Garema Place hotspot sells to local investor at auction

The Garema Place home of Playground Bar has sold to a private investor for $1.9 million at auction.

Bunda Investments Pty Ltd, owned by the Cataldo family, sold the property through CBRE’s Mark Nicholls and Andrew Stewart.

The property at 25 Garema Place is a two-storey commercial building on a 139-square metre block.

Playground Bar opened its doors on the building’s ground floor in 2012, joining longstanding tenant Anton’s Hair Studio, which operates on the upper floor.

Each level has its own entrance via Garema Place and Mr Stewart said recent upgrades included a new awning over the outdoor pedestrian area. 

Mr Nicholls said the auction was highly competitive and the sale price translated to a tight yield of about 5.4 per cent.

The weighted average lease expiry is 5.5 years, with further five-year options.

“We always knew the property would achieve a high price and a tight yield due to the longstanding upper floor tenant, the popular bar on the ground and the property’s proximity to the Canberra Centre,” Mr Nicholls said.

“Fully leased, standalone properties in this location do not often hit the market, so when we commenced advertising we received plenty of interest.”

Mr Nicholls said the majority of inquiry came from local, residential investors seeking to break into the commercial market.

The Bunda Street side of Garema Place has been revitalised in recent years, with the addition of new bars including Playground, Shorty’s and Honkytonks and the renovation of Hippo Bar.

Neighbouring Canberra institution Gus’ Cafe is set to re-open in the coming weeks.

In The City Canberra chief executive Jane Easthope said she was pleased to see investor confidence in the CBD was increasing.

The rejuvenation of the city has been a priority for the organisation. In The City Canberra joined forces with the Property Council of Australia and the Canberra Business Chamber last year to develop a string of measures to breathe new life into the CBD.

Ms Easthope said any new investment was good news for the city.

Other pockets of the city are in the midst of transformation, including City Walk, which will soon be home to mixed-use development Highgate on the corner of Allara Street.