Ex-Waltons gets new identity after $80m purchase
The city’s ex-Waltons department store – later the four-screen Village City Centre – has been refreshed and rebranded with a string of new tenants.
The Icon, as it is now known, at 206 Bourke Street, contains 11,845 square metres of entertainment and retail space across six levels.
The north side of the complex is in the heart of the Chinatown precinct.
Michelin-starred Hong Kong dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan is amongst the tenants.
New retailers include Ukiyo Matcha and virtual reality entertainment group Sandbox VR.
JB Hi Fi and Holmesglen Institute also occupy space.
The Icon
3L Alliance paid $80.1 million for 206 Bourke St mid-last year.
ISPT – now part of IFM Investors – was the seller
It paid $116.3m in 2015.
3L Alliance is chasing more experiential retailers (continues below).
“The Icon is about creating a destination that feels distinctly Melbourne – energetic, diverse and built around experiences that give people another reason to spend time in the city,” 3L Alliance chief executive Jieshu Li said.
Senior marketing manager Connor Gibbons added that the repositioning reflected changing patterns in how people use the CBD.
“We’re seeing people increasingly look for more than traditional retail when they visit the city… entertainment, dining, social experiences and discovery are becoming an increasingly important part of the CBD experience, and that is at the heart of our vision for The Icon,” according to the executive.
Site history
The six-level building was developed in 1965 as a Waltons department store and was known as Village City Centre between 1986 and 2005, when it was owned by Village Roadshow Asset Management.
Challenger, which acquired Village Roadshow Asset Management in 1999, sold the property to Cromwell for $31.9m in 2004.
Cromwell on-sold it three years later for $34.3m to Les Smith and Macquarie, which repurposed the building as a retail-based mixed-use complex.
About one-fifth of the area was retained as offices.
Singapore-based Hiap Hoe bought the property for $105m in 2013 before selling it to ISPT two years later.
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