Curlewis Shopping Centre the latest in Geelong retail rush
The rush of retail assets being launched onto the market in the Geelong region remains frenzied, with the Woolworths-anchored Curlewis Shopping Centre at Clifton Springs the latest to be put up for sale.
Major demand and consistently strong sales results continue to drive landmark retail listings in the Victorian regional hub, with a number of major centres transacting over the last 18 months.
Leopold Gateway Plaza traded for $117 million last year, while Bellarine Village sold for $37 million and Coles sold its Torquay Village centre for $35 million.
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Meanwhile, last week a new Woolworths at Lara was also offered up, and Coles sold off a supermarket and Liquorland outlet at Drysdale in January for $23.5 million.
Now the Curlewis Shopping Centre is set to join them.
The shopping centre is in a major growth area.
Just 15 minutes from the Geelong CBD, the 4435sqm near-new centre has major tenants in Woolworths and BWS, along with specialty stores including a medical centre, pharmacy, optometrist, cafe, Commonwealth Bank and a hairdresser.
CBRE agents Mark Wizel and Justin Dowers, who have been tapped to market the property, say a 15-year lease to Woolworths will see the centre attract considerable investor interest, despite reports that some sectors of the retail market are struggling.
“Long-term leases and income security during downturns have always been attractive as a key defensive investment. What is also attracting investors today is the potential to add value in the longer term where town centre zoned land in rapidly growing suburbs allows for mixed use developments,” Dowers says.
“These factors remain some of the most compelling attributes of property investment across all sectors of the commercial property market and so there is little wonder that buyers keep coming back to retail.”
Curlewis Shopping Centre also has a BWS liquor store.
Curlewis Shopping Centre has parking for 185 cars and has a net income of $1.15 million, with projections putting population growth for the surrounding area at more than 13,000 additional residents by 2022.
“The City of Greater Geelong is forecast to add 87,000 new residents by 2036. That’s a significant 36% increase and the Bellarine Peninsula is an integral part of that growth projection,” Wizel says.
“The retail catchment therefore is something that prospective purchasers will note as a potentially significant contributor to the returns on the investment over time.”
The shopping centre is for sale via expressions of interest, which close on April 5.
