Mordialloc’s The Bridge Hotel is for sale with industry insiders expecting the waterfront landmark to sell for more than $40m.
Located at 1-4 Nepean Highway, the 6961sq m property features a bistro and bar, cafe, sports bar, gaming room with 50 electronic machines, function rooms, an outdoor deck and a drive-through bottle shop.
The listing states that the on-site car park could potentially be developed into short-term accommodation or residential apartments, subject to council approval.
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JLL Hotels & Hospitality and Savills Hotels are managing the marketing campaign.
Savills Australia and New Zealand’s national director – hotels, Nick Lower, declined to comment on the asking range but said that in the week-and-a-half since the hotel was listed, they have been overwhelmed with interest from local, interstate and overseas-based buyers.
Among them have been traditional publicans, well-known investor and developer groups and high net-worth individuals.
“It’s a very large-scale landholding and a very well-known pub locally, it’s one of the only Melbourne pubs based on the water’s edge, so it makes a unique offering,” Mr Lower said.
“A few groups have the vision of developing it into another form of hospitality use, extending the hospitality offering or adding on some form of accommodation, pending approval.”
Kingston Council heritage documents state the hotel dates back to the 1850s.
In 1903, the first meeting of the RACV was held at the hotel and bands including Men at Work played there in the 1980s.
In 2020, the pub’s long-time owners, the Doyle family, sold up after 37 years.
Later that year, Leader reported the new owners– business partners Marcus Johns, who owns two other Melbourne hotels, and Tim Russell – were planning to renovate the hotel.
They have since obtained planning approval to extend the existing waterfront area by approximately 300sq m.
JLL Hotels’ senior vice president Will Connolly said The Bridge Hotel possessed many
attributes crucial to the success of a large-scale pub.
“The potential to enhance existing revenue channels and capitalise on development opportunities for accommodation will undoubtably place The Bridge at the forefront of its asset class nationally,” Mr Connolly said.
Expressions of interest will close at 5pm on September 12.
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