1800s wine bar and iconic Chinese restaurant the most viewed properties in June

Among the industrial sites and service stations, some quirky properties left perusers of realcommercial.com.au tickled pink over the past 30 days.

Victoria dominated this month’s most-viewed listings, with three of the top five and five out of the top 10 most-viewed listings. The other listings consisted of three from Queensland, and two from South Australia.

Three were marketed as industrial; three under retail; two under land development; and two under hotel/leisure.

Rich history and a bold shiraz

You might have thought wine bars were a more modern affair, with the 1800s conjuring up imagery of dusty Deadwood-esque saloons and pubs, but this location on the Mornington Peninsula challenges that notion.

Historically known as the Holmes Wine Cafe and dating back to the 1870s-1880s, 1055 Frankston-Flinders Road in Somerville is a change of pace – or taste – from the coffee houses doing the rounds lately.

Pre-dating the automobile, the wine cafe was a popular stop for coaches making the journey from the peninsula to Melbourne proper.

Occupying 3,853 sqm of land – nearly an acre – this property is under vacant possession and is going to auction on 23 July through O’Brien Real Estate in Mornington.

The property is listed under development site/land, and the prominent corner block with dual street access offers a lot of potential.

The old wine bar itself sits at the tip of a triangle-shaped block fronting onto a roundabout, while the rest of the land is basically a blank canvas with lots of flexibility.

Cheers to that.

Burritos and bowsers rolled into one

Sandwiched among two Victorian listings – and two quirky ones at that – is a defensive asset at 91 Tapleys Hill Road in Hendon, – a northwestern suburb of Adelaide.

The Viva Energy/Shell service station sits on a prominent corner site of a main road that connects to Semaphore, a rapidly developing and popular beachside suburb of Adelaide.

There’s a lot to like about this combined Guzman y Gomez and Shell service station in Adelaide’s northwest. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Not only do you get a prominent tenant in Shell, you also get Guzman y Gomez – one of Australia’s most buzzy fast food chains.

All of this is rolled up into an 18 year lease to 2043 with further options out to 2078, with fixed 3.5% rent increases, making this one of the steadiest property plays in Australia.

Defensive assets – ones with steady yields and long leases to top-tier tenants – have been very popular lately, owing to geopolitical uncertainty and an influx of offshore capital.

Convenience retail, such as service stations, is also a particularly bright spot in the retail asset class.

Going ditzy for dumplings in Chinatown

The corner freehold site at 172-176 Little Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD was the third-most viewed property on realcommercial.com.au in June.

Currently home to Chuan Wazi Dumpling House, the property is on the market for the first time in 62 years, and is currently letted for five years with a further five year option.

This iconic corner freehold building in Melbourne’s Chinatown is currently leased to a dumpling house and sold in June. Picture: realcommercial.com,au

It comprises of two levels with net lettable area of 321 square metres – a footprint that’s a relative rarity for hospitality within the CBD.

The selling agents at Savills Melbourne say Chinatown is a tighly held pocket with only eight freehold properties transacted since 2013.

And anecdotally, there’s always a crowd out the front. It sold on 25 June.

Feel like Mr Moneybags in Melbourne’s east

Monopoly’s Mr Moneybags had a few things going for him, not least was a top-hat and monocle, and a love for developing properties.

This whole apartment block, dubbed The Caulfield, at 2-6 Station Street in Caulfield North is for sale via Knight Frank Melbourne.

A whole entire apartment block consisting of 54 units is available in Caulfield. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

All 54 individually strata-titled apartments are for sale in one line, primarily consisting of one- and two-bedroom layouts, marketed to students and young professionals.

This apartment block is well-connected, within a short walk to Monash University, and even closer to Caulfield station, serviced by the new metro tunnel line that has commuters to the city in less than half an hour.

The block is also directly across the road from Caulfield Racecourse, so you can potentially sip gin and tonics on your balcony while watching the guineas fly by.

Own land, sea, and sky in popular Queensland tourist hotspot

Last week, this truly impressive property at Lot 58 & 1597 Esplanade & Pialba Burrum Heads Road, Toogoom on Queensland’s Fraser Coast was earmarked for its potential as an airstrip.

However the truth is it’s a whole lot more than that. Comprising of more than 23 hectares, this listing offers not only an airstrip, but an entire island, plus a wet block on the mainland.

Your gateway to the Fraser Coast and beyond. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

An established residence complements the litany of features on offer, with Ray White Southport’s selling agents marketing it as a potential private logistical hub, with both mainland and island landholdings.

Toogum sits in the shadow of Fraser Island, enduringly popular with nature lovers, campers and four-wheel drivers alike.

Access to Fraser – or K’gari – is only via barge either at Inskip Point or River Heads much further south, potentially opening up the airstrip’s potential to tourism flyovers of the beloved tourism hotspot.

Offered as a deceased estate, expressions of interest on this generational landholding close 3 July.