Tyas Family Pitches $70m Northern Rivers LFR Centre

The Melbourne-based Tyas family has put its foot on a 3.42ha site at Grafton in NSW’s Northern Rivers region for a $70-million retail centre.

The family office’s development arm, CADRE, will lead the development in the Clarence Valley after identifying a paucity of commercial space in the area.

The developer has already secured pre-commitments for about 50 per cent of the retail centre to be built at 21 Through Street at Grafton, with national tenants including Total Tools and Carl’s Jnr. 

CADRE has submitted plans for a large-format retail project for this site, which would become the region’s largest regional town centre.

“We have been working with senior members at council who have been instrumental in the design rationale, assisting us in pushing the traditional ways of thinking about user experience, urban design, landscaping and impact driven initiatives,” CADRE co-director Nicholas Tyas said. 

“[We want to create] something beyond a big box retail building you may find in areas like Coffs Harbour, Ballina or Tweed Heads. Being a gateway site we knew we had to work with a team we know and trust, who could see our vision through. 

“We have appointed Planners North, leading architects Bruce Henderson Architects and local landscape architect LARC. This team will bring international design with local flora and fauna to soften the design and complement the local heritage and urban context.”

▲ CADRE is also developing a sustainability-led high-end apartment project at Richmond.

The large-format retail project will prominently feature steel in a nod to the old Grafton Bridge nearby, public art and vertical gardens. 

Co-diretor Chris Tyas said the group had focused on creating a sustainably designed project for the Northern Rivers. 

“The centre will have a low carbon footprint. We’ll be using recycled materials where possible, increasing Jacaranda trees to reduce heat-island effect on the carpark, including solar and EV,” he said. 

CADRE has retail centres, commercial offices, residential and land communities across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania. The family’s building arm, Tycorp Construction, builds the bulk of the group’s investments.

Recent research from JLL Retail Investments shows a supply scarcity and strong fundamentals for increasing demand from capital for exposure to large format retail. 

There was limited trading activity throughout 2023, resulting in a 79 per cent year-on-year decrease in transaction volumes and a 65 per cent decline compared to the 10-year average, according to the research. 

JLL Retail Investments senior director Nick Willis said the scarcity of opportunities had given rise to increased demand from investors. 

“The LFR sector is entering an interesting phase of its cycle with supply and vacancy at historic lows for the major metropolitan markets like Sydney, this coupled with the rapid population growth and strong retailer performance is driving income growth in the sector,” he said. 

The research showed there had been a significant increase in both private and syndicator interest in large format retail and syndicators were now targeting non-metro locations in search of higher yields.