AGENTS advertising the sale of the Rocklea Homemaker Centre in Kangaroo Flat have declined to confirm whether the retail site has sold for more than $30 million.
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Fairfax Media reported that ASX-listed Phileo Australia had found a buyer for the shopping centre complex in High Street.
But Chris Parry, director of commercial real estate firm CBRE in Melbourne, which had listed the Rocklea Homemaker Centre for sale a couple of months ago, said reports of a sale were “speculative”.
Mr Parry declined to comment on whether the shopping centre had been sold.
The 18,000sqm site houses national tenants including Fantastic Furniture, Pillow Talk, Baby Bunting and Lincraft.
It was valued at $27.5 million in August.
A major selling point was its position on the Calder Highway, along which more than 27,000 cars drive every day.
Rocklea Spinning Mills occupied the site before a fire destroyed buildings in 2001.
In November, CBRE’s Mark Wizel said an undersupply of retail centres in the Victorian investment market had prompted Phileo to sell the centre.
Mr Parry said in November that he believed Rocklea would “continue to be a strong performing asset, which will attract dominant household brands and strong rental growth”.
“This is largely underpinned by its status as the only dedicated homemaker centre in the catchment.”
As Bendigo’s population grows, especially in areas the council refers to as its “10-minute neighbourhoods” – Maiden Gully, Epsom and Strathfieldsaye – retailers have increasingly sought space on the city’s outskirts.
A Bunnings store opened in Epsom last year, creating more than 100 jobs, while Kennington Village Shopping Centre opened in Condon Street next to Strath Village in 2014, providing employment for about 150 people.
Lansell Square in Kangaroo Flat – a shopping centre that has serviced the southwest of the city for more than 30 years – has recently undergone a significant redevelopment.
To draw back shoppers to the Bendigo CBD, traders have embarked on community-focused events such as December’s inaugural Bendigo Street Festival.
Some centres and areas of the CBD also offer customers free Wi-Fi internet to encourage them to spend more time shopping.