Clubs make way for offices in the new-look Kings Cross
When Sydney entrepreneur Ron Creevey opened The X Studio in 2014 he said it would thrive despite lockout laws and that it could even lead to a new era of live music in Kings Cross.
But two and a half years later the former club, music venue and recording space has packed up and, in a sign of how much the area has changed, the owner, a private investor, will most likely sell the site as offices.
The X Studio occupied an entire floor of a building on Bayswater Road underneath Sydney’s famous neon Coke sign; the agents, Colliers International and Gunning Commercial, are expecting the space to sell for more than $12 million.
Larger city fringe office spaces are becoming increasingly sought after and landlords are trying to capitalise on the market’s appetite for offices and retail showrooms.
One of the selling agents, Daniel Gunning of Gunning Commercial, said there was now more demand for offices in Kings Cross than music venues or bars.
“We are pushing the corporate headquarters potential because for one we’re all seeing the prices of office space in the CBD and city fringe. Landlords are getting very good rents because there’s a lack of supply, particularly in the 500 to 1500 square metre range,” he said.
The former X Studio space in the Kings Cross building. Photo: Supplied.
Before The X Studio moved in, several million dollars was spent fitting out the space with high-end recording equipment, a celebrity green room, a bar, liquor licences and sound and light fixtures for concerts.
Musicians such as Coldplay and Guy Sebastian performed there and Mr Creevey said he wanted to have big name broadcasters like Kyle and Jackie O doing their radio show from the studios, but that never eventuated.
And in another sign of the times a former strip club around the corner from The X Studio at 46 Darlinghurst Road is being leased as a ‘an ideal theatre, cinema, live music venue or comedy club’.
Mr Gunning said that a music venue, restaurant or nightclub could run successfully on the former The X Studio site, provided they were able to stay open at least five nights a week. But some hospitality venues that had opened recently had found it hard to take off.
The X Studio space is expected to be sold as offices. Photo: Supplied.
The site is being sold with vacant possession; The X Studio’s website has been removed and phones disconnected.
Commercial Real Estate was unable to reach Mr Creevey for comment.
The latest event that was posted on The X Studio’s Instagram page was a ‘Kidz fashion week’ on May 5.
Mr Creevey is also listed as the chief executive of Helipad Records, which worked out of The X Studio’s space.
In a now deleted article on Noise 11, a music news site which is part-owned by Mr Creevey, he said he was planning to float his group of six companies on the Australian Stock Exchange for $80 million this year.
The Kings Cross site has a floorplate of 1100 square metres and has three street frontages on Bayswater, Kings Cross and Darlinghurst roads. The property, at 1 Bayswater Road, is being sold through expressions of interest closing July 26.
