The Kospetas family’s Universal Hotels has won the race into the new pub below the latest high-end development in Bondi Junction, soon to be opening a new incarnation of The Mill.
The former Mill Hill Hotel, on the corner of Denison Street at 59-69 Oxford Street, was a modest two-storey premise previously owned and operated by the Waugh family.
The tired asset was acquired by developer TWT, with plans to demolish the original pub and construct the NewLife development, with a residential tower and ground floor commercial tenancies including a new venue.
In late 2018 a complex tender process began to secure the operator for the new strata space. The opportunity was marketed by HTL Property, which sold the Terminus Hotel in Pyrmont for TWT in early 2016.
Construction of the NewLife project was completed late 2019, bringing over 70 new residences to the heart of the eastern suburbs, ranging from over $800k for a one-bedroom to $2.8 million for a three-bedroom apartment.
The site is 500 metres from Westfield Bondi Junction, and around four kilometres from Bondi Beach and the Sydney CBD.
Universal is understood to have won the tenancy rights due to its willingness to take on leases, the proximity of its other venues facilitating good synergies, its history of successful renovations, and the strong brand equity of the group name.
“The developer wanted to make sure the offering downstairs aligned with the high-end residential they were doing,” advised Harris Kospetas, CEO of Universal.
“Their design team worked with our designers to really integrate it and come up with a great solution that suited everybody.”
Universal has reportedly been eager to spread into Bondi Junction for some time, considering the site before TWT bought it along with other pubs in the precinct.
Work slated to take 12-14 weeks began on the hotel fit-out at the start of June, following a six-month negotiation process with Waverley Council around preservation of the four heritage terraces that formed the base of the whole project, on which TWT spent a lot of money restoring.
“It looks great now it’s finished,” adds Harris. “We’re very happy with what’s been handed over and we’re getting into it.
“My plan is to open by the October long weekend.”
Bondi Junction is home to a lot of young professionals and families, and Universal opted to give the former moniker a contemporary tweak to become simply The Mill.
NewLife and The Mill mark the second recent high-end pub redevelopment for The Junction, after Sam Arnout’s Iris Group completed $75 million works at the former Grand Hotel, which has reportedly enjoyed immediate success.
“The key to a successful marriage between these two asset classes, being residential and hospitality, is the equal parts union of quality and demand,” says HTL director Andrew Jolliffe, who managed the operator selection with colleague Dan Dragicevich.
“Where demand is met by design-led living and true precinct activation, sustainable and entirely compelling social hubs are the result and consequently demand for participation at both intersections is particularly high.”
