Nunawading showroom braces for deluge of interest

Expressions of interest campaigns are par for the course when selling commercial properties. But when leasing them? Almost unheard of.

Agents for a Nunawading retail showroom – on the leasing market for the first time in 30 years – are expecting so much enquiry from potential tenants that they’ve taken the rare step of listing it for lease by EOI.

The property on Whitehorse Rd is a part of one of Melbourne’s most popular bulky goods destinations, with surrounding retailers including Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, and Officeworks.

Vacancies on the strip almost never occur, with other brands such as Snooze, Berkowitz, Early Settler, The Goods Guys, Forty Winks, Fantastic Furniture and Barbeques Galore calling the precinct home for 20 years or more.

An EOI campaign provides us with both a more streamlined process to cope with that enquiry and one which will help to determine the market rents

Savills director of showroom retail and industrial Keith Kooloos says the property, which was leased to Freedom Furniture for 25 years before undergoing a major upgrade, might be the last opportunity to lease a showroom at the Nunawading hub for years.

“This is really one out of the box,” Kooloos says.

The Nunawading property forms a significant part of the bulky goods hub.

“Whitehorse Rd, Nunawading, is widely recognized as an outstanding location for bulky goods and has been for decades. If you’re a major bulky goods retailer you have to have a presence on this strip and that drives exceptional demand.”

“It’s an extremely tightly held precinct for both tenants and owners. More often than not spaces available don’t go to market. They don’t need to. There’s a long waiting list of tenants and so any property that becomes available generates enormous enquiry.”

The property is owned by a Melbourne-based syndicate and offers 4157sqm of showroom space, with the potential for five tenancy configurations, from 1159sqm.

This is really one out of the box

Kooloos says the level of anticipated demand for the outlet necessitated an expressions of interest campaign.

“An EOI campaign provides us with both a more streamlined process to cope with that enquiry and one which will help to determine the market rents,” he says.

“The strip is always on the radar of the bigger, established players, taking note of any new opportunities that come up, even those with a current lease along the strip will be interested in what’s on offer, but presence on the strip also presents an ideal springboard into the market for newer players and that means an even greater level of enquiry.”

The expressions of interest campaign closes on October 27.