Our CBD – a proper market square is the fix

WITH GARETH KENT, DIRECTOR PRESTON ROWE PATERSON

Geelong CBD has more than 25,000sqm of empty office space, with another 42,000 sqm currently in the planning pipeline.

Given this oversupply, landlords are doing everything they can to attract new tenants even offering up to 30 per cent of the rental return as incentives. A recent review of this market by PRP (Preston Row Paterson Geelong), found landlords offering fit-outs, rent-free periods or cash-back offers to secure tenants. Over the past 10 years there has been an exodus out of the CBD, businesses from major banks to large accounting firms are moving in droves to more appealing sites such as the Federal Wool Mills Business Park.

Pre-COVID (2019), Geelong had approximately 14,000sqm of available space. It was the COVID pandemic that sunk the final boot into this already soft market. Turbo-charging this exodus was the “working from home” arrangements, which dramatically reduced the amount of office space required from the private sector as well as our insurance agencies and government authorities. Organisations such as NDIS, and Work Safe, previously held tenancies in several buildings around Geelong, they are now vacant, leases not renewed.

Empty offices in our CBD are not good for anyone. It’s not good for the landlords, the supporting businesses, cafés, hospitality and the vibrancy of the town centre. I see more people enjoying the centre of town when I visit Warrnambool. It’s just damn sad. What can we do about it? The answer is we need a bold plan and a big idea.

I refer to my proposal set out in my last article wherein the government uses its powers to acquire Market Square, knock it over and create a “City Heart” for Geelong.

My proposal includes several levels of all-day car parking, along with a Fed Square style piazza at ground level. Crucially, this new parking would service the entire CBD, providing all-day options, paid of course. This would facilitate not only the requirement from surrounding office workers but also the need for additional parking for proposed high-density development within the CBD. It has been proven over and over the lack of car parking is a major factor in the slow demand for inner-city apartments. While we all enjoy walkable spaces, the reality for many Geelong people is that our public transport isn’t frequent or well-connected enough.

In addition to the business case for car parking, imagine the benefits of a large open space in the CBD – channelling Europe or New York. This piazza could be a meeting place at lunchtime, a spot to enjoy the sun, or the venue to catch a live performance by a local cultural group. I imagine lights in trees at night and full restaurants spilling into the square. It should be architecturally designed, a reaffirmation that Geelong is Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design.

Some will argue that an open space like this will only encourage the current unruly behaviour that we see a lot of in our CBD. However, if you look at the success of the Melbourne Laneway projects, it’s clear when the areas are given attention and frequented by a greater and more diverse population, these problems actually decrease. The transformation of the Little Malop Street Strip is a testament that good investment in the right way can completely change the nature of the location.

As a city, we need to create demand. If we can encourage businesses and their employees back to the CBD, this will bring with it the opportunity for boutique retail to also return, bringing much needed vibrancy.

Of course, it will take significant investment from our Government, but this is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions being spent on the Big Build in Melbourne. I would like to see the council undertake a proper case study to support this idea, and it will need all levels of Government behind it to make it happen. I believe the benefits to the community would far outweigh the costs.

It’s a big idea. But if we are going to get this city going, we need to dream big.

Let’s send a message – I urge you to join me in voting on the online petition at chng.it/SPr5pnZRHx