This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A TROUBLED Melbourne CBD mall is in for yet another new beginning, with owners UBS Asset Management arm and Kaipara Property Group signing up an interactive ten-pin bowling and entertainment centre and co-working space across 5,500 sqm of floor space.
The 260 Collins Street mall, once the Australia on Collins shopping centre that was overhauled to become St Collins Lane, will be redeveloped and renamed again as the owners try and capture shoppers in the middle of the city.
Entertainment brand Kingpin has taken a 3,500 sqm, 10-year lease for both the lower ground and mezzanine, with the offering to feature attractions like darts, hyper projection bowling, karaoke, billiards, 80-plus games, a new indoor lawn bowls concept, chill zones, a café and bar.
The venue will also include a mezzanine VIP room complete with a private entrance.
This will be Kingpin’s second Melbourne-based location, and 10th in Australia and New Zealand.
“Kingpin’s high-end entertainment, food and cocktail concept appeals to a broad demographic seeking a premium entertainment solution, for large social and corporate events as well as gatherings like morning teas, after work unwinding, date nights and nightlife activity,” said the company’s chief operating officer, Belinda Falzon.
Australian co-working and flexible office space provider, Waterman Workspaces has taken 2,000 sqm on level two on a 10-year term, in what will be the first CBD location for the suburbs-focused workspace operator.
Waterman has 4,000 members active across its seven current Melbourne locations. Its Workspaces CEO, Neville Waterman said, the company had “long planned” to establish a CBD presence
The 9,000 sqm mall’s existing flagship tenants, TAG Heuer and Swatch, which occupy Collins Street-fronting store, and Birkenstock, facing Little Collins Street, occupy a combined 600 sqm. They will remain open while the internal retail arcade closes for a planned 12 to 14 months and undergoes a multi-million dollar overhaul.
The redevelopment is set to commence in the September quarter this year, with the centre set to reopen in late 2025.
Global Design Practice Buchan has been appointed to redesign the centre which will “focus on improving the connection between the new destination usages in the arcade as pedestrians traverse through the centre and engage with the tenants” across its four levels.
“This is Collins Street’s largest retail centre of its kind; there is no comparable asset in terms of offering or location. We are focused on repositioning the asset through a new and vibrant mix of retailers that are more fit-for- purpose and inclusive for the diverse array of people who frequent the city each day and night,” said Ainsworth Property’s Zelman Ainsworth, who negotiated the Kingpin deal and is handling leasing enquiries for the centre.
John Mowat, head of real estate Asia Pacific, UBS Asset Management Real Estate and Private Markets (UBS AM REPM) business, said, “Kingpin and Waterman Workspaces are perfect bookends to reinvigorate the mixed-use centre already anchored by TAG Heuer, Swatch and Birkenstock.
“This property is uniquely positioned to meet the diverse needs of Melbourne and we are excited about the prospects for the asset and the retail market over the coming years.”
UBS took on its ownership stake when it bailed out Credit Suisse early last year. Credit Suisse Asset Management and Vantage Property acquired the asset in October of 2020 from JP Morgan for $122 million, following an already-disastrous run for the centre under its new guise as St Collins Lane, before the pandemic emptied out the cities.
JP Morgan had bought the mall for $247 million from LaSalle Investment Management after its reopening in 2016, but despite its prime position on busy Collins Street and a roll call of tenants that included British department store Debenhams, luxury retailers Coach and Voltaire, and Neil Perry’s Burger Project in the dining hall, its vacancy rate surged and value slashed.
Credit Suisse and Vantage Property gave up on their own revitalisation plans for the asset and tipped it to the market in October of 2022. UBS AM REPM then absorbed the Credit Suisse holding while Kaipara took on the Vantage share.
Toby Daniel, joint managing director of Kaipara said, “We are excited about the future of this prime real estate with these two major tenant deals bringing a new sense of vibrancy in line with our leasing strategy that will help realise the potential of this asset.
