Convenience shopping centres on the rise in Greater Melbourne

This, along with rising investor demand for shopping centres.

Convenience shopping centres have proven to be a standout within Metropolitan Melbourne’s retail investment space during the pandemic, with several recent neighbourhood centre transactions going big, a report from Savills revealed.

For instance, Meadow Heights Shopping Centre, a convenience-based shopping centre in Melbourne is due to hit the market shortly. It is one of only a few neighbourhood centres to be offered in a Melbourne metropolitan location in almost two years, the report noted.

Located about 19 kilometres from the central business district, the former Centro-owned asset is strategically positioned at the epicentre of the Meadow Heights local community, within the City of Hume and designed with convenience in mind.

The property is anchored by an IGA supermarket and 24 specialty stores offering a mix of essential goods and services with a focus on meeting daily needs such as pharmacy, newsagent, bakery, hair salon, and several popular takeaway options.

For sale exclusively through Savills Australia National Retail Investments, the centre comprises a total floor area of 5,384 square metres (sq m), is situated on an expansive land parcel of approximately 32,000 sq m and offers customers convenient on-grade parking for 253 vehicles.

“We are seeing a direct correlation between consumers wanting to shop locally and efficiently and the sharp increase in investor demand for shopping centres that offer this type of convenience,” said Savills Australia national director of retail investments Steven Lerche.

Savills has also observed a recent pattern of neighbourhood centre transactions mostly taking place in the regional locations in the Victorian retail investment market, noted the company’s Victorian director of retail investments, Rick Silberman.

“Given the Melbourne metropolitan location of Meadow Heights, we expect interest will be strong for this reason alone,” he said.

The offering also included significant value-add, development and centre expansion opportunities with multiple pad sites and an adjacent block of land which is separately titled, the report added.

“We rarely do we see an opportunity of this nature whereby investors can secure a fully leased shopping centre providing recurring income in addition to such a significant value-add proposition with more than 9,000 sq m of undeveloped Commercial 1 Zone land,” Silberman added.

Meadow Heights Shopping Centre is being marketed via public expressions of interest campaign closing Thursday, 14 October.