The Tote: Iconic Collingwood music venue saved by $3m crowd-funding campaign
The Tote in Collingwood has officially been saved.
Iconic Collingwood pub The Tote has officially been saved from developers and will remain “a live music venue forever” after a 3000-person-strong community crowd-funding campaign raised a mammoth $3m.
Shane Hilton and his partner Leanne Chance, who together run The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, were behind the online fundraising drive, which called on punters to sign up as “life members” to help them buy the $6.65m venue.
RELATED: ‘Life members’ needed to save The Tote as campaign closes
Rockers rally to save Collingwood music venue The Tote Hotel
Combustible cladding: Melbourne apartment owners struggle to sell
“We just want to say thank you. To all of you. Every single one of you. You have done this,” Mr Hilton and Ms Chance wrote in a post on The Last Chance’s Facebook page.
“This has been a community gathering to make sure that a live music venue can live forever … it’s mind blowing what you have all done.”
To reach their $3m target, the couple needed 3000 people to pledge $1000 each, which would go towards the purchase and in turn, make pledgees life members of the longstanding hotel.
The now successful Pozible campaign is understood to be the largest ever on the crowd-funding platform.
The Tote sits on Johnston St, Collingwood.
Inside the venue.
Rock on forever.
Current co-owners Jon Perring and Sam Crupi stated in an Instagram post that they would like to thank everyone that pledged to try and buy The Tote.
“It’s a stunning result for the community to reach the $3m target … looks like the scruffy old The Tote makes history again,” the post stated.
“The current asking price is $6.65m and is based on the land value. As a way of background, The Tote has refinanced several times to get it through the pandemic, the cost of which is factored into this price … the price is possibly even conservative by some measures.”
MORE: Big banks ‘spectacularly wrong’ on Melbourne home price falls
It added that the “overwhelming community support” for the Pozible campaign raised the question of whether an independent foundation should be established to purchase the freehold to secure The Tote freehold in the future — an idea which Mr Hilton had said The Last Chance was open to.
The band room.
Pool games will live on too.
The bar.
“A properly structured foundation would need to be set up for this to work and a stakeholder discussion needs to occur for this to happen successfully. The Tote is open to such a discussion and is also keen to make this sale occur,” they said.
“In the meantime, by necessity, The Tote remains for sale until an agreement can be reached. Discussions will continue in good faith with Last Chance so stay tuned.”
In addition to local punters, overseas musicians pledged to the cause — along with other Aussie venues including Whole Lotta Love Bar, The Gasometer Hotel, FeeFee’s Bar and the Gold Coast’s Vinnie’s Dive Bar.
Rock on.
The Tote has been “Melbourne’s home of rock” since 1981, with the 67-71 Johnston St pub hosting a raft of notable musicians including the likes of Paul Kelly, The White Stripes, Magic Dirt, The Beasts of Bourbon, You Am I, The Troggs, Jet, Silverchair and the Hoodoo Gurus.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE:Don’t buy here: Victoria’s property ‘no go zones’
