New lease paves way for VIT’s third Melbourne campus
A third Victorian Institute of Technology campus will open its doors in Melbourne after the higher education provider snapped up five floors in the heart of the CBD.
The institute will occupy levels six to 10 at 235 Queen St, a stone’s throw away from Victoria’s legal precinct and within walking distance of major landmarks including Flagstaff and Melbourne Central stations and the iconic Bourke St Mall.
The five-year deal comes as higher education facilities continue to march into Australian city centres in the battle to attract international students.
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MP Burke Commercial Real Estate’s Pat Burke negotiated the latest lucrative arrangement following a rental campaign with Colliers International.
“Such a location provides excellent access to the legal and educational precincts to the north, finance and banking to the south and retail to the east,” he says.
“Being a prominent corner building, each floor enjoys abundance of natural light, flexible workspace and great views.
“This building will perform strongly through the various property cycles”.
The 1885 sqm Melbourne site recently underwent an extensive upgrade and fit out designed to complement the institute’s other two city campuses at 123 and 126 Queen St.
In recent years Queen St investors have been working to reestablish the area as a high-standard office location, amid intensifying demand for offices in Melbourne.
According to the Property Council of Australia, vacancy rates in the city fell to 4.6% in the lead up to January 2018 with the market expected to continue tightening.
The education and training sector are among the top cohorts of potential leaseholders competing for space, along with finance, insurance and government tenants.
Smaller suite offices face the biggest demand.
However, tenants looking for large-scale properties are also likely to see the strong competition, putting landlords in the driver’s seat when it comes to setting rents.
