Clemenger chooses Bourke Street Mall for headquarters
Clemenger Group will relocate headquarters from its long-time home at 472-474 St Kilda Road to the top four floors of the outgoing David Jones Menswear store, in the Bourke Street Mall, which will be repurposed with offices, a supermarket and Mecca outlet.
The 7500 square metre deal is a boon for the landlord, Newmark Capital, which paid the South African retailer $121 million for the property, 299 Bourke St, in mid-2020 – as the COVID pandemic ground the retail sector – then won council approval to renovate.
David Jones is set to vacate in September paving the way for the c18 month capital works project, which includes a small extension and activating the lower rooftop.
With the office deal, brokered by Colliers’ Edward Knowles with JLL’s Nick Drake, about 90 per cent of the overall proposed lettable area is accounted for.
Clemenger was established in 1946, opening shortly after in the basement of the c1889 Oxford Chambers, which sat at 473 Bourke St until 52 years ago; now a foreign owned unlisted company, its marques include Clemenger BBDO and Omnicom Group.
Once it quits 472-474 St Kilda Rd, that landlord, Sunnyland Investment Group, is intending a $170m mixed-use project including a 180-key hotel, the first to operate in Australia under the Marriott Executive Apartments brand.
Clemenger returns to Bourke Street
Clemenger’s CBD office will be accessed from a new address, 280 Little Collins St (story continues below).
The deal comes three months since Mecca committed to a 3000 sqm ground floor area within the building, facing the Bourke St Mall and Myer.
As part of the permit, a c2500 sqm basement supermarket is intended.
Another tenancy will also be created for Rodd & Gunn, which pre-committed last year.
Developed in the 1930s as the GJ Coles Store, 299 Bourke St once accommodated the Coles Book Arcade, speculated at the time to be the world’s largest bookstore.
Newmark holds it in an unlisted trust.
Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page.
