Chapel Street regains retail interest: Fitzroys
Chapel Street has regained favour with retailers after a quiet leasing period, according to real estate agents Fitzroys.
Fitzroys City retail team leasing executive Michael Rainey said there has been a resurgence in enquiries for spaces along Chapel Street, South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor, led by high-quality fast-food and fashion operators.
“Chapel Street is quickly becoming a fast food destination with recent deals done with Mexican restaurant Fonda at 144 Chapel Street, Windsor, and the popular American ice creamery Ben & Jerry’s, opening their first Melbourne store at 151 Chapel Street, Windsor,” he said.
The increase in enquiry from food operators has typically been in the slightly lower rental pockets, such as Vietnamese restaurant Miss Chu opening up a site at 276 Toorak Road, South Yarra.
Other retailers moving into Chapel Street include American hot-dog specialist Massive Wieners expanding into 226 Chapel Street, with plans for 24-hour operation.
Fitzroys city retail has also overseen French macaron manufacturer A La Folie move into 589 Chapel Street, and fast-growing health juice operator Press Juices has taken up Shop 4, 286 Toorak Road, South Yarra.
International Chinese tea retailer Quali-T has leased 173 Toorak Road.
Mexican concept chain Zambrero’s has also recently taken up 374 Chapel Street, South Yarra, with the organisation matching their meals served with donations to their own charity.
In the Prahran area, Fitzroys has overseen UK menswear retailer Peter Werth move into 216 Chapel Street, and Cotswald Furniture is opening in High Street.
Rainey said the Peter Werth deal followed an increase in the number of fashion operators taking space in the edgier section of Chapel Street in recent years. Popular brands Jack London, Gorman, White Suede and Dangerfield have all taken up space in the area.
Rainey added that South Yarra was showing once-in-a-generation opportunities for retailers to look beyond the cycle and secure high quality shops on long-term leases that have not been available for decades.
“Landlords are meeting the market where required and the resurgence in enquiry over the past few weeks and months should see most stock leased within a short time frame.”
“The fundamentals of the strip remain quite healthy.”
He said rents on Chapel Street typically ranged from $1,000 to $1,500 per sqm, and Toorak Road from around $600 to $800 per sqm.
The South Yarra end has been working through rental adjustments from the highs of 2007/08, perhaps to the benefit of the Prahran and Windsor parts of the strips, which have seen some new retail faces with leases to IGA and a major bar and restaurant soon to be announced.
Fitzroys senior manager Charles Emmett said many of these groups were gearing up to serve the surge in local population attributable to the high volume of apartments going up in Forrest Hill, as well as the old warehouse sections to the back of Chapel Street, South Yarra and Prahran.
He said rents in the Prahran section of Chapel Street were currently between $700 and $900 per sqm.
Fitzroys’s city retail team is now leasing the former Bettina Liano shop at 471 Chapel Street, South Yarra, as well as the ex-Puma site at 514 Chapel Street, South Yarra.