The Prince Of Wales Hotel, the four-storey St Kilda building which houses loved Melbourne live music venue the Prince Bandroom, has been listed for sale, with vendors advertising the property’s “immediate development potential”.
The listing is for the entire building, which is home to restaurants, a hotel and spa, the Prince Public Bar and live music venue the Prince Bandroom. While the Bandroom itself is not for sale, the advertisement stresses the property’s “immediate development potential with approved plans and permits for four (4) additional levels of premium residential accommodation.”
The 5802 square-metre property is listed as a “tenanted investment” which means there are existing tenants, such as The Bandroom, with existing leases that new owners will have to honour, though it is not known for how long.
Melbourne live music fans would hope that the beloved venue does not experience the same fate as the The Palace Theatre, whose future continues to hang in the balance since it was forced to close its doors in May this year when the lease ended, with new developers announcing plans to convert the site into a luxury hotel.
Thankfully, plans to build Melbourne’s first W Hotel on the Palace Theatre site now appear to have been abandoned and according to recent reports, a developer is allegedly in discussions with the state government to buy and restore the Palace as a live music venue, though the battle is ongoing and for now the doors remain firmly closed.
According to The Australian, the sale of the property could rake in well over $25 million. The real estate listing for The Prince Of Wales Hotel states that international expressions of interest for the venue will be open until Wednesday 26th November at 5:00pm.
