High Street Armadale landmark in Melbourne offered for first time in 30 years
One of High Street Armadale’s largest retail holdings has been offered for sale for the first time in more than 30 years. Known as Armadale Central, the two-level mixed-use property at 1113-1121 High Street occupies a 1363-square-metre site with about 30 metres of frontage.
The fully leased building contains almost 1590 square metres of floor space across five ground-floor retail tenancies and four first-floor commercial suites, providing a diversified income of $584,837 a year with potential for future rental uplift.
Cushman & Wakefield’s international director and co-head of investment sales Victoria, Oliver Hay, says the scale of the holding distinguishes it from most properties offered along High Street.
“After more than 30 years in the same private family ownership, Armadale Central represents a genuinely generational opportunity to acquire one of High Street’s most substantial and tightly held investments,” she says.
“It combines secure income, an irreplaceable landholding, exceptional frontage and 61 on-site car parks with genuine long-term flexibility in one of Australia’s most prestigious retail destinations.”
Strong retail trading fundamentals
Armadale Central is coming to market during a period of strong investment and leasing activity on High Street.
The strip has a retail vacancy rate of 4 per cent, according to the City of Stonnington’s latest economic snapshot, the lowest among the municipality’s major shopping precincts.
Visitors generated 69 per cent of spending in the precinct, according to the winter 2025 report, highlighting High Street’s evolution from a neighbourhood shopping strip into a destination for fashion, food and lifestyle businesses.
That transformation has been supported by mixed-use development and the arrival of prominent fashion, beauty, wellness and hospitality operators.
Businesses such as Victor Churchill, Fishbowl, Lune, Henne and Mecca have helped broaden the strip’s appeal and attract a steady flow of shoppers and diners.
The street also benefits from an affluent local customer base, with Armadale’s median weekly household income sitting at $2193 in the 2021 census, about 25 per cent higher than the Victorian median of $1,759.
Maker Property partner George Davies says High Street has established itself as one of Melbourne’s most popular luxury shopping destinations, while Armadale Central has the scale to participate in the precinct’s next phase of growth.
“High Street Armadale continues to strengthen its position as one of Australia’s most sought-after retail precincts,” he says. “As the second-largest landholding on High Street, Armadale Central offers a scale and profile that is unlikely to be replicated for many years.”
Recent transactions demonstrate the demand for larger holdings along the strip.
The nearby property at 1097-1111 High Street, where bedding store Hommey is a tenant, sold to a domestic private investor for more than $25 million in 2025.
The 1773-square-metre site contains 2417 square metres of lettable area and had a weighted average lease expiry of 5.12 years at the time. Cushman & Wakefield said its sales campaign attracted more than 160 inquiries and 10 formal offers.
Investors accounted for 70 per cent of the interest, while developers made up the remaining 30 per cent, demonstrating the appeal of properties that combine established income with longer-term development potential.
“Recent High Street transactions have demonstrated the depth of capital seeking exposure to Armadale,” Davies says. “It doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.”
High Street activity-centre controls
High Street’s evolution will be shaped by activity-centre planning controls finalised by the Victorian government in July.
The Armadale activity-centre plan provides for building heights of up to six storeys across most of High Street, with the aim of supporting more shop-top housing while retaining the character of the heritage strip.
The controls seek to preserve commercial and retail uses at street level by requiring active frontages along High Street. They also address building setbacks, sunlight at street level, pedestrian activity and the relationship between new development and residential properties south of the strip.
Any future redevelopment of Armadale Central, which is zoned Commercial 1 (C1Z), would be subject to the planning controls applying to the site and would require the relevant approvals. Its size, frontage and existing mixed-use configuration nevertheless provide a level of flexibility that is uncommon among High Street’s smaller, tightly held properties.
Armadale Central is for sale by international expressions of interest through Cushman & Wakefield, Maker Property and Gross Waddell ICR, closing at 2pm AEST on Thursday, October 8.
