Bunda Street home of Academy, Shorty's and Provini sells for $9.8 million

A Bunda Street bar and restaurant hotspot has sold to a local family for $9.8 million.

The four-storey building at 50 Bunda Street houses one of Canberra’s largest nightclubs, Academy, as well as Shorty’s Bar and Italian restaurant Provini.

A syndicate of local business owners, including tenants of the building, put the property on the market in October.

It was sold by negotiation through Colliers International, following an expressions of interest campaign.

Colliers International investment services executive Matthew Winter said the campaign attracted local, interstate and international interest.

“Given that it’s a fairly historic building, a lot of people were curious about what would happen to it,” Mr Winter said.

Italian-Australian architect Enrico Taglietti brought the European concept of underground cinemas to Canberra and designed the building to include office space, restaurants and retailers above ground.

The cinema was converted into a nightclub in 2004. Bartercard and CoCu Group are among the other tenants.

The building is set on a 696-square-metre block and offers 2071 square metres of space.

The price amounted to $4732 per square metre with an initial yield of 6.67 per cent.

Mr Winter said there was scope to add value to the asset as there was no gross floor area restriction on the site.

However, the syndicate bought the building as a long-term passive investment and has no immediate plans to redevelop the site.

“Given the zoning and the location of the building it does present a long-term option if they want to explore that,” Mr Winter said.

He said the building’s position within close proximity to the Canberra Centre and light rail terminus were key attractions.

“The campaign of 50 Bunda Street demonstrated the demand for core CBD assets,” Mr Winter said.

“It has showcased the demand nationally for retail investments with proximity to major infrastructure, hence the interest that came out of Sydney, Melbourne and even offshore.”

A neighbouring two-storey building at 25 Garema Place sold for $1.9 million in August.