Vicinity Puts Perth Retail Centre on Block

Shopping centre heavyweight Vicinity Centres is selling its smallest centre by value, in an inner-Perth suburb.

On the block is Victoria Park Central in its namesake suburb, 4.5km south-west of the WA capital’s CBD.

The listing follows Vicinity offloading Midland Gate, a major regional shopping centre in one of Perth’s growth corridors, for $465 million.

The Victoria Park centre across 5771sq m is anchored by Woolworths and has 24 specialty stores, including national retailers Specsavers, Liquorland and Discount Drug Store, as well as 225 carparking spaces

Established in 2000 at 366 Albany Highway, the asset has been tipped to sell for north of $30 million.

Victoria Park Central has frontage to the highway and Shepperton Road, and the suburb’s train station is 500m to the north-east.

The centre sits on a 1.3 ha site.

A proposed Precinct Structure Plan for the area would “significantly increases the potential development outcomes with up to 22 storeys” being considered for that plan, according to agents Cygnet West, who are conducting an expressions-of-interest campaign for the asset along with Stonebridge.

That campaign closes on June 19.

▲ The centre is 5km from central Perth on an under-utilised 1.3ha site.

“The development potential of this site, under the proposed Precinct Structure Plan, will be consistent with other projects in the Perth peninsula and would provide for a major mixed-use development with outstanding views, good connection to public transport (rail and bus), in an attractive food and beverage, and entertainment precinct,” the agents said.

WA retail has been active in recent months, most lately when Centuria Capital Group paid about $70 million for Halls Head Central at Mandurah, 75km south of Perth.

The Australian real estate funds manager made the deal in May, adding the centre to its $3.2 billion in retail assets under management with the acquisition.

The 19,373sq m centre is anchored by Coles and ALDI supermarkets, and a Kmart.

In November, Vicinity Centres sold Midland Gate, in the north-eastern metropolitan corridor of the WA capital, for $465 million to Melbourne-based fund manager Fawkner Property together with private asset manager PAG.

The deal, struck on a core capitalisation rate of 6.5 per cent, was Australia’s and Western Australia’s largest single regional asset transaction since December 2019, according to CBRE.

The centre 17km north-west of Perth, occupies a 14.35ha town centre site and comprises a gross lettable area of 68,600sq m and is anchored by a triple supermarket offer—Coles, Woolworths and ALDI.