Lone Pine Tavern to get ‘spruce up’ following $26 million sale
THE popular Lone Pine Tavern at Rooty Hill has been snapped up for a whopping $26 million and is set to get a facelift.
The Standard
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THE Lone Pine Tavern has changed hands and fetched a whopping $26 million.
The popular Rooty Hill pub was the Mt Druitt area’s first hotel to sell in more than 10 years and was on the market for three months before it was snapped up late last year by an eastern suburbs company.
Agent John Musca, national director of hotels and hospitality at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Australia, said there were five parties competing for the property.
“It’s a pretty big price point. At that level your buyers are your big hoteliers or some of the big syndicators, people who are very experienced in operating hotels and/or value significant land holdings,” Mr Musca said.
“The site is on over one hectare ... and is virtually adjacent to a train station.”
He said the venue was expected to sell in the mid — to high — $20 million range but the figure spurred on the sale of Uncle Bucks Hotel, which is rumoured to have sold for around $24 million shortly after the Lone Pine sale went through.
Previously owned by The Feros Group, the Lone Pine Tavern was last sold in 2007 for $18.2 million, CoreLogic RP Data records show.
While it may look the same for some time, Mr Musca said it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the building was demolished in the coming years.
“It will probably be a retail shopping centre and have a couple of hundred units on top of it, somewhere between the five- and 10-year time frame,” he said.
But new owner Bondi Asset Management (BAM) only has plans to give the venue a facelift.
Chief executive Stuart King told The Standard it was left in great condition.
“It’s not going to look completely different but we’re going to freshen it up and we’ve got some dollars to spend on it,” Mr King said.
“There is so much potential. The kitchen is fantastic so we really want to extend the food offering, and we think we can give it a great aesthetic lift.”
Mr King said a major drawcard of the site was the promising development nearby, including the recently approved Rooty Hill retirement village.
“We have literally only been in for three weeks, so we’re finding our way a little bit but it seems to be running well at the moment,” he said.
“Within the next six to nine months we will have a better idea of how to best spruce it up.”
MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR MEN WHO ATTACKED VICTIM IN NORTH BONDI
● The Lone Pine Tavern has a courtyard, a bistro, sports bar, gaming area and function room
● The venue is popular on Friday and Saturday nights
● BAM wanted the site as it has been buying into the western Sydney market
● The eastern suburbs company also owns the historic Vauxhall Inn at Granville
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