Investors may save Cook’s Endeavour Motel from developers

Cook’s Endeavour Motel has been an insitution for holidaymakers on the Tweed.

Iconic roadside motels, once a holiday mainstay, continue to dwindle along the Coast with two more motor inns hitting the market.

The Cook’s Endeavour Motel has been a landmark in the New South Wales-Queensland border town of Tweed Heads for the past 40 years.

Its owners undertook a full renovation of the property when they bought it in 2017, but have since retired.

It has 21 rooms and gets good reviews on Trip Advisor.

They are hoping to pass on the mantle of running the motel, which comprises 15 self-contained units, six motel rooms, a four-bedroom family residence, commercial kitchen and amenities, such as a pool and barbecue facilities, to another aspiring owner.

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The rare walk-in, walk-out business opportunity in the blue-chip location at 26-28 Frances Street has a glowing balance sheet, turning over more than $380,000 net profit this year.

The rooms were renovated in 2017 for low-maintenance.

Yet its large footprint makes it an enticing investment opportunity for property developers eager to snap up land along the Coast for new boutique projects.

Covering 1859sq m, the site has double street frontage and is zoned medium density with a potential 22m height limit.

The motel’s healthy turnover offers extra appeal for a developer, who can continue to draw an income, while they compose and submit a DA proposal to council.

Rooms rent for about $135 a night, with good occupancy rates.

However, Sophie Carter, who heads Sophie Carter Prestige Properties and is marketing the property, said the motel may find itself saved after initial inquiries had all come from investors, half of them from the local area with the rest almost split between Melbourne and Sydney.

Ms Carter said that while it was still early days, no developers had jumped on it as yet.

While on a prime, large site, it is yet to attract interest from developers.

“We’ve had more than 80 inquiries in the first three days and they have all been from investors who are looking for somewhere to sink their money that will give them a better return than the banks,” she said.

“People are sick of getting less than 1 per cent on their savings and this will offers a steady 5 per cent return.”

The motel is full opertional with a net profit of $380,000 for 2021.

While the motel is open to expression of interest closing on September 30 at noon, Ms Carter said the owners were seeking $5 million-plus for the property.

Slightly further north on the Gold Coast Highway at Palm Beach, the Queenslander Motel has also been listed for sale.

The 12-room motel is a mere 200m or two-minute walk from the beach and has an annual income potential of $250,000.

The Queenslander Motel on the Gold Coast Highway in Palm Beach is also on the market and ripe for developmenr.

Offered as a vacant possession, the motel covers 817sq m, comes with eight cars spaces and self-service laundry, and is short walk to the cafés, restaurants, and specialty stores in the heart of the growing suburb.

The listing states the site is suitable for several commercial ventures, including maintaining the current business, a commercial and retail redevelopment, or multi-level residential construction.

Palm Beach has no building height restrictions.

The property is open to expressions of interest with no closing date through Vipin Khurana of Derby Australia.