Retail spaces for lease in Brunswick's transformed Jewell station precinct

The three tenancies feature modern glazed frontages and range from 73 square metres to 108 square metres, forming part of Melbourne developer Neometro’s Jewell Station Village, where the developer has delivered four mixed-use buildings combining apartments, retail, hospitality and workplaces.

Lot 44 offers 108 square metres with two car spaces, Lot 45 spans 73 square metres with one car space and Lot 50 comprises 90 square metres, with the VicTrack-owned properties available individually or in combination.

The properties sit opposite Jewell station, close to the Barkly Square tram stop and alongside the Upfield shared path, providing train, tram, cycling and pedestrian connections through Melbourne’s inner north.

Fitzroys agent Franklin Gikas, who is marketing the properties with Max Uzunovski, says the vacant spaces are being offered to the market for the first time since they were built and have attracted strong interest since the campaign launched about two weeks ago.

“We’ve been flooded with inquiry for a mix of uses, from allied health to books and food and beverage looking to be part of the precinct and maybe complementing what’s been curated so far,” Gikas says.

Gikas describes the tenancies as blank canvases ready for incoming businesses to put their own spin on.

Award-winning development reshapes Brunswick precinct

The leasing campaign follows the completion of Neometro’s latest project down the street at 9 Wilson Ave, a distinctive blush-red mixed-use development comprising 71 residences – 58 apartments and 13 lofts – alongside commercial and office space.

Designed by MA+Co, the development’s warm-toned facade references Brunswick’s brick-making history and the enduring infrastructure of neighbouring Jewell station.

It recently won the Best Overend Award for Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing, the top prize in its category at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2026 Victorian Architecture Awards.

The win has also propelled 9 Wilson Ave onto the national stage, with the project shortlisted for the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2026 National Architecture Awards.

Gikas says the development of neighbouring sites has strengthened the leasing proposition at No. 27.

“It’s created so much life in that precinct,” he says.

“It wasn’t a standard retail precinct … they’ve sort of extended Sydney Road and created a little bit of a hub along Wilson Avenue and into Jewell station.”

Neometro development director Lochlan Sinclair says the developer saw potential in Wilson Avenue’s unusually wide streetscape and its position close to public transport, parks and shopping.

“What drew us to this location was both its incredible access to amenity and its untapped potential,” Sinclair says.

“At a macro level, you’ve got transport, parks and shopping right on your doorstep.

“At a micro level, Wilson Ave was unusually wide, which meant it could evolve into a generous, tree-lined street that prioritises people over cars. We could clearly see a future here.”

More than a decade of change around Jewell station

Neometro was appointed in 2014 to transform surplus rail-adjacent land around Jewell station and has since delivered the four mixed-use buildings at 27 Wilson Avenue, 17 Union Street, 1 Wilson Avenue and 9 Wilson Avenue.

Its first Jewell station project, at 27 Wilson Avenue, was completed in 2019 with 78 apartments and commercial space.

Gikas says the properties had been held back as the broader precinct evolved, with the development and activation of neighbouring sites helping strengthen the leasing proposition.

Private development has since been accompanied by public investment, with Merri-bek City Council completing a $2.2 million upgrade of Wilson Avenue between Jewell station and Sydney Road last year, improving pedestrian amenity, walkability and the presentation of the street.

Further public investment is planned for the surrounding rail corridor, with the state government’s Upfield Line level crossing removal project expected to create new community open space and upgraded walking and cycling connections through Brunswick.

Cafes and creative businesses move into Wilson Avenue

The changing neighbourhood is already home to a growing mix of businesses, including hairdresser Salon Spaghetti and publishing company Furst Media, the group behind Melbourne music, arts and culture titles Beat and Fashion Journal.

The broader strip includes Iris the Bakery at 1 Wilson Avenue, brekkie and lunch spot Beautiful Jim Key at No. 7, VERSA Skin and Cosmetics, and Goju Ryu Brunswick martial arts studio at No. 25, alongside several design studios.

Beautiful Jim Key opened last year under Melbourne chef Josh Murphy and partner Priyam Chovhan. Murphy previously worked under celebrated chef Andrew McConnell before opening Harley & Rose in West Footscray.

Kim, who lives and works in the precinct, says the completion of 9 Wilson Avenue and subsequent streetscape works have helped pull the neighbourhood together.

“We actually do get a lot of people coming by who used to come through this area more often and haven’t in a while, and they’re always commenting like, ‘I haven’t been here in such a long time, and this is really nice’,” she says.

“People … rediscover it, I guess.”

One of the clearest examples of the precinct’s live-work model is at 15 Wilson Avenue, where Kim and her partner Tom run architecture practice We Are Humble from a ground-floor studio while living upstairs in the development.

The five-person practice specialises in hospitality design, and moving into 9 Wilson Avenue gave it street frontage for the first time.

“It’s the first time we’ve had frontage to the street and being able to sort of actually have a front door and a window and a presence,” Kim says.

“So, we thought that we would do something to invite people into our space and meet the community that we were moving into.”

The result was Drip Coffee, which opened at the front of the studio in late 2024 when the practice moved into the building.

For several hours each morning, the space operates as a cafe before reverting to meeting and lunch space for the architecture practice later in the day.

“It’s something that’s definitely become integral to us being in this space,” Kim says. “We’re really enjoying it, and we’d like to keep it going.”

Kim describes Goju Ryu Brunswick as one of the street’s originals.

“They’ve always been here. It’s family-run, and they’re lovely,” she says. “Their community is really deep, and you see all the kids and adults coming for their classes all the time.”

She says she’d like the next wave of tenants to complement the businesses already operating along the strip.

“We’d love to see some more things that service the community around here,” she says.

Sinclair says creating places where residential, commercial and social uses overlap was central to Neometro’s approach to the precinct.

“We wanted to transform the precinct broadly into a neighbourhood that supports daily life, where people can live, work and socialise in one place,” he says.

At 9 Wilson Avenue, the homes are arranged in smaller clusters, with open-air walkways, bridges and staircases creating informal meeting points, alongside a landscaped central courtyard and rooftop garden, while the development also includes 12 specialist disability accommodation apartments integrated throughout the building.

“Each building we’ve delivered has its own personality, but together, there’s a shared set of values and pride in the place,” Sinclair says. “That’s the real measure of success.”

The three retail tenancies at 27 Wilson Avenue are being offered for lease separately or together with Fitzroys, with asking rents undisclosed.