Perth, 04 May 2015 – A new era is dawning for Fremantle’s High Street Mall retail precinct as a trio of one-time landlord adversaries team up with the City of Fremantle to revive one of Freo’s key shopping strips.
Silverleaf Developments, Manning Estate and Hanny Properties control all of the retail property in High Street Mall. The mall has been hit hard by the global pressures on the retail industry and like many other retail precincts has suffered high vacancy rates in recent years..
However, a shift is occurring following the formation of a strategic alliance between the owners and the City of Fremantle aimed at rejuvenating the mall as part of a broader city urban renewal program.
Fremantle Property Services Director Anthony Van Der Wielen - whose company acts as the managing agent for many iconic Fremantle properties - was responsible for bringing the owners together.
A long time Fremantle resident, with more than 20 years of real estate experience in the port city, Mr Van Der Wielen initiated several informal meetings between the owners and the economic development officers at the City of Fremantle almost a year ago with the hope of breathing much needed life back into the mall.
“This is an example of traditionally competing and adversarial landlords looking to act in synergy and adopt a shopping centre style strategy to get the right tenancy mix for the area and transform High Street Mall into a really vibrant retail precinct,” Mr Van Der Weilen said.
To that end, representatives from Adelaide were recently invited to Fremantle to outline their experiences and the successful strategies that were pursued.
Craig Olde from CBRE has since been appointed by Fremantle Property Services as the joint leasing agent to help guide a collaborative national leasing and revitalisation strategy for the owners who are hoping to replicate the successful rejuvenation of Adelaide’s Rundle Street Mall. Being in touch with the staunch local sentiments through the Fremantle Property Services brand, but inviting in the global corporate CBRE brand to extend the national retail reach to famous retailers is a unique collaboration that Mr. Olde acknowledges is unprecedented in the Fremantle market.
“While the Fremantle retail market has had its challenges, the city has a range of intrinsic advantages, including its unique heritage and character which is unmatched anywhere else in WA or even Australia,” Mr Olde said.
“High Street Mall Since 1880” has been adopted as the new mall slogan and several milestones have also been achieved. This includes work commencing on the redevelopment of the Atwell Arcade -the jewel in the crown of High Street’s revitalisation - already underway and due for completion in late 2015.
Silverleaf Investment’s redevelopment of the buildings in and around Atwell Arcade is targeted at breathing new life into High Street Mall, by attracting up to 300 new office workers and a range of exciting new retailers.
“The charm and appeal of the arcade’s heritage qualities will be retained to help attract new occupiers, while the commercial component will deliver a new on-site working population to the area,” Mr Olde said.
“The opportunity exists to introduce established brands or grow new, bespoke business ventures in the city’s most strategic retail location.”
In addition, the City of Fremantle has contributed $275,000 and the mall’s landowners $50,000 as part of a $325,000 upgrade of the area’s public realm and facilities.
High Street Mall was pedestrianised in the 1960s and today boasts a series of unique character shop fronting onto a public plaza. Improvements flagged for the area include the installation of modern public seating and bicycle racks, additional shaded areas and the chance for more alfresco dining areas.
Mr Olde said a key focus would be on engaging with people and giving them a reason to keep coming back to High Street Mall.
“This also means delivering improvements that go beyond the business mix,” Mr Olde said.
“We’re inviting existing tenants to embrace the refreshed retail approach, with fit outs, branding, product and service offerings. We’re also looking to continue to fill available spaces with motivated operators and unique concept stores.”
One such deal involves the first 7-Eleven convenience store in WA, which recently opened in a corner outlet on High Street mall after securing a seven-year lease agreement with Hanny Properties. Boost Juice has meanwhile opened its doors at the opposite end of the mall, with both deals heralding a resurgence of interest in mall retail opportunities.
The plans for High Street Mall align with the City of Fremantle’s overall vision for the iconic port city via a range of major transformative moves designed to bring more people to live, work, shop and be entertained in Fremantle.
Over $1billion of public and private investment is in the pipeline, including the $220 million Kings Square Development as the iconic port city embarks on its next growth phase.
“The imminent upgrade of the High Street Mall is an important stepping stone for the revitalisation of Fremantle which is well and truly underway,” Fremantle mayor Dr Brad Pettitt said. “It’s encouraging to see property owners and leasing agents realising this and working collaboratively with the City to help achieve common outcomes.
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