Toorak Rd Hotel Claremont site set to sell for more than $20m

A 19th-century South Yarra hotel site is up for grabs with a hefty asking price — and its future could look a lot different.

The site of the Hotel Claremont Guesthouse and two retail shops is up for grabs at 189 Toorak Rd, South Yarra.

Developers are set to fight it out for a 135-year-old South Yarra hotel which could become part of a high-rise apartment block.

The historic Hotel Claremont Guesthouse on Toorak and Claremont roads is expected to fetch more than $20m and has received 150 expressions of interest after one week on the market.

Hotel owner Michael Renzella has managed the property — which also has two ground level shops leased to Chemist Warehouse and leather goods retailer Siricco — on the 906sq m block for more than two decades.

The three-storey Victorian era building was built in 1886 and is located not far from South Yarra train station and the Chapel St precinct.

The site is being sold along with a permit issued by Stonnington Council to build a 12-storey mixed-use complex around the existing building.

An artist’s impression of the redevelopment at 189 Toorak Rd in South Yarra, for which a permit has been issued by Stonnington Council.

The permit allows for 57 apartments, four retail spaces, four offices and 30 parking spots, and expires in January 2024.

Teska Carson director Michael Ludski, whose agency is managing the sale, said the addition of the approved permit had seen developers from around Australia express interest in the site.

“It is such a prominent site, and it’s an opportunity in an area where there’s very limited opportunities to do these kind of developments,” he said.

“There is a lot of potential there … and they don’t have to go through the (permit application) process.”

The permit requires the new owner to retain the building’s facade as part of the site’s redevelopment, and includes early termination clauses for the existing tenants.

The 82-room hotel will be vacated once the new buyer takes possession of the site, while Siricco has a month-to-month lease and Chemist Warehouse will remain at the site until July 2022 at the earliest.

Expressions of interest in the site close on August 11 at 2pm