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The on-again-off-again proposal to replace a popular Melbourne Irish pub with an apartment complex is off again.
Following a sales campaign launched in August, the Quiet Man at 265-271 Racecourse Road, Kensington, sold for a speculated $4.5 million to publicans Zengal Hospitality, to occupy.
A renovation is planned including opening an upstairs area with a balcony.
A menu refresh is also on the cards.
Lemon Baxter’s Paul O’Sullivan, Hans Fan and Bill Makris marketed the pub for a Vietnamese developer which paid $6m in 2018 and was expected to proceed with a permitted plan for a nine storey tower with 41 apartments over ground floor retail and a three level basement with 48 car parks.
Instead the owner retained it as an investment with a short term lease expiring in March.
The deal comes a month since a consortium including ex-footballer Stephen Silvagni sold West Melbourne’s Royal Mail for $4m.
Also promoted for its development upside, that pub sold to an operator to occupy too.
Quiet Man makes it three
Zengal Hospitality is directed by Irish expats James Gallagher, who previously managed the Quiet Man, and Zenita O’Neill, who more than 15 years ago performed gigs there (story continues below).
The outfit also operates Naughty Nancy’s in Prahran and St Kilda’s Jimmy O’Neill’s Whiskey and Alehouse.
The Kensington refurbishment is expected to retain the bar, designed and assembled in Dublin before being reassembled onsite in 1997.
The building contains 1000 sqm including a drive-thru Thirsty Camel facing Racecourse Rd.
At the south east corner of Rankins Rd, the site spreads 842 sqm zoned Commercial 1.
“The Quiet Man…has always been a local staple, rich in history and character,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“The sale shows that even in a challenging market, a well-positioned…property will find the right buyer,” he added.
Kensington is about four kilometres north west of Melbourne’s CBD.
In this part of town, Racecourse Rd is the suburb divide with Flemington.
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