Taco Bell, Capitol Grand and 627 Chapel St help bringing life back
Trade has been a tough slog for Chapel St in recent months. But one emerging trend has given traders fresh hopes for a strong rebound at the shopping precinct.
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The lure of Chapel St as one of Melbourne premier shopping strips is returning on the back of some top-end retailers taking up leases.
Also hitting the South Yarra strip is US food giant Taco Bell, representative of the high regard in which the area is held, according to a real estate agent.
James Lockwood, of property agency Fitzroys, said Taco Bell wanted to capitalise on the recent influx of spending within the are.
He said Melburnians continued to embrace inner-city living and were increasingly looking to live, work and go out in and around the city, reflected in the development of the high-density Forest Hill precinct and other major projects in the pipeline transforming Chapel St.
This includes the $1.25 billion Jam Factory overhaul, which will bring 50,000sq m of commercial space to the area, as well as the cinema and new retail and hospitality space.
“Projects including the soon-to-be-completed Capitol Grand and W Hotel and new office builds at 627 Chapel St and Chapel Plaza at 402 Chapel St will boost retail and hospitality trade across all hours,” Mr Lockwood said.
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Chapel St Precinct general manager Chrissie Maus said the business mix was “evolving with the food, health and fitness sectors seeing the most growth – plus the most new businesses opening in the last quarter”.
“We have seen record numbers of new businesses opening in our precinct during the last month,” she said.
“The average spend per daytime shopper has increased to $89.”
According to Fitzroys, Chapel St vacancies reduced from 18.1 per cent to 15.6 per cent throughout 2018-19.