Hot Property: Big plans for Spring Hill Hotel and new owner for the Toowoomba Motor Village

High-rise plans for historic Spring Hill Hotel, Toowoomba caravan park sells for first time in 50 years and a fund manager splashes $50m out on medical precinct. WELCOME TO HOT PROPERTY

Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael and Andrew Gard in front of the old Spring Hill pub they sold for $6.5m.

The sale of a former inner Spring Hill Hotel, that was built almost 150 years ago, has settled with the new owner gearing up to build an 18-level apartment tower on the corner site.

Boutique developer Dibcorp paid $6.5m for the vacant pub on a 1578sqm site at 100 Leichhardt St and 20 Little Edward St in Spring Hill.

The property was previously owned by businessman Eddie Stoyle and his family who bought it in 1987.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael Gard, which struck the deal with Andrew Gard and Blake Goddard and Christian Sandstrom of Knight Frank, said if built the apartment tower will be a “game-changer” for the area.

“With the Spring Hill Hotel sitting vacant for years now, this development outcome will be a gentrifying force for this precinct while introducing much needed residential accommodation,” he said.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael and Andrew Gard in front of the old Spring Hill pub they sold for $6.5m.

The property was built in 1875 and operated as a hotel until 2017. The two-storey, Victorian, masonry hotel is heritage listed and has been incorporated into Dibcorp’s plans which are still with the Brisbane City Council.

Michael Gard said the property was sold through an expressions of interest campaign which started in October 2021.

“EOI was launched in the middle of Covid and it was really tough through that period and we had builders go under and all of these challenges,” he said.

“It took as a while and we had a couple of false starts but we got there in the end and found the right buyer. For those who can get these sites out of the ground they will be well rewarded because we are in the biggest housing crisis we've had in my lifetime.”

Andrew Gard said the buyer was attracted to the site given its corner location, with revenues for potential projects underpinned by fantastic views, proximity to the city, buildability and project scale.

“Spring Hill has some of Brisbane’s best education facilities, hospitals and is only a short walk to the CBD, central station & bus services.”

Tourism treasure

A national tourist park operator has bought the Toowoomba Motor Village that has been in the hands of the same family for almost 50 years.

Hampshire Property Group paid $8.25m for the freehold going concern of the tourist park at 821 Ruthven St. Kearney Springs, south of the Toowoomba CBD.

LJ Hooker Commercial’s Chris and Mike Stewart managed the campaign on behalf of the owners and operators, the Brown family.

Chris Stewart said the campaign attracted more than 80 inquiries Australia-wide from a mix of park operators as well as developers.

“The site holds a zoning from low and medium density residential development. With

its scale and being less than 5km from the CBD, there was interest from developers,” he said.

“But being located on a dual carriageway that has exposure to 20,000 vehicles a day, and surrounded by Red Rooster, McDonalds, BP, Kmart and Coles, it’s superbly located to support the Grey Nomad market coming in and out of the Downs and Northern NSW.”

The Toowoomba Motor Village at 821 Ruthven St, Kearneys Springs.

The motor village has 110 onsite-dwellings and hundreds of van and camping sites.

Hampshire Property Group is a family-owned Australian business that operates a growing portfolio of over 50s land lease communities, holidays parks and mixed use caravan parks.

Founded in 2006, Hampshire Villages was one of the first land lease community operators in the country.

It established Hampshire Holiday Parks in 2021 which now includes parks in Queensland, Victoria, WA and also New Zealand.

The group is expected to renovate the cabins and potentially develop part of the 2.79ha site.

“The purchasers will bring the site up to brand and no doubt bring a lot of expertise and insights gained from their other parks to the local business,” Mr Stewart said.

“The Toowoomba Motor Village has been a landmark in the city for almost 50 years and it’s great to see it will continue its longstanding role in Toowoomba’s tourism economy.”

Health deal

Funds house Real Asset Management has settled the acquisition of a new healthcare precinct in the inner suburb of Nundah showing the strength of the healthcare market.

RAM paid $51.25m for the property spanning more than 1ha, which is anchored by a 58-bed private mental health hospital on a new 25-year lease to operator iMH, a joint venture between Aurora and Medibank’s Amplar Health

The facility will help alleviate Brisbane’s shortage of mental health beds and allow the operator to implement a new model of care combining in-hospital and at-home/in-community services.

Located at 20 Nellie St, the sale was handled by RWC Medical agents Franz Stapelberg, Chris Meyer, and Jess Meyer on behalf of Smada Group.

The whole property comprises four buildings and healthcare operators within the precinct including Lumus Radiology, Lvy Dental and Lvy Medical, creating a comprehensive healthcare ecosystem.

Mr Stapelberg said the sale highlighted the thriving demand for specialised healthcare properties in the region.

The health precinct at Nundah which was bought by RAM.

The asset now forms part of a RAM fund, which is looking to invest up to $1bn in Australian healthcare real estate in the near term.

“Nundah is an excellent example of the deal origination philosophy that we are pursuing for our healthcare real estate strategy, which involves a bottom-up approach in originating opportunities in collaboration with our operating partners,” RAM executive director Matthew Strotton said.

He said there had been a surge in demand for mental health services throughout Queensland. “Estimates of the state’s mental health bed shortage range between 400 and 2100, so there is a huge opportunity to supply the gap,” Mr Strotton said.

RAM funds management director Sam Wood said its Healthcare Opportunity Strategy sought to invest in demand-driven opportunities when they presented themselves.

“We worked closely with our partner, iMH to identify a suitable site for a new facility that would offer them space to implement their innovative model of care,” he said.