Good planning a winner
A GOOD offer in the right place is showing new development can be successful despite the gloom in an otherwise tough leasing market in Townsville.
Gibb Group completed its $ 8.5 million convenience centre at Mount Louisa 12 months ago and now has fully leased the complex.
Gibb’s Queensland manager, Glen Wintour, said that result was “pretty good going”.
“We offered reasonable incentives and have been able to get fair market rents,” Mr Wintour said.
“By meeting the market we have been able to get the centre leased and the tenants trading and have also been able to create more amenity for the surrounding suburbs.”
Gibb Group completed the complex at 450 Bayswater Rd last December.
Anchor tenants United Petroleum and Red Rooster were contracted before work began and The Ultimate Burger Experience and Domino’s were attracted after completion.
The Domino’s store opened earlier this month, employing about 30 people.
Gibb Group, which operates the 547 Industrial Park, also at Mount Louisa, identified the need for the services in the area, convinced the anchor tenants about the potential for the site, and then bought the site for $ 1.2 million.
Mr Wintour said Colliers International had helped identify the site and its potential, while Quinlan Property Group had introduced Domino’s to the site.
“It was really a case of identifying a gap in the market and finding the right location on the ground,” Mr Wintour said.
The property had been vacant for some time.
Mr Wintour said the Mount Louisa area, a recent population hotspot with people reliant on cars, needed services.
He said consumers, and the businesses which serviced them, wanted convenience.
“It’s all about convenience. Businesses want good parking and convenient access,” he said. “We think we have been able to achieve that.”