Historic Balmain hotel sold

Balmain’s London Hotel – also built in 1857 – sold in July.

Peninsula Hospitality Group has snapped up one of Balmain’s oldest licensed pubs – the Dry Dock Hotel.

At 22 Cameron Street, on the corner of College, the freehold going concern hit the market in July; the asking price was $7.5 million.

A double storey c1857 property contains a bistro, bar and gaming room with 12 electronic gambling machines.

The site spreads 645 square metres – opposite Mort Bay Park, near a ferry terminal.

HTL Property’s Blake Edwards and Sam Handy, with Cabmon Commercial’s Peter Seeto represented the vendor, Michael Patterson, who acquired the freehold from Jaz Mooney for just under $3m in 2014.

The publican offered the leasehold three years later.

PHG – a new hospitality outfit – is headed by experienced operator James Ingram, in partnership with current and former Balmain residents.

Renovation coming

The Dry Dock Hotel was marketed as a blank canvas for an incoming operator – or for its redevelopment upside, which includes residential, the agents pointing to Birchgrove’s former William Wallace Hotel.

“PHG intends to execute a capital expenditure program across the entire hotel and reposition the offering with a new food and beverage concept – one that will better resonate with the locals of Balmain,” Mr Edwards said (story continues below).

“Our attraction was that it had a large…footprint, a logical layout and is possibly the last real opportunity to acquire and renovate a venue of scale in Balmain,” Mr Ingram added.

“Our plan is to operate the pub in its current form for an initial period while we plan for some much needed reinvigoration,” according to the publican.

The purchase comes two months since Reilly Group outlaid $8.5m for the London Hotel, at 234 Darling St, in the suburb.

Built in 1857 too, but on 396 sqm, that pub was renovated during the 2020 lockdown.

Also in July, the Laundy family in conjunction with Aaron Crinis paid c$11m for Redfern’s Woolpack Hotel; marketed for its potential to make way for a 15 level building, it will also be refurbished.

Last week, Ashton Waugh spent $8.5m on Waterloo’s Grosvenor Hotel, also with refurbishment plans.

Today we are reporting Mr Mooney sold Cairns’ Grand Hotel to Stronghold Investment Management for c$13m.

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Marc Pallisco

A former property analyst and print journalist, Marc is the publisher of realestatesource.com.au.