Another chapter for CBD site

Historic former department store building has been put on market

A building once home to a bustling department store during the Townsville CBD’S golden era of retail is about to begin its next chapter after being put on the market.

Built in the 1960s, the threestorey building at 358-360 Flinders St, right, hosted a Waltons Department Store, which Ray White Commercial principal Graeme Russell remembers as the city’s mustvisit shopping destination, along with the nearby David Jones. Waltons was founded by John Robert Walton, who bought a Sydney menswear store in 1951, and went on to ally with American retail giant Sears and Roebuck, expanding to 96 department stores by 1972, before the business was bought by Alan Bond in 1981, and split up in 1987 due to financial failure.

In the wake of the building’s sale in 1988, Mr Russell said it was redeveloped into a fourlevel multi-tenanted retail and office complex, which won an award for the best commercial property upgrade under $5m.

“Our client acquired the incomplete project from receiver/managers in 1993 and completed the works required to bring the 16 tenancies to the leasing market,” Mr Russell said. “Many well known businesses have traded from the Citilink building over the years including the NAB and Spotlight and we recently converted the retail basement into parking for 14 vehicles.”

Mr Russell said their client Datre Pty Ltd, a company associated with Melbourne identity Trevor Cohen, had decided to exit the Townsville property market in order to focus on issues in Victoria.

“The owner has upgraded the building substantially with a new front facade, double glazing, automatic doors, new roof fire services and building management systems,” Mr Russell said.

“He’s never been short on maintenance, but everyone wants to move on eventually. He doesn’t have any more holdings in Townsville.”

With the rise of suburban shopping centres, Mr Russell said cities like Townsville had had to reinvent their central business districts.

“You have to move from the focus on retail to a focus on services, food and accommodation,” he said.

“Having the stadium move from the boondocks into the city is a huge change, and a really welcome change for the CBD, and the construction of high rise apartments is also a huge step in the right direction, and we need some more of that.”

The property is being sold via an expressions of interest marketing campaign, closing on April 19.

For more details, visit raywhitecommercial.com.