A range of questions were asked of Tim Spencer and Barry Teeling at our July Community Conversations event in regard to the Marine Village and Sanctuary Cove Retail precinct.
As these are not Tim and Barry’s area of expertise, we took the questions to the relevant Division Head within Mulpha, Andrew Hall, who has endeavoured to answer as many a possible with the information we have on hand at this time.
Please see the Q&A below, and feel free to email Sarah Staerk at yoursanctuarycove@mulpha.com.au with further queries.
Question:
When will the village update occur?
Answer:
A Property Improvement Plan with a range of tenant remixing initiatives for the Marine Village and Retail Precinct is currently underway with a capital commitment of approximately $20 million, subject to final feasibilities being Board Approved. It is a three-year program that will be carried out in stages.
Question:
Why are there so many retail vacancies in the Village?
Answer:
With prior Village mixed use development master planning initiatives being undertaken, we needed to preserve flexibility for that possible future development and as a result that meant we had leasing constraints being placed on new deals.
However, the Board has now endorsed the Property Improvement Plan as indicated above and we are now working to re-mix and introduce new retailers to the Village. We have a number of negotiations underway and have also signed new Heads of Agreement with a variety of tenants. As these deals get executed and shops handed over, we will share further details on the tenancies.
We are also looking at introducing more pop-up style offerings throughout the Village for better activation spaces that may otherwise be in leasing transition. These initiatives will be shared in our regular marketing communications.
Question:
Why is it so expensive for retailers to be in Sanctuary Cove?
Answer:
Asset Management are very focused on introducing quality retailers and offers that will be sustainable over the long term. We always have regard for market rental parameters as advised by valuers and leasing professionals to ensure we are competitive relative to other precincts. We also look at a range of rental structuring regimes depending on the use, retailer, and market conditions to remain competitive.
Question:
We’ve lost long term tenants why?
Answer:
While Management would always like to retain tenants over the long term, there are often factors outside our control which dictate a tenant’s decision to vacate. If a tenant does vacate, our focus is on sourcing a suitable replacement that we think will add merit to the overall offer at the Village.
Naturally, sourcing these tenants can take time subject to market conditions, which is why we are now introducing more short-term pop-up retail activations to populate vacant shops from time to time.
Question:
Parking is limited at the marina, and many taken up by employees, are there any plans to increase?
Answer:
There is a precinct-wide car parking management plan being worked on with the broader Mulpha team to ensure alignment across business units at Sanctuary Cove. This will involve (as a minimum) having staff parking zones at the front of the Village and freeing up parking for retail patrons beyond the start of Masthead Way. We will be working closely with security and tenants to ensure this is being adhered to. The broader car parking strategy for the Hotel/Village precincts is being undertaken with the assistance of consultant parking/traffic engineers to ensure we can provide an appropriate long term solution.
