Buy Aldi’s new Fitzroy supermarket before it opens

The opportunity to be the very first owner of a new Aldi supermarket is up for grabs in inner-city Melbourne.

Scheduled for completion next year as part of the Lyric Building development in Fitzroy, the supermarket will be leased to Aldi for 10 years, with a further two 10-year options.

The property at 239-245 Johnston St, on the corner of Gore St, is for sale off-the-plan, and includes the supermarket and 49 basement parking spaces, along with a back of house space, staff offices, a breakout area an exclusive loading dock accessed via Gore Street

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The 10-level development above will have 150 apartments and is only metres from the popular Smith St food and retail strip.

Teska Carson’s Adrian Boutsakis and Larry Takis, who are marketing the future supermarket, say the location is almost unbeatable.

“Fitzroy, with its eclectic mix of cafes, restaurants, fashion houses, antique stores, music, art, breweries, and other assorted offerings, has been one of Melbourne’s favorite destinations over the last 20 to 30 years or more and it remains a very popular choice for residential, office and light industrial uses,” Boutsakis says.

The Aldi supermarket will be a part of the Lyric Building in Fitzroy.

“Add to this its close proximity to the CBD, Melbourne’s major entertainment venues, RMIT and Melbourne University and to public transport and the Eastern Freeway, and it is easy to see why developers, investors and owner-occupiers take note of any property opportunities that may arise.”

The property, which spans 1402sqm, will return $640,000 in annual rent. Boutsakis is tipping investor interest to be strong.

“We have seen some very good results recently for standalone supermarkets despite the headwinds the retail sector is facing. This is very much about the non-discretionary spend nature of the tenancy,” he says.

“Supermarkets are regarded as a defensive asset, a class of investment which is particularly attractive in what you might call tough economic times. People have to eat. If they are going to spend money supermarkets are more likely to be the beneficiaries.”

The supermarket is slated to be completed in September 2020.

It will be sold through expressions of interest, which close at 3pm on Wednesday, December 4.