GREEK BURGER GIANT SETTLES AT LONDSDALE

THE equivalent of two vacant floors has been leased in a high profile Londsdale Street building, with Greece's largest fast-food chain among the new tenants.

The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne & Victoria has snared burger chain Goody's Burger House for the group's first store in Australia, among other tenants, in its push to fully lease the property at 168 Londsdale Street.

The chain, which has a larger footprint than McDonalds in Greece, will be located directly opposite longstanding Greek restaurant operator Stalactites.

Goody's has 124 stores in Greece, compared to 22 for McDonald's and the lease deal comes ahead of this month's 29th Londsdale St Greek Festival which is hosted by the Greek community organisation and draws about 100,000 people each year.

Among other new tenants secured are Fly Overseas Group and 2-Future Education.

CBRE's Paul Tzamalis, who negotiated the deals with colleagues Scott McGlone and Will Dungey, says the new agreements highlight the changing face of Melbourne's famous Greek precinct and the demand for both office and retail leasing opportunities.

The non-profit Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne & Victoria is the peak Greek organisation in Melbourne. Established in 1897 by some of the first Greek residents of the City of Melbourne, it is the oldest Greek organisation in Australia.

"The Greek Community Centre has become a modern hub, providing event rooms, education services and the opportunity to launch new retail concepts," Tzamalis says.

"The building has also become a drawcard for office occupiers as leasing conditions in the CBD continue to strengthen."

The three lease deals take out all the vacant office space in the community centre, being a total of two whole floors.

Migration services agency Fly Overseas Group has leased a refurbished floor of 226sqm on a three-year term, while Future Education Group has also taken 226sqm of space on a five-year term.

The deals were struck at gross rentals of $450 a square metre and $470 a square metre respectively, with fixed annual reviews.

McGlone says the 2-Future Education deal highlights the increasingly active market for education tenants in the Melbourne CBD.

"There has been an influx of international students and new education providers in Melbourne, but many of these groups are finding it extremely difficult to secure suitable CBD space," he says.

"This has provided opportunities for a range of landlords and solutions for office space that has, in some cases, been vacant for over 12 months."