Retail vacancies on The Parade near 15 per cent

One in seven shopfronts along one of Adelaide’s premier retail strips sits vacant, while North Adelaide’s O’Connell St has recovered in recent months with an influx of new cafes and restaurants.

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One in seven shopfronts along one of Adelaide’s premier retail strips sits vacant, according to figures from property group JLL, while new cafes and restaurants in North Adelaide have eased trading concerns on O’Connell St.

JLL’s latest retail high street overview report reveals the retail vacancy rate along The Parade at Norwood has hit 14.6 per cent, up from 9.4 per cent at the end of last year, and overtaking King William Rd as the strip with the highest rate of vacant shopfronts.

Store closures in the first half of this year added to the number of vacancies, while two new apartment buildings at the eastern end of the strip are seeking tenants to accommodate their ground floor tenancies.

“This introduction of new retail stock has accelerated the upwards vacancy trend along The Parade, with occupancy levels falling for three consecutive six-monthly periods from the first half of 2018 to the first half of 2019,” JLL strategic research director Rick Warner said.

The trend could worsen in coming months, with long-standing toy store Windmill Education Toys and Equipment revealing last month that it would close its doors at Christmas unless a buyer is found for the business.

Norwood, Payneham and St Peters Mayor Robert Bria said the challenges facing Adelaide’s main streets were likely to persist given the ongoing decline in bricks and mortar retail spending.

“I’m disappointed but not surprised (by the figures), but I think it reflects the general level of the economy,” he said.

“Retail is generally flat at the moment and I think there’s a high degree of caution in terms of the direction the economy is going.

“Rents are probably higher than what lessees would like at the moment, and the third challenge for main streets is the significant investment going into shopping centres.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is that unlike shopping centres, with main streets there are multiple property owners so there’s no single voice.”

Mr Bria said the council was focused on attracting new tenants to the precinct and ensuring an appropriate mix of retail operators.

“We have the Norwood Parade Precinct Committee constantly looking at ways to market the strip - events and initiatives to create a point of difference to our major competitors which are probably Burnside Village and to a lesser extent the city,” he said.

“I think one of the things people love about The Parade is it still has a village atmosphere.

“There’s always room for nationals (tenants) but it’s important to keep that mix with small and independent shops.”

According to the JLL report, vacancies also rose along Rundle St, Prospect Rd and Glenelg’s Jetty Rd.

Meanwhile, the rate of vacant shopfronts fell along Hindley St and King William Rd, while O’Connell St was the big winner, with new cafes and restaurants helping to reduce that street’s vacancy rate from 16.3 per cent at the end of last year to 9.3 per cent.

JLL reported the opening of four new cafes and restaurants in the first half of this year, including Da Vinci Ristorante at the former site of The Curious Squire.

“This new wave of hospitality openings along the retail strip cemented the reputation of O'Connell St as Adelaide’s ‘eat street’, with the highest proportion of cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services of all the high street retail precincts,” Mr Warner said.