Options key for Woollahra piano store

A landmark piano store in Woollahra is expected to sell to the tune of $4.4 million when it goes to auction on November 3.

The Hutchings Piano shop in two properties at 5 Edgecliff Rd and 7 Edgecliff Rd — which are listed with a price guide of $2.2 million each — can be bought in one line or together through Dean Jarman, principal of Ray White Paddington.

Musician Reg Hutchings and his wife Pat moved to a humble flat above a hairdressing salon in the early 1950s, but when he heard the hairdresser was moving on, the news was music to his ears.

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“When the salon moved in 1955, Reg Hutchings Piano Studio was born,” says his daughter Wendy Hutchings, managing director of Hutchings Pianos.

Inside the Hutchings Pianos store.

Initially the space was a teaching studio, but it eventually grew to become the Hutchings Pianos of today which caters to players of all ages and levels.

Hutchings says in the early days, her family lived behind and above the shop, which sits just opposite Cooper Park.

“As a child, one of my fondest memories is how my grandmother would take me every day to the park when she walked her dog,” she says.

The back of the Edgecliff Rd properties in Woollahra.

“Reg and Pat had five children, Terry, Wendy, Greg, Rodney and Amanda, all of whom have worked in the family business at some stage.

“This is a family business in the truest sense of the phrase,” she says, adding that the future of the business depends on just who buys the adjoining terraces.

Jarman says: “Both 5 and 7 Edgecliff Rd individually have the potential for multi-tenant occupation (STCA) and the great possibility of between 4 to 6% gross returns.

The stylish living areas.

“Each property providing its own lock up garaging is also a rarity in the eastern suburbs,” he adds.

The total land size measures just under 400sq m and the properties are zoned of R3 Medium Density Residential.

“The properties appeal to many buyer groups including families looking to invest either individually or jointly, business owners who are wanting their living and working lives to mesh, superannuation fund buyers or simply pure property investors,” Jarman says.

This article from the Wentworth Courier originally appeared as “Buy a piano shop for $4.4m, or half of one for $2.2 million”.