Prominent hotel investor, Dr Jerry Schwartz, has opted to take advantage of a resurging Sydney property market by placing for sale his Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Central Park, a little over two years since first opening the hotel.
Dr Schwartz, who owns several hotel assets in the southern Sydney CBD and Darling Harbour precinct, has engaged JLL Hotels and Hospitality’s Mark Durran to facilitate the sale.
The 297-room hotel forms part of a thriving and revitalised inner-city area close to Central Railway Station, Broadway, several universities and a planned major technology park which will be developed in coming years, into which tech giant Atlassian has already been confirmed as the anchor tenant.
Immediately surrounding the hotel are a variety of popular restaurants, bars, retail outlets, supermarkets, offices, residential apartments, offices and student accommodations. The hotel itself also features 550sqm of flexible event space, guest fitness centre, an outdoor terrace and its own restaurant and features rows of vertical gardens hugging each level – part of the original design by British firm Foster + Partners.
Dr Schwartz said he saw now as an ideal time to sell his hotel asset in order to maximise the upward swing in real estate values coupled with the recovery of Sydney’s corporate and leisure travel market, which is tipped to rebound strongly in 2021.
“While there is additional hotel inventory coming into the Sydney market during 2021/22, much of it is at the top end of the market, where the most likely growth in demand will be in the 4-star market,” Dr Schwartz said.
“The rollout of the Coronavirus vaccine is likely to inspire greater confidence in corporate and conference travel in the coming years, and that will drive the Four Points market,” he added.
JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group Managing Director, Mark Durran, said historically, opportunities to acquire hotel assets in the Sydney city area are extremely rare, making this a prime chance for an investor to snap up a near-new property in one of Sydney’s high-growth precincts.
“The hotel has performed exceptionally well in its first year of calendar year operation in 2019, achieving an average occupancy of 85% [and] reflecting its quality product, prime location close to numerous sources of business and leisure demand drivers, and the benefit of Marriott’s world-class management and branding,” Durran said.
“The hotel also offers further value-added potential with several development approvals obtained by the current owner to add an additional 11 guest rooms, which would take the room inventory to 308 keys.
“Another approval has been granted to roof over and enclose a large outdoor terrace area to create further flexible multi-purpose all year-round function space. Other approvals are also in place for the addition of a distillery on the ground level adjoining the restaurant and bar”.