Knight Frank’s Craig Stack highlights issues impeding Townsville CBD’s revival

After tracking Townsville CBD’s occupancy rate for the past 25 years, a local real estate expert has explained what was holding back the city heart.

A LOCAL real estate expert has highlighted issues contributing to the number of empty commercial premises throughout Townsville’s struggling CBD.

On Tuesday the Townsville Bulletin survey of two key inner-city blocks on Flinders St, between Denham and Stanley Streets, revealed there were 26 vacant street-front tenancies from a total of 37 properties – excluding arcade tenancies.

To revive the CBD’s fortunes, Knight Frank Townsville Senior Partner Craig Stack wanted it made easier for vacant buildings to be repurposed for alternative uses, particularly residential, and for anti-social behaviour to be significantly curtailed.

Craig Stack at City Arcade between Stuart Street and Flinders Street in Townsville's CBD. Picture: Evan Morgan

He said Knight Frank tracked occupancy levels in the commercial buildings around the CBD for nearly 25 years.

“Most of the commentary about the CBD occupancy is from observations at street level,” Mr Stack said.

He said the overall occupancy rate for the entire CBD had remained stable over the past decade, sitting at 80-85 per cent despite 20,000 sqm being added in 2013 with the Verde building and the Ergon building.

“While there are consistent vacancies in Flinders Street, the vacancy rate has increased in our regional shopping centres also. Essentially there are not enough new business enterprises seeking a bricks and mortar address to occupy all the areas available,” he said.

This could be attributed to two reasons.

An upstairs arcade in the Citilink building in Flinders Street, Townsville, is largely vacant.

“Many budding entrepreneurs under 35 are enthused by the “start a business in your garage” ethos and go more slowly into business development and awareness through online customer contact from their homes,” he said.

“(And) for nearly a decade in Townsville, minimal (and occasionally negative) house price growth impacted the ability of new business owners having enough equity to commence trading in a formal tenancy.”

Mr Stack said market demand for tenancy areas from local businesses had improved in Townsville and parts of North Queensland since late 2020, and he expected to see more occupancies across the city in 2022.

An old poster of a city heart redevelopment in Flinders Street, Townsville, that is yet to arrive.

‘Outside the box’ thinking needed to fix city centre’s woes

The city centre can offer a better shopping experience where people can get the benefit of independent retailers, Mary Who? Bookshop owner Sue Cole says.

But there are shortcomings with the design of the redeveloped Flinders Street, limiting parking and access, and difficulties with the large size of tenancies for small traders, she says.

“I think the whole city centre — aside from the vacant shops — is the perfect experience when people are here. They marvel at the architecture and the city’s proximity to the creek and the beach,” Ms Cole said.

Lucy Downes from Gecko Interiors with some of the more popular Christmas gifts. Picture: Evan Morgan

The bookshop has been such a mainstay of the CBD, it’s almost part of the city’s soul.

It has traded in the city centre in various locations for around 50 years and has been operated by the Cole family for almost 40 years.

She says the city centre encourages independent retailers and that many of her customers prefer to support these kind of retailers, rather than go to shopping centres.

“I live in hope for more diversity,” she said.

Ms Cole said the move some years ago to provide vacant shops to arts groups had potential and had worked in other centres like Newcastle to create more activity.

She said the design of the Flinders Street redevelopment about 10 years, which had opened the former mall to traffic but retained large footpaths, had inhibited more people coming in.

The design should have allowed for angle or perpendicular parking rather than parallel parking to provide more opportunities for carparking, Ms Cole said.

She said the buildings were large, compared with shopping mall tenancies, which made the costs prohibitive for small independent traders who would give it a go.

Gifts and homewares shop Gecko Interiors is one business which launched in a shopping centre and chose to relocate into the CBD. That was 14 years ago.

Owner Lucy Downes said she preferred to be in the CBD because of lower rent — the rates are less than half — and the ability to “run my own race”.

Sue Cole, Co-owner of Mary Who? Bookshop with their 5 most popular Mind and Soul books

In a shopping centre, there are further charges on businesses based on trading figures and requirements on hours of trade and the need to regularly refit premises.

Ms Downes said she also preferred the demographic the CBD attracted which included business travellers, flights crews and people visiting for weddings and other events.

But she noted the long-term large vacancies in Flinders Street where she trades and cited issues including lack of access, metered parking and problems with vagrants.

“I’m an advocate for free on-street parking. Every time that’s instituted I get great feedback from the local community. The 15-minute (time limit), that doesn’t benefit anyone,” Ms Downes said.

She said the public tended to criticise the city as having nothing to see and that needed to be overcome with events and attractions like the council’s Townsville Eats program which helped draw people from the suburbs who would not otherwise venture into the CBD.

She said the council’s augmented reality walking trail program which used a TCC Interactive app could help the CBD.

“We need to think outside the box. If we can make the CBD a hub for things like that, it really attracts the youth,” she said.

Originally published as Knight Frank’s Craig Stack highlights issues impeding Townsville CBD’s revival