The Vine Hotel at 59 Wellington Street, Collingwood, has been put on the market by HTL Property. The heritage corner pub sits on about 417 sqm with three street frontages in a mixed-use zone. It has not traded since 2020 and expressions of interest close at 4pm on Wednesday 25 November 2026, unless it sells before then.
It is a rare chance to pick up a recognisable inner-city pub building a short walk from the CBD. It also comes with a catch the next owner will need to solve: a partly finished refurbishment and a venue that has been dark for six years.
The Vine Hotel Collingwood at a glance
- Asset: The Vine Hotel, 59 Wellington Street, Collingwood VIC 3066
- Land: about 417 sqm
- Frontages: three, on the corner of Wellington Street and Derby Street
- Zoning: Mixed Use Zone
- Heritage: individually significant under the City of Yarra Heritage Overlay (HO140)
- Condition: heritage building with a partially completed hotel refurbishment
- Method: expressions of interest closing 4pm Wednesday 25 November 2026 (unless sold prior)
- Price guide: not disclosed
- Agents: Scott Callow and George Iliopulos, HTL Property
More than 150 years on one Collingwood corner
There has been a licensed hotel on this corner since 1868. According to the Collingwood Historical Society it opened as the Caledonian Hotel, became the Eight Hours Hotel in 1869 and took the Vine Hotel name in 1875. It has carried that name ever since.
Carlton Brewery bought the hotel in 1897 and replaced the original building with the two-storey Edwardian pub that stands today. The historical society credits the design to architects Sydney Smith and Ogg and describes it as a good example of an Edwardian hotel, with a corner tower and Art Nouveau detailing. The red brick was later painted over, which the society notes has taken something away from its look.
The building is not on the Victorian Heritage Register, but it is individually significant under the City of Yarra's Heritage Overlay. In practice that means the facade and the corner presence are part of what a buyer is getting and part of what they will need to keep.
Six years without a beer
The Vine has been closed for a long time. The historical society records that it stopped trading in 2020, around the time construction started on Gurner's Victoria and Vine apartments next door. That project was finished in 2022, but the pub stayed shut.
It is not the first time someone has tried to bring it back. In December 2019 pub industry title PubTIC reported that South Australian craft brewer Sparkke had bought the hotel through Colliers, with plans to restyle it as a pub-brewery and reopen by the end of 2020. Those plans did not come to pass and the historical society now lists the hotel as licensed to a hotel company but still not operating. The HTL campaign does not name the current vendor.
What the new owner inherits is a building part-way through a refit. HTL describes the refurbishment as partially completed, which could cut either way. It may save a buyer time and money if the work is sound. It may also mean undoing decisions made for a concept that never opened.
Why the location is the selling point
The agents are leaning hard on the address and it is easy to see why. The Vine sits on the southern edge of Collingwood, within walking distance of the CBD, East Melbourne and the MCG. It directly adjoins Victoria and Vine and sits opposite Monash IVF.
Gertrude Street, Smith Street and Brunswick Street are all close by. Between them they hold some of Melbourne's best-known bars, restaurants and shops, plus a steady flow of workers, residents and visitors. HTL also points to company headquarters, premium apartments, medical tenants and offices in the surrounding blocks.
Scott Callow said the location was the standout feature and that the property suits a repositioning. George Iliopulos said he expects strong interest from both hospitality operators and property investors.
Who might buy the Vine Hotel
The mix of a hotel licence history, mixed-use zoning and a small but well-placed footprint gives the Vine more than one possible buyer.
- Pub operators: a group that can finish the refit and reopen a neighbourhood pub with a ready-made local audience in the apartments next door
- Hospitality concepts: a restaurant, wine bar or brewery taproom wanting a heritage corner building with presence
- Private investors: buyers who want to hold a scarce inner-city corner and lease it to an operator once it is fitted out
- Repositioning buyers: those looking at other uses the mixed-use zone could allow, subject to heritage controls and council approval
At about 417 sqm the site is small, so a big redevelopment play is unlikely. The heritage overlay also limits how much the corner building can change. This looks more like a reactivation or adaptive reuse play than a site to knock down.
The questions buyers will ask
A closed pub with a half-finished refit needs more homework than a trading venue. Expect serious bidders on the Vine Hotel to work through a few big questions before they put a number on it.
- Licence: what licence attaches to the property today, what trading hours and patron numbers it allows and what it would take to transfer it
- Building works: what has been done in the refurbishment, whether it was permitted and signed off and what is left to finish
- Heritage: what changes council would support to the facade, the corner tower and any rear additions
- Neighbours: how a reopened venue would sit alongside the apartments next door, particularly around noise and late trading
The answers will shape the price. A buyer who can reopen quickly with an existing licence is in a very different position to one who faces a long approvals path. With no price guide in the HTL campaign, the EOI process lets each buyer bring its own view of those risks to the table.
What else is moving in Melbourne hospitality property
The Vine joins a busy run of Victorian hotel listings and sales this year.
- Greensborough Hotel, 75–81 Main Street, Greensborough: sold to Signature Hotel Group for $3.5 million, as reported by realestatesource in July. It was the end of the Francis family's ownership, which began in 1991.
- Sphinx Hotel and Entertainment Centre, Geelong: put back on the market by the Ramia family in October, also through HTL Property.
- Hotel Sophia Melbourne: a CBD accommodation hotel HTL launched to the market at the start of October.
None of these is a direct match for a closed heritage pub on a small corner block, but together they show that hotel agents are bringing a steady stream of Victorian stock to market heading into summer.
What it means for Collingwood
Collingwood has changed a lot in the past decade. Former industrial buildings have turned into offices, apartments and showrooms and the suburb now draws creative businesses, tech firms and professional tenants. A closed pub on a prominent corner sits awkwardly in that picture.
If the Vine reopens it would add another trading venue to a part of Collingwood that has picked up hundreds of new residents next door. If it is repurposed, it will be a test of how far a heritage hotel building can be pushed into a new use under the overlay. Either outcome will be watched by owners of similar old corner pubs in Fitzroy, Richmond and Abbotsford.
Lessons for owners of heritage pubs
- Tell the story: more than 150 years of history on one corner is a marketing asset, so use it
- Show the finished product: a part-done refit is hard to picture, so renders of the completed venue help buyers see what they are paying for
- Be clear about the controls: spell out zoning, heritage and licence status up front so serious buyers can move quickly
- Sell the neighbourhood: walkability to the CBD, the MCG and Gertrude Street is a big part of the value
What to watch next
Watch the result when expressions of interest close on 25 November. The key questions are whether the Vine Hotel goes to an operator who reopens it as a pub or to an investor with another use in mind and whether the price reflects the location or the cost of finishing the job. After six years without a drink being poured at 59 Wellington Street, plenty of locals will be hoping for the first.
