
Mr Clarke said interest in the renowned hotel from existing hotel operators had been strong in the week since it has been listed.
He said its heritage listing would not impact future scope for its new owners.
“It’s been fully renovated to a very high standard and it’s in a location that’s convenient for people to travel from Perth for a weekend or a day,” he said.
“So Saturdays and Sundays tend to be the busiest day of the week for that location, and it’s a historic town so there’s a lot of interest in the historic buildings of York and this is one of them.”
The hotel has a total area of 748 sqm excluding the verandahs, and four queen sized accommodation rooms.
Locals restored heritage gem
Built in 1886, the hotel reopened in 2018 after a five year closure.
A consortium of farmers purchased the hotel in 2017 and spent 14 months bringing it back to its former glory.
It was modernised while paying homage to its history, with a new kitchen and two new bars installed, while all bar tops and dining tables were handcrafted by a timber craftsman and stonemason.
The beer garden was given a major overhaul with its paving removed, cleaned and re-laid.
Stone was bought in from the owners’ farms and was used for a boundary wall, an auditorium and posts for shelter.
The hotel has four newly refurbished rooms. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale
The painstaking work of the owners in bringing the hotel back to life was recognised when it was a runner-up in the heritage product category in the 2020 WA Heritage Awards.
A popular York icon
Nola Bliss, York Business Association vice president, said the hotel was a gem and its future new owners would do well.
“They [the vendors] have worked fantastically hard as a group,” she said.
“They have done a massive amount of work to the building to put it in a fabulous state.
“Their beer garden and everything is wonderful. They have the lion’s share of the people who come, they are in prime spot as it’s the first hotel people see when they come to York.”
Steeped in history
In its Statement of Significance, the Heritage Council of WA describes the Imperial Homestead Hotel as a “two-storey, random coursed stone and corrugated iron Victorian Filigree building constructed in 1886, with outbuildings comprising former stables and second-class lodgers accommodation”.
It states the hotel has cultural heritage significance due to the “significant contribution to York, an important Western Australian historic town, through its architectural appeal and streetscape prominence.”
According to the Heritage Council, the architect behind the hotel’s design was unknown and in May 1886, a Frederick Thomas Pamment advertised his intention of apply for a publican’s general licence for the Imperial Hotel, York.
In 1901, the Swan Brewery acquired sole title to Imperial Hotel, York 18.
‘The first lease recorded on the titles was to Laurence Philip Bowes, for a term of seven years from 1 January 1898 with a yearly rental of £260,’ the council stated.
The hotel changed hands many times over the years and in 1968 the Meckering earthquake damaged the hotel, with a two-storey, bull nose verandah having to be removed with the condition of the building dwindling.
By 1981, the place was closed as ‘unfit for human habitation and became subject to vandalism and weather deterioration’. Soon after, it was restored and reopened.
