Hoddle St eyesore to become childcare centre
An former Australia Post building left vacant for six years on busy Melbourne arterial Hoddle St is set to be transformed into a childcare centre.
The fenced-off property at 67-81 Hoddle St in Richmond has been abandoned and empty for more than half a decade, but will now begin a new life as an inner-city kindergarten after childcare group Guardian Early Learning Centres leased the two-storey building.
Guardian will now operate out of the 2950sqm property for at least the next 15 years, and comes after it also confirmed plans to convert a CBD office at 101 Collins St into another childcare centre.
Prices soar: Record yields as investors flock to childcare centres
Colliers International’s Matt Cosgrave and Ash Dean negotiated the Richmond deal, with Cosgrave saying there is an identified demand for more inner-city childcare.
“This property, which had been vacant for six years, will now be turned into state-of-the-art childcare centre,” Cosgrave says.
“It is a sizeable, prominent site which has been approved for use as a childcare facility to help address the growing demand in the area.”
Guardian is set to open a new childcare centre in Richmond. Picture: Guardian.
Guardian is also promoting its Richmond centre and accepting families onto a waitlist for places when it opens.
Cosgrave says access to childcare is now a strong consideration for potential inner-city office tenants.
“End-of-trip facilities such as showers and bike storage were once rare in an office building – now they are seen as standard inclusions,” he said.
“Now lifestyle factors such as childcare and co-working space are becoming an increasingly viable option to attract quality tenants to a building.”
“Businesses are increasingly trying to make it easier for parents who work in the CBD and city fringe locations to drop off and pick up their children on their way to or from work.”
“Not only does this help employees maximise their work day and increase efficiency, it makes their daily lives easier at the same time.”
