Upper Hunter mining town retail gem suffers 15% price slide
The Campbell’s Corner retail premises, Muswellbrook’s original town shopping centre, has sold for $3.2 million. It last sold in 2005 for $3.8 million.
The historic property in the Upper Hunter mining district town has been bought by the local council, which views the site as the ideal location for a regional convention and entertainment centre.
Built in 1870, the site’s current enlarged retail property, with its dramatic tower, was added in 1910 by Walter Barrett, who became the mayor of Muswellbrook in 1915. Mr Barrett was a timber merchant, builder and chairman of Muswellbrook Coal Company for 35 years.
It was in 1862 that Scottish retailing pioneer Malcolm Campbell purchased a Muswellbrook store from John Ferguson. But after the arrival of the railway in 1869, Campbell moved from Sydney Street to Bridge Street, which he judged would become the commercial centre of the town. In 1870 he built a two-storey store and as the business prospered, the building was extended in 1879 and 1891.
The building is on a prominent 6,106-square-metre site with frontage to Bridge and Brook streets, close to the end of the New England Highway.
Its fully-leased income potential is estimated at $640,000, with current tenants including a Franklins supermarket, specialty shops and first floor offices. It has 5,363 square metres of gross net lettable area.
The council says no existing tenant will be dislocated as a result of the acquisition and any redevelopment set to be undertaken.
The council plans a four-stage renovation and extension process, attaching a new auditorium when Franklins moves out. Franklins occupies 1692 square metres on a lease until 2017, with a 10-year option.
“There is no current timeframe for the development of a regional convention and entertainment centre,” a council spokesman said.
“Council is currently going through the process of preparing a concept masterplan in readiness for seeking sources of funding,” he says.
Muswellbrook is a coal mining town and the centre of an important pastoral and dairy area. It boasts three shopping centres: Campbell's Corner; the Muswellbrook Marketplace on Sowerby Street in the north; and the new Muswellbrook Fair along Rutherford Road in the south of the town.
Campbell’s Corner was listed in April last year through CB Richard Ellis agents Steven Lerche and Harry Bui.
In 2008, on its initial listing, more than $6 million was being sought.
On its 2005 purchase through Street Real Estate, investment company Romarx Pty, directed by the Saul family from Sydney’s eastern suburbs, also bought the Singleton Neighbourhood Shopping Centre for $2.7 million. The family company still retains ownership of the Singleton centre.
