One of Adelaide’s most awarded hotels - the Lion Hotel in Melbourne Street - is up for sale for the first time in over 20 years and will be sold along with an adjoining office block together covering nearly 5,000 square metres.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Vice President Will Connolly and Roger Klem, Head of Sales & Investment South Australia, are selling the iconic hotel with future development potential.

Amalgamated sites of this size are rarely available in the prized North Adelaide city fringe area with the hotel and existing commercial tenancies offering a robust holding income.

At a glance:

• Rare sale of amalgamated site in North Adelaide City fringe for sale as future development option
• Historic hotel the Lion Hotel at 161 Melbourne Street is for sale along with an adjoining office block together covering nearly 5,000 square metres
• The three-level office block at 183 Melbourne St sits on a 1,725 square metre site and covers 2,888 square metres of lettable space with 11 mostly long-standing tenants

Expressions of interest for the capital city icon will close at 4pm on 22 November.

Lion Hotel owners Tim Gregg and Andrew Svencis have decided to sell the high-profile hotel they’ve owned, refurbished and operated since 1996.

Gregg said that when the pair took over the hotel and historic brewery it had been run down and out of sync with the broader market and the vibrant local precinct.

“It’s been quite a journey, with many State and a few National Awards along the way, and more importantly a great staff and management team, and lots of wonderfully loyal customers,” Gregg said.

“We’ve been blessed with great people for years and are starting to find it a bit too tempting to ease off our own involvement these days and think it’s time to make our exit.”

Carefully renovated over many years, the Lion Hotel at 161 Melbourne Street incorporates amazing architectural features along with modern conveniences.

Mr Connolly said North Adelaide had a lot to offer combined with the fact it was within easy walking distance to the Adelaide Oval, the CBD and the revitalised Riverbank Precinct.

“It will attract interest in South Australia and nationally as an attractive option for local and national hoteliers’ groups looking to expand their capital city portfolios or investors seeking a much higher holding income on this development site than alternative land-banking opportunities,” he said.

The adjoining three-level office block at 183 Melbourne St sits on a 1,725 square metre site and covers 2,888 square metres of lettable space with 11 mostly long-standing tenants including well-known South Australian wool brokers the Michell Group and Mortgage Choice.

Mr Klem said there was strong demand for commercial investment property in the North Adelaide city fringe.

“This property is just 3 kilometres from the Adelaide CBD and close to major transport routes which makes it attractive to potential buyers/investors and it is also attractive because of its long history of a consistent income combined with a staggered lease profile,” he said.

“There have also been regulatory changes to lift the height restrictions so development in the future is definitely a strong option for the buyer.”

Click here fore more details on The Lion Hotel