CBRE SVP Mario Negris says he’s not a blues fan, but he appreciates the longing a community feels when an institution like Yale Hotel—the legendary blues bar on Granville Street—changes hands.
“I am confident that we will replace it with a great operator, and, who knows, it may be a blues bar,” Mario tells us. The building is up for sale ($4.4M) or lease ($45/SF per annum on the ground floor). Mario, who's marketing the property, tells us it was built in 1888. “I think the history of the Yale will positively impact the marketability,” Mario says, adding it's been getting a lot of interest and enquiries. (Plus, if you're superstitious or tired enough, you can hear the ghosts of blues legends like Robert Johnson or Jim Belushi.) That’s what makes this project particularly unique, he adds.
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The Yale has been closed since November 2012 for extensive renovations to the plumbing and heating. The owner says whoever rents or buys it will have to invest in tenant improvements. “Our client would consider keeping the property depending on the tenant and what the economics look like,” Mario says. Since he just began marketing the property this week, it’s a little too early in the process, but we will follow this along as it evolves.
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