Investment Analysis and Leasing

The AMP Society had held an architectural competition to arrive at several schemes for the replacement of the six older buildings fronting the Bourke Street Mall, opposite Myer and David Jones.

The final scheme was intended to be a multi-million dollar development, over five levels. However, the Society felt that the projected yield of around 3.5% per annum was far too low and approached Gardner+Lang to carry out an independent assessment of the project.

Following some research, we suggested that the Society keep the existing buildings (rather than demolish them) and create an arcade through the middle. Naturally, there was little support from the Society’s architect, because the cost to create this arcade was now only 10% of the original budget.

However, the Society adopted Gardner+Lang’s scheme (involving some forty shops) as being the most satisfactory solution. And the holding yield was lifted to around 14% - 15% per annum.

Our overall marketing strategy was … to position The Walk as an exclusive arcade - not so much in price … rather, that the shop each tenant leased in The Walk was to be the only outlet each tenant had, within the whole of Central Melbourne.

Gardner+Lang was finally able to have each of the forty tenants occupying their only shop in the city, within The Walk … when it opened for trading.