Commercial vacancies rise

By Bethany Williams

Commercial property vacancies in Docklands have risen 4.9 per cent since February.

The February Retail Monitor Report, conducted by Savills Research, showed 47 vacancies in Docklands, which equated to a vacancy rate of 9.1 per cent.

But the most recent report, which was published in August, showed 72 vacancies, which equated to a vacancy rate of 14 per cent.

Commercial property includes office buildings, industrial property and retail stores.

The reports were conducted as part of the Melbourne Retail Strategy 2006-2012. This strategy was launched as a joint initiative between the City of Melbourne and the State Government with the aim of encouraging the cities retail growth and situating it as an international retail centre.

A City of Melbourne spokesperson said initiatives, including the Docklands Winter Campaign and Hot Spots, were aimed at encouraging repeat visitation to Docklands.

“Growth in the Docklands retail sector has not been met by an equivalent surge in consumer traffic and demand for the goods and services on offer,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said this had led to higher vacancies in Docklands than in the rest of the inner city region.

The August report showed that there were 72 vacant commercial properties in Docklands, compared to 44 vacancies in the city centre.

This equated to 10.2 per cent more commercial property vacancies in Docklands than in the CBD.