Capital Gain

The chic industrial warehouse in Newtown that housed innovative Mexican fusion restaurant Comedor is on the market three months after the venue abruptly closed following controversy between the owner and staff.

Located in the 100-year-old former headquarters of the Colonial Textile Manufacturing Company, the Mexican eatery opened with a splash in July 2024 with head chef Alejandro Huerta running the kitchen.

It was commended in the best restaurant design category at the 2024 Eat Drink Design Awards. A month later it received one hat in the 2024 Good Food Australia Awards.

But according to claims raised in this masthead, the head chef and staff left after alleged drunken behaviour by the owner Walter Shellshear, who strenuously denied the allegations levelled against him.

The property was refurbished just before Comedor opened and the restaurant, before it closed, was on track to book $4 million in annual revenue, with future sales projected at $7 million.

The property is being sold on an “as is, where is” basis through Colliers’ James Cowen and Jack McGregor. The agents said the client has a cost base of $6.5 million and “is ready to sell.”

Big guns

The big guns of the retail world gathered in Sydney on Friday for the annual Shopping Centre News awards, known as the Big Guns 2025. Vicinity Centre’s Chadstone again took out the big gong for with top level of yearly sales at $2.5 billion.

The awards rank and detail moving annual turnovers – an industry metric that calculates total sales – for 86 major Australian shopping centres during 2024.

Michael Lloyd, SCN’s publisher, said turnover at Chadstone, one of the top five best performing shopping centres in the world, was down 7 per cent on the previous year, which was “somewhat of an exception”.

The majority of Big Gun centres, those with a gross lettable area (GLA) in excess of 50,000 square metres, “recorded increases over the 2023 figures”, Lloyd said at the event.

Scentre Group’s Westfield centres dominated the awards, with 12 centres among the Top 20 contenders. The Big Gun rankings also look at turnover per square metre, an indicator of how profitable tenants are for their landlords.

GPT’s Melbourne Central recorded $18,218 in sales per sq m, putting it at No. 1, ahead of Mirvac’s Broadway Sydney, which recorded sales of $16,246 per sq m.

Topped out

Global contractor Multiplex has reached a critical construction milestone at the new John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct, topping out the $835 million facility.

Standing at 51 metres high, the precinct is being delivered by Multiplex in partnership with Health Infrastructure NSW and Hunter New England Local Health District. On Lookout Road in New Lambton Heights, John Hunter is one of the busiest hospitals in NSW.

The new hospital was designed by architects BVN with the existing John Hunter and John Hunter Children’s Hospitals expanding to include a brand-new Acute Services Building, adding 40,000 sq m of clinical floor space over seven levels, four basement levels of car parks, and a double rooftop helipad.

Towering sale

The Tower Estate, opened in 1999 by the late industry legend Len Evans AO, is up for sale with price expectations akin to other sites in the region, at about $30 million.

Local winemakers Michael and Karen Hope have decided to sell the property, which includes the distinctive and recently renovated, upmarket Tower Lodge and Tower Whiskey Distillery.

The property sits on a big 16.1 hectare landholding in the heart of the Hunter Valley. The estate has 14 luxury suites, the Tower Lodge Restaurant, a private event space, wellness amenities, swimming pool and sauna.

The Tower Estate Whiskey Distillery, which opened in 2023, has the capacity to add up to 10 stand-alone vineyard suites or 20 hotel rooms subject to the relevant planning approvals.

CBRE Hotels’ Tom Gibson and Nick Hill are managing the sale.

Carolyn Cummins can be contacted at carolynannecummins@gmail.com.

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