Crowd-funding raises $1.5m for well-known music venue

A notoriously proud live music community could be on the cusp of saving one of the country’s most famous establishments.  

An iconic Melbourne rock ‘n’ roll pub is on the cusp of being ‘saved’ from potential redevelopment after an extraordinary crowd-funding effort raised more than $1.5m. Picture: Facebook

An iconic Melbourne rock ‘n’ roll pub is on the cusp of being “saved” from potential redevelopment after an extraordinary crowd-funding effort raised more than $1.5m.

The Tote Hotel, in the inner-city suburb of Collingwood, was put on the market by its owners in March, who cited the lingering “strains” of Covid-19 lockdowns as too much of a financial burden.

The roughly $6m price tag for the iconic hotel, which sits on the corner of Johnstone and Wellington Sts and has hosted artists such as Paul Kelly, Silverchair and the Hoodoo Gurus, led to widespread fears the site could become an apartment complex.

The Tote Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood is on the verge of being bought by two local bar owners, with $1.5m in assistance from the city’s live music community. Picture: News Corp Australia

“It’s time for someone to take it on with renewed enthusiasm and vision, now that Covid is behind us; we feel the timing is right,” co-owners Jon Perring and Sam Crupi said in a statement published on Facebook last month.

“The Tote needs to broaden its business model to remain relevant in the future,” the statement said.

But in a remarkable crowd-funding feat, two co-owners of a Melbourne live music venue have so far managed to raise enough money to begin negotiating a sale with The Tote’s owners.

Steve Hilton, who with his partner Leanne co-owns The Last Chance Rock and Roll Bar in North Melbourne, told Melbourne radio station 3AW this week he was confident of securing the historic venue, which has been the site of a public hotel for nearly 150 years.

A crowd gathers outside The Tote Hotel during a previous campaign to save it a number of years ago. Picture: Wikipedia

“I’d say they’re quite high, but I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch,” Mr Hilton said of their chances.

He and his partner have spearheaded a campaign to save The Tote on the crowd-funding site Pozible. 

As of Wednesday they had raised more than $1.5m out of a target of $3 million.

The pair said they are able to pay the remaining $3 million if the public and donors are able to raise the difference.

The Tote Hotel in Collingwood has a long and colourful history. Picture: Instagram

If they’re successful, the pair said they intend to put The Tote under the control of a trust, which would protect its status as a live music venue for future generations.

“The Tote is going to be turned into apartments or worse, one of those awful redeveloped tissue box pubs ran to make as much money as possible, with no dirty rock and roll in sight,” the pair said on the fundraising site.

The vendor, Miglic Dean, was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Crowd-funding raises $1.5m for well-known music venue