Advertised as a “prime hospitality asset ripe for development”, the building housing the City Lodge Hotel in Newtown, Johannesburg, sold on auction for a rumoured nearly R60 million last week.

Broll Auctions and Sales was mandated to auction the 148-bedroom property by Atterbury Property, which developed the hotel in 2015 and has owned it since then. The sale came about as the 10-year lease to JSE-listed City Lodge Hotels was set to expire at the end of May 2026.

Jayson-Lee Collins, director at Broll Auctions and Sales, says City Lodge opted not to extend the lease and the property was offered vacant.

“The decision not to renew the lease was as a result of a business review process by the City Lodge Group to align its portfolio with long term strategic priorities,” he adds.

“The sale of this well-maintained hospitality asset offers a redevelopment opportunity in the heart of the Newtown Precinct on the western fringe of Johannesburg’s CBD.

“This is a blank canvas for the right buyer, ripe for conversion into student accommodation, residential conversion, continued hospitality use or a mixed-use development,” says Collins.

Read the full article in Moneyweb here.