Latest news with #PakingtonSt
News.com.au
23-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Landmark Newtown eatery site to test buyers' taste for property
The home of a Newtown hospitality institution has hit the market in a sale that will to test the strength of the suburb's dominant shopping strip to draw big money. The freehold title to Winters Cafe has been listed for sale as the owners look to cash in on the equity underpinning the prominent two-storey building at 330 Pakington St. Buxton Newtown agent Tom Butters has scheduled the 222sq m property for auction on August 13, quoting $2.6m to $2.8m price expectations, plus GST. The owners of Winters Cafe hold a long-term lease at the address, expiring in January 2027, with two further five-year options. The business is not part of the sale. Mr Butters said the property offers a chance for new owners to secure a 'set and forget' investment, leveraging the $83,000 annual rent, plus GST and outgoings from the net commercial lease. The two-storey building is a mainstay of the shopping strip, set among other cafes, restaurants, boutique retailers and health services. The location offers continuous foot traffic, high visibility, and unmatched commercial appeal, he said. The property offers 294sq m of floorspace, including an upper level with a private bar and a balcony. There is lane access for deliveries. Mr Butters said the shopping strip has been undergoing generational change, with some of the little village stores making way for bigger names. 'But those cafes will remain,' he said. 'They're great buildings and especially Winters has a pretty loyal following of people who love the cafe.' Mr Butters expects a local buyer will acquire the property. 'I'd probably see it as a local buyer who understands the importance of Pakington St and the price that's on offer there,' he said. 'You only have to walk up and down there on the weekend to get the feel for it. 'I think there's enough people out there who will, especially in Geelong, see the value in good commercial real estate. 'Especially in this river end village. It's a rare holding and something to hold on to for the future.' The property last sold for $1.26m in 2015, Cotality records show. It comes to market as the Burnett family is selling the freehold interest in Newtown's St Lords Hotel on West Fyans St, which is being offered with a long-term lease in place that spans up to 70 years, once options are included. The expressions of interest campaign is due to close for the pub at 5-9 West Fyans St, and a car park opposite, and could fetch around $15m. And Hamilton Group paid more than $32m for a landmark Pakington St woollen mill site with plans to reshape the vision for the precinct. The most recent major transactions on the Pakington St, Newtown shopping strip have seen sales between $2.3m up to $3.5m in 2024 and 2023. A Geelong investor landed a dual tenanted property at 317 Pakington St for $2.295m last December, reflecting a 3.6 per cent yield.
News.com.au
16-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
How a luxe makeover added $1.5m to Newtown home
The luxury renovation of a character house in central Newtown has been rewarded with a sale price close to $2.5m. The five-bedroom house at 17 Austin St had been sitting untouched for decades before the owners snapped it up almost five years ago. The kitchen and wallpaper appeared straight out of the 1950s in the period facade complete with a return veranda and feature turret. Geelong's $9m 'best home' on track to break record A contemporary rear extension that added new living spaces, a swimming pool and a top-to-bottom renovation worked with the fall of the block to create a fresh five-bedroom residence. Whitford, Newtown agent John Moran said the ' beautiful renovation ' was a key attraction during the campaign that ended last week when the buyers posted their best offer. 'It's an amazing house. A beautiful reno, a big family home, the pool and the landscaping,' he said. The location was also a drawcard, offering proximity to Newtown's main shopping strip on Pakington St, along with local primary and secondary schools being close by. The renovation added more than $1.5m to the value of the property. Mr Moran said despite the renovation, the house remains understated from the street. The five-bedroom, two-bathroom residence is essentially a new home that offers a beautiful blend of old and new, he said. As a result, it's well hidden from view behind a charming original weatherboard facade that remains largely unchanged. All the heritage signatures are still there in the bedrooms and front formal lounge (or potential fifth bedroom), from high ceilings and skirts to picture rails and open fireplaces. Built-in wardrobes have been added, including a his and her set in the spacious main bedroom, along with a modern ensuite, family bathroom and powder room. A clever courtyard and a high wall of glazing that rises up to meet a raked timber-lined ceiling that mirrors the finish of those found in the original rooms creates a sunny living area, even though it's a south-facing yard. The large sliding doors topped with extra windows bathe the open-plan hub in natural light and connect it to the pool, lawn, a paved entertainment area and a built-in barbecue. A designer kitchen, featuring stone benchtop, a butler's pantry with a second sink and family-sized oven, is the centrepiece of the dining and living area. It adjoins a sunroom, or flexible additional multipurpose room, with its own sliding doors onto the patio and internal access to the property's garage.
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Newtown ‘mullet house' nails tricky modern balancing act near Pako's Paris end
All is not as it seems at a high-end 'mullet house' that's hit the market just off the 'Paris end' of Pakington St in Newtown. The traditional weatherboard facade at 77A Saffron St has all the hallmarks of an original period home but is in fact just a new front for a striking contemporary townhouse. Vendors David and Rosie Ciola love modern design and had to be convinced about marrying old and new when knocking down a Californian bungalow on the block they bought 20 years ago. With a heritage overlay in place, they looked to neighbouring cottages for inspiration to come up with a sympathetic facade to conceal their modern entertainer. 'When we were designing it we weren't sure but now we love it, it just meets the streetscape beautifully,' Mr Ciola said. 'We have gone with the feature metal cladding, pitched roof and we introduced a bit of recycled brick and a double garage at the back, yet still maintained the feel of a timber cottage at the front in line with the heritage overlay.' The developer and builder, who runs D. Ciola Developments Pty Ltd, worked with an architect on the three-bedroom townhouse, which is selling through Jellis Craig Geelong agent Jeff Begg for $1.45m to $1.55m. A huge set of stacker sliding doors connects the main living area centrepiece to a courtyard, featuring recycled brick the couple hand-picked at a Melbourne salvage yard. Ms Ciola said they included all the features they would have liked in a townhouse built for themselves, such as lots of windows, including a kitchen servery, to maximise natural light and a large living area and kitchen with double ovens to feed their extended family. 'Being Newtown I think it deserved the high-end finishes,' Mr Ciola said. 'It is luxury – it's the hight quality floorboards and fixtures, it's a nice staircase, it's high ceilings, it's full height doors. 'That living area with those stackable doors and the interaction between indoor and outdoor, it works beautifully.' A full bathroom with a timber and stone curved vanity is located on the entry floor, alongside a home office, with another two bathrooms, including the luxurious ensuite, servicing the bedrooms upstairs. Mr Ciola said the floorplan was equally suited to professional couples, young families or retirees.
