The Manuka property is home to a Canberra dining institution, Urban Pantry. Photo: Ray White Commercial.
An iconic Manuka landmark that has not changed hands in decades is on the market.
Ray White Commercial is calling the sale of 19 Bougainville Street, home to the long-standing and popular Urban Pantry cafe and four other tenants, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a premium retail trophy asset.
The 342 square metre, single-titled property stands in the heart of the prestigious Manuka Shopping Precinct, with frontages to Bougainville Street, Palmerston Lane and the popular thoroughfare between, known as ‘The Lawns’.
Agent Daniel McGrath said Manuka was a very tightly held area, and the same family had owned this particular site since the middle of the last century.
Mr McGrath said the family was selling now to diversify its property interests.
The property was expected to bring more than $5 million and would attract interest from outside the ACT.
With a net income of $338,665 a year, 19 Bougainville Street is considered a low-risk investment due to its multiple, high-profile tenancies, extremely strong leasing history and premium location.
The property fronts The Lawns greenspace and thoroughfare.
Mr McGrath said the historic location was part of the story of Canberra’s early development, and property sales in Manuka were rare.
It is also close to Parliament House and the developing government precinct of Barton, which will be home to thousands more Commonwealth public servants in the coming years.
Mr McGrath said Manuka had recently gone through a regeneration cycle, and the market was now very strong.
That would be strengthened even more once the new five-star hotel being built on the former Capitol Theatre site by the Liangis Group is completed next year.
The sale is being conducted as an Expression of Interest process, closing on Thursday, 18 September.
“It will bring more people to the precinct, especially interstate people who will contribute to the local retail and hospitality economy,” Mr McGrath said.
Ray White Commercial also sold four high-profile retail units totalling 318 sqm in the Manuka Village mall for $2.6m on 30 June.