A landmark backpackers hostel in Sydney’s blue-chip suburb of Bondi has been put on the market with the site’s zoning adding redevelopment potential in to the mix.
Noah’s Backpackers, a 260-bed hostel, along with a ground-floor shop and an adjoining apartment block, have been listed with expressions of interest closing in four weeks.
The amalgamated 1100sq m corner site, next to Hunters Park, fronts the southern end of Bondi Beach.
It is zoned for a mixed-use, medium-density development but will likely be eyed by a number of local residential developers looking to transform the landmark hostel into a boutique apartment block.
The listing is being managed by Miron Solomons, Matt Pontey and Henry Burke of Colliers International, in conjunction with Oxford Agency’s Daniel Marano and Ralph Garofano.
Solomons said the site represented the largest development opportunity to be listed in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in the past decade.
“[This property] holds such an iconic gateway position and we will undoubtedly receive interest locally, interstate and internationally for this Bondi icon,” Solomons said.
“There has been a lot of discussion of late surrounding the achievements of off-the-plan sales in the Sydney CBD and nearby Double Bay where they are breaking new records of over $100,000 per square metre.”
The hostel has been listed by a Sydney-based family with similar hospitality assets around the world.
The owner’s decision to sell comes at an opportune time with the potential for Noah’s to either be retained and leveraged as international visitors pour back into the country, or redeveloped.
“It is only a matter of time before the right development is delivered to Bondi Beach which will achieve these exceptionally high revenues in a market which arguably has better amenity and lifestyle,” Pontey said.
Noah’s which describes itself as the “largest backpacker accommodation” at Bondi Beach was hit by a number of Covid-19 outbreaks last year, forcing police to cordon off the venue on two separate occasions.
Unsurprisingly, the backpacker and hostel industry was one of the most affected sectors during the pandemic.
The two-year border closure culminated in a drastic 99 per cent reduction in backpacker arrivals after borders were shut in early 2020.
According to figures from the Department of Home Affairs, almost 35,000 working holidaymaker visas have been granted since November.
Despite the surge in working holidaymakers heading back to Australia the vast majority of backpackers are yet to arrive, prolonging the labour shortages in sectors such as hospitality, agriculture and tourism.
