David Jones has officially listed for sale its iconic menswear flagship at 299 Bourke Street – one of the few major assets to be offered on Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall in more than a decade. CBRE’s Mark Wizel and Simon Rooney have been appointed as exclusive marketing and sales agents with Michael Jackson, Director of JACX property, providing transaction management services on behalf of David Jones.
The property, which offers an underlying land holding exceeding 2,200m2, is expected to attract interest from all corners of the global property industry due to the rarity of being able to secure such a prime CBD asset.
Located on the southern side of Bourke Street Mall, the property is currently 100% occupied by David Jones and has a mix of food and apparel offerings throughout.
David Jones is offering the property with a short-term lease back and providing interested parties with a definitive date on which they will be providing vacant possession of the building.
CBRE’s Australian Head of Retail Capital Markets, Simon Rooney said; “Assets like 299 Bourke Street are always tightly held, rarely traded and highly sought after. The flexibility around the offering of the property will be a major draw card for both domestic and international capital, presenting a highly strategic future development and value add opportunity, which will cater to a wide variety of developers, retailers, adjoining owners and private or institutional investors with a long-term focus.”
“Generations of Australians have a strong affinity with Bourke Street Mall and, in particular, the David Jones brand,” Wizel adds.
“The market will be watching with interest as to what the next chapter looks like for the David Jones menswear store, with a range of end uses possible under the current zoning and a strong backdrop of supporting economic drivers suiting retail, residential, accommodation and commercial office product.”
Aaron Faraguna, David Jones’ Retail Director, said; “The sale of 299 Bourke Street will allow David Jones to focus on the further refurbishment and optimisation of its adjacent 310 Bourke store. This will see us deliver all our categories in a cohesive and premium offering under one roof for customers. Our menswear store provides an exceptional opportunity in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD with potential to further enhance this vibrant precinct and we look forward to progressing the sale process.”
An adjoining property known as ‘The Walk Arcade” recently received approval for a new development comprising a 40-metre tall building. It is set to house a new hotel and retail offering and shares a laneway with 299 Bourke Street.
