On the market: Hotel Saville, a piece of the South Yarra skyline

On the market: Hotel Saville, a piece of the South Yarra skyline
Jennifer DukeDecember 7, 2020

Hotel Saville, in South Yarra, and its Punt Road vacant block used as parking, have hit the market as two separate purchasing opportunities.

The hotel site, 1-5 Commercial Road, South Yarra, has been trading since the early-1970s and is said to be “synonymous” with the South Yarra skyline. It has an octagonal-shaped façade and currently operates as a 3.5 star motel facility.

It has 34 rooms and 360 degree views.

The parking opportunity is at 270 Punt Road. Combined, the sites are expected to fetch circa $7 million.

There is the suggestion that the hotel could be redeveloped into a multi-storey site, and both are zoned Residential 1.

The 1- 5 Commercial Road site is 940 square metres, while 270 Punt Road is 450 square metres.

 Colliers International selling agent Ben Baines said that it has a significant upside potential.

“We expect the properties to attract interest from residential developers as well as hotel/motel developers,” said Baines.

“There is also the flexibility for a purchaser to acquire the two sites and keep running them as a Hotel in the short to medium term while they obtain planning permits,” he said.

It has multiple street frontages, and is offered as a freehold and going concern.

Meanwhile, Ted Dwyer who is co-appointed to sell the offering, said that the apartment market in South Yarra is booming, which may be another attraction.

“The properties have great access to popular attractions and amenities such as the Prahran Market, Chapel Street, Fawkner Park, the Botanical Gardens and Albert Park Lake,” he said. “St Kilda Road, the Monash Freeway and public transport are all nearby, while The Alfred Hospital is just down the road,” he said.

Currently, standard Queen beds are from $105 per night with a minimum seven night stay, according to online booking details. It is also called the “affordable alternative” for accommodation in the area.

Expressions of interest for the site close on 12 June at 3pm.

Currently, an investment report from Longreach Property is available about the site, which suggested that an 84-apartment, 82-carpark development was the plan for the site, with a potential for 320 square metres of retail on the ground floor, with an entrance from Affleck Street. The DA was put before the City of Stonnington in 2010.

The development would have been known as Monument South Yarra, designed with Bruce Henderson Architects. Other information from Pinnacle Property Investments suggests that it may have been a plan for 90 apartments over 10 levels. Vogue on Chapel Street is identified as the closest example, bringing pricing of Monument to $503,500 for a level four two-bedroom apartment with parking and $453,750 for a one-bedroom level four apartment. This was several years ago.

The City of Stonnington received the application in late-2010 according to their date stamp on Urbis’ Planning and Urban Context Report (note: link is a PDF download of the report).  

Clearly, this never went ahead, leaving an opportunity for the next purchaser.

Jennifer Duke

Jennifer Duke was a property writer at Property Observer

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