One of the masterminds behind Fortitude Valley’s James Street precinct is creating another foodie mecca – this time in Brisbane’s Gasworks precinct.
The location is ‘Haven’, the new luxury apartment tower under construction in Newstead, with John James’ RL57 having been assigned to turn the ground floor into Brisbane’s new retail destination precinct on behalf of developer HCAP Developments.
Working in partnership with CBRE’s Anna Dunworth and Chesters Real Estate’s Greer Gittoes, RL57 has already secured three high profile occupiers with the remaining four tenancies expected to be leased shortly.
The first tenants to sign are Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co, Salt Meats Cheese and Jocelyn’s Provisions – with all three groups identifying Haven as their preferred location within the Gasworks precinct.
When completed mid next year, Haven will comprise over 1,100sqm of retail space with a mix of premium food and beverage, retail services and showroom tenancies.
It will sit beneath the 25-storey Haven apartment tower, on the corner of Skyring Terrace, Reddacliffe Street and Cunningham Street, directly opposite the historic Gasometer, offering high exposure for both vehicles and pedestrians.
The retail space within Haven is uniquely designed so that all tenancies overlook either Waterfront Park or the Gasometer public space, offering great visibility as well as natural light. In addition, the retail has drive-in on grade parking akin to James St, something not available in any of the other mixed use developments in the area.
Betty’s Burgers
Betty’s Burgers has taken an eight-year lease over 150sqm of space. The brand, which is famous for its burgers, thick shakes and custard-based ice cream, opened its first restaurant on Hastings Street, Noosa in 2014 under the guidance of Tasmanian entrepreneur David Hales.
It has since expanded to Surfers Paradise, with a Melbourne restaurant due to open by mid-November.
Confirming the lease, Mr Hales said; "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to launch our fourth restaurant in Queensland, bringing our burgers to the big smoke. We feel that the Haven project will be a great foodie attraction for Brisbane and we're looking forward to being a key part of the precinct."
Salt Meats Cheese
Salt Meats Cheese is also on the expansion trail. Having opened in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria in 2012 as a food emporium, the gourmet Italian providore has since opened four more restaurants in Sydney and a retail space/restaurant in Surfers Paradise.
Haven is the next location, with Salt Meats Cheese having taken a nine-year lease over 170sqm of space. It will provide a restaurant area in addition to the group’s signature cooking classes and produce.
Announcing the commitment, director Stefano de Blasi said; “Ciao Brisbane! Salt Meats Cheese, Gasworks will become our new Australian flagship restaurant and cooking school and we can’t wait to open the doors!
“We’re going to bring to Brisbane something never seen before, live mozzarella stretching, flaming cheese wheels, bottled cocktails and metre-long pizzas.
“What I love about this site is we can offer our guests a choice of indoor and al-fresco dining experiences, which is a first for the Salt Meats Cheese group. We’ll also have some beautiful hampers and picnic rugs available so our guests can enjoy the awesome Brissy weather along with our delicious Italian food-offering.”
Jocelyn’s Provisions
Completing the trio of deals is Fortitude Valley’s iconic Jocelyn’s Provisions, which has signed for 60sqm of space under a five-year lease deal.
To be known as Newstead Provisions, the new venture will add to the retailer’s existing James Street store, which has established a nationwide reputation for its cakes, pastries and bread.
Jocelyn’s Provisions’ Rosie Conway said; "We look forward to expanding the Jocelyn's Provisions reach with our new concept store: "Newstead Provisions".
“Put simply we will be expanding our range of quality meals and catering to the Newstead/ Tenerife area for those "who wish to eat at home but don't necessarily wish to cook.”
“We have waited for the right opportunity and we are excited at being a part of such a high quality food precinct.”
CBRE’s Ms Dunworth linked the successful leasing program to both the urban revitalisation occurring in Newstead and RL57’s overall vision for the project.
“RL57 is applying the same knowledge and expertise that made James Street such a success to Haven,” Ms Dunworth said.
“The key focus is on tenancy mix and securing the best operators with high quality concepts. We already have very strong interest in the remaining four tenancies, which are on track to be leased within the next few months.”
Greer Gittoes of Chester’s Real Estate added; “We have focused on high quality operators and the tenancy mix so that Haven would be a success from day one.”
Haven’s 220 luxury apartments reached sold out status in early 2016. The projects’ penthouse collection offering multi-million dollar larger apartments, was one of the leading premium owner occupier sales projects in Brisbane during 2015.
Located less than 3km from the Brisbane CBD, the retail precinct will cater to more than 5,000 new residents and the estimated 9,000 office workers expected to take up space in the Newstead area.About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2015 revenue). The company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
