Leasing inquiries open for Torquay development

WORK is progressing at the $29 million mixed use development in Torquay, with advertising fencing going up and inquiries opening for leasing.

The project, being built on the 2.6 hectare rectangular paddock at 85 Geelong Road, will include a cinema, a service station and convenience store, a three-storey backpackers/budget hotel, medical centre, gym/play centre, a childcare centre, commercial office space, and three fast food and beverage outlets.

Liuzzi Property Group is in charge of the retail leasing for the site, and is advertising it online as a “brand new precinct” in a “prime Torquay location” with 353 car parks.

Installed late last year, the latest fencing contains renders of the completed project, an email address and QR code for leasing inquiries, and also shows some of the brands that have committed to occupy sites in the development.

These include KFC, Grilld and Zambrero (in fast food and beverage), Only About Children (in the childcare centre) and 7-Eleven (in the convenience store and service station).

 

Inside the fences, the paddock remains largely the same except for the installation of a site office.

According to Liuzzi Property Group’s “retail leasing opportunities” report for November, the “environmentally conscious site” will have “extensive car parking and bike parking facilities”.

Rent per annum for the office spaces ranges from $45,000 to $111,000, but is listed as “price on application” for most of the other premises.

Located within the Surf Coast Gateway Precinct and originally known as a “gateway” site due to its prominent location on the Surf Coast Highway, the paddock has been attracting interest from developers keen to transform it into a major facility since at least 2016.

Although the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal approved the development in February 2021, there was almost no activity at the site for almost 18 months apart from the installation of small electrical substations.

However, in August last year, permanent and temporary fences began going up along the Geelong Road and Grossmans Road boundaries of the site, with the temporary fences indicating the location of vehicle and pedestrian access.

A spokesperson from Liuzzi Property Group was unavailable for comment by the time this newspaper went to press.