Veriu founders list Surry Hills boarding house Park Side

A substantial boarding house on the fringe of Surry Hills and Redfern has been listed for sale for the first time in over a decade.

The property at 745-747 South Dowling Street last traded for $2.5 million in 2007.

It's been listed by Alex Thorpe and Rhys Williams, the business partners behind designer hotel giant Veriu who made their money in student accomodation and furnished rooms.

Veriu was launched in 2016 but dates back to 2002 when Thorpe and Williams identified a niche in furnished accommodation leasing. They started with two rooms in Bondi. 

The South Dowling Street property spans three storeys and has 23 rooms.

It will be offered with a flexible operating structure which will be an initial lease of five years with 3 x 5-year options with an approximate return of $435,000 net.

The structure will also incorporate a demolition clause allowing owner operators the opportunity to take the keys and maximise cash flow. 

Colliers International are marketing the property in conjunction with McGees Property.

Colliers agent Miron Solomons says the property benefits from literally billions of dollars of infrastructure projects both public and private being invested in the immediate precinct, including the new Sydney Light Rail, Surry Hills Shopping Village project, the Entertainment Quarter and the Stadium revitalisation project.

He said they anticipate interest across multiple buyer profiles ranging from investors to owner occupiers including student accommodation and boarding house operators.

“These candidates understand the intrinsic growth of owning and even operating assets surrounded by infrastructure investment and in close proximity to the education hub and nearby colleges," Solomons said.

The prominent corner freehold is set over two titles with a site area of around 380 sqm and is zoned R1 – General Residential. It has a May 9 auction date.