Retail development to kick off next year at the Acacia Ridge Hotel in Brisbane’s south

THE beer will still be flowing, but one of southern Brisbane’s best known pubs will undergo a retail makeover, with a portion of the site to be redeveloped into fast food and convenience retail.

700 sq m of the Acacia Ridge Hotel site will be redeveloped.

THE beer will still flow at The Acacia Ridge Hotel but one of southern Brisbane’s better known pub sites will undergo a retail makeover.

In April, White & Partners and Monarch Hotel Group settled on the purchase of the freehold and operation of the hotel and its 36-room motel which sits on a 1.85ha site on Beaudesert Rd.

The new owners have partnered with State Development Corporation to redevelop a 700sq m portion of the site into fast food and convenience retail.

State Development Corporation managing director Ross McKinnon said he has received strong interest from retailers in the area.

Acacia Ridge Hotel

“Given there’s an excess amount of land around the hotel with excellent frontage to Beaudesert Rd, the site is perfectly suited to meet their needs,” he said.

“We plan to add about 700sq m of new retail shops to the site with two drive-through food tenancies.

“The Acacia Ridge precinct is fast becoming a fast food hub, with a new McDonald’s store opening across the road, as well as a Guzman y Gomez and KFC.”

Knight Frank’s Lachlan Persley and Ray White’s Jason Hines have launched a leasing campaign with work on the development expected to kick off in the first quarter of next year.

As well as the retail aspect, the development could also suit a medical centre or office users.

Mr Persley said the hotel has a very high turnover which was well supported by locals.

“This, combined with guests staying in the 36 motel rooms means there are a good number of customers already coming to the development,” he said.

The hotel/motel is one of the most profitable in Brisbane and freehold and leasehold changed hands for about $26 million.

The previous owners had paid $16 million in 2014 and had increased revenue after carrying out a significant upgrade to the gaming offering and renovating the motel.

Monarch Hotel’s Joel Fisher said White & Partners and Monarch Hotels will also be undertaking a refurbishment of the existing hotel.

“The refurbishment will give the hotel a more modern look, upgrading the bottle shop, gaming and public bar areas,” he said.

White & Partners’ managing director George Ajaka said it was the company’s fifth hotel acquisition in the past two years.

“We see great opportunities in hotels — especially properties like this which have additional land for redevelopment,” he said.