Frankston: Unit in the notoriously troubled Ambassador Hotel building sells for just $99,000 – realestate.com.au

A Frankston apartment in a notoriously-troubled building with a reputation of being awash with drug addicts and ex-convicts has sold for just $99,000.

Formerly the Ambassador Hotel — a ritzy wedding venue back in the 80s and 90s — the site later was used for short-stay accommodation and became a hub of anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

It was even dubbed by the owners as one of the most-dangerous addresses in Australia.

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In 2018, an ice-fuelled resident was jailed after stabbing his neighbour in the back over a $27 drug-money dispute.

But Fosterfroling Real Estate director Adrian Foster believes it’s now “not a bad place to live” compared to a few years ago.

The solid-brick unit that recently sold.

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It was offloaded for just $99,000.

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In June, he sold a one-bedroom unit in the 325 Nepean Highway building to an older gentleman for $99,000, and said he’s sold around half of the apartments in the complex.

“(The complex) is actually built ridiculously well, it’s solid brick and suspended slab floors — it’s not going anywhere,” Mr Foster said.

“(The body corporate) have re-done the plumbing, they’ve re-done the wiring. They spent a fair bit of money over the past few years renovating it and improving it.

“There’s a CCTV with direct feed to the police station; it’s actually quite secure.”

He added that he didn’t even need to advertise them because they were so popular.

While the building has a Section 173 overlay, meaning owners can’t make one of the units their permanent place of residence, Mr Foster said “no one cared about that”.

“People (have) been living in there for years and years,” he said.

“That’s an embarrassment to the council that they even have it.”

With apartments priced between $70,000-$250,000, Mr Foster said he was confident that he could see their value eventually doubling, especially being just steps away from the beach.

“I think it’s a good opportunity,” he said.

“No one wants to buy where it’s not fashionable, is all.”

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sarah.petty@news.com.au