Beachside restaurant building in Palm Cove hits the market after more than 30 years

The current owners are selling at a time when demand for Cairns retail property is picking up.

The two-level property located on nearly 580 square metres of beachfront land has been a popular one with customers as well as for tenants, one of which has been there for almost as long as the current owners.

It has been a popular restaurant spot for decades. Photo: Supplied

“The tenants are established local traders that have built their business around that location, have good goodwill and reputations. In fact, the downstairs operator has been in situ for 30 years,” said Colliers agent Jay Beattie.

The property has a passing rent of about $147,000 a year, with both tenants coming in to their final three-year leases, according to Colliers.

Mr Beattie said the property could be easily kept as it is, with ‘solid yields’, or redeveloped as a commercial or residential site.

“I see it more of a mixed-use development, which is a combination of commercial on the ground floor and some component of accommodation above,” he said.

The building is on a coveted corner block with parking at the rear. Photo: Supplied

“This is the last freehold corner available in the marketplace. There’s very little undeveloped land.

“It’s ticking a lot of boxes that draw people out from both a commercial aspect as well as a private investment point of view, so I’d say that our level of enquiry is encouraging.”

Mr Beattie said offers of more than $1.5 million were being invited, given its multiple attributes as well as the location in the middle of a popular retail precinct.

“We look back over history and look at some of the main strips, and you always hear of the stories of, ‘Oh, if only I bought that when it was available,’ and I see this as being one of those stories for the future,” he said.

There is a strong demand for retail properties in good locations in Cairns, according to agents. Photo: Supplied

Mr Beattie said both the Cairns and Port Douglas retail sectors were looking forward to their peak seasons after a prolonged wet, with the property market generally also picking up over recent years.

He said there was strong demand for quality retail properties in Cairns, with high-traffic areas not struggling for tenants.

Secondary locations in Cairns were also starting to experience a changing tenant mix, he said.

“Solicitors, accountants and medical – which normally would not necessarily be competing with retail – are starting to take the opportunity to fill some of those secondary locations with greater access to car parking, more brand awareness, and the rates are not that much different from A-class office space, which is what they’ve normally gone for.”