Ex-Celtic Club sale ends 10 year sorry saga
Ten years after the Celtic Club sold its long-time Melbourne CBD home to Beulah with plans to buy back a strata space after redevelopment – a very different outcome has eventuated.
The entity which took possession from the developer just sold levels 1–3 at 316–320 Queen Street (pictured, top).
The shell of the historic building once known as the West Bourke Hotel will be repurposed as offices after attracting a value-add investor.
Beulah completed the 48-level Paragon apartment tower in the airspace in 2021.
Sorry saga
The Celtic Club banked $25.4 million for 316-320 Queen St – a sale it said saved the organisation from collapse.
The club had occupied the property 57 years.
In 2020, citing breaches of agreement with Beulah, the then-board refused to buy back the 1,269 square metre strata space despite having paid a $635,000 deposit (later returned).
A year later, with new president and former Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry, the club bought South Melbourne’s Limerick Arms Hotel as an investment – paying $5.3 million for a 4.3 per cent yield.
In 2023, the club was assigned the lease to Brunswick’s Sarah Sands Hotel, moving in the following year after a rebrand to The Golden Geese Hotel (continues below).
Offices planned
Cushman & Wakefield’s Jack Cooper, George Davies, Anthony Kirwan and Leon Ma sold levels 1–3 at 320 Queen St, at the south east corner of La Trobe.
It is the city’s largest strata office sale in seven years, they said.
“This transaction is a real turning point for Melbourne’s CBD strata market,” Mr Cooper added.
“We saw genuine competition from buyers who recognise the long-term value of well-located, whole-floor offices,” according to the executive.
“The level of enquiry and the number of offers clearly demonstrates that confidence is returning, particularly for assets that provide flexibility, strong fundamentals and future optionality,” he said.
The strata was briefly on the market in 2020, as Melbourne went into lockdown.
The Celtic Club has about 600 members.
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