Shopping centre giant Vicinity Centres has taken full control of Brisbane’s Uptown Mall and pledged up to $350m to redevelop the retail centre.
The $11.93bn company has exchanged a deal to pay IFM Investors $212m for its 75 per cent in the Brisbane property, taking it to full ownership of the mall. Simon Rooney of CBRE brokered the deal but the agent and vendor declined to comment.
Vicinity is capitalising on Brisbane’s emergence as the country’s fastest-growing major economy with rivals also getting set as the city grows.
Superannuation giant Australian Retirement Trust is also eyeing a near 50 per cent stake in Westfield Mt Gravatt and Dexus took an additional 25 per cent stake in Westfield Chermside in Brisbane for $683m last December.
The Queensland capital is outpacing Sydney and Melbourne on key economic metrics with more than $100bn in committed infrastructure transforming the city. Big projects include Cross River Rail, the Brisbane Metro, Queens Wharf, Waterfront Brisbane, and the 2032 Olympics precinct.
Uptown’s trade area is expected to add about. 700,000 people over the next decade, translating to about $39bn in incremental retail spending. More high-rise projects are also planned at Woolloongabba, Bowen Hills and in South Brisbane West End, with a 70 per cent increase in CBD residents expected by 2035
The retail market is benefiting from the strength of Brisbane’s office market, which sports the lowest office vacancy rate of any major Australian CBD. High workplace attendance has also kept retail demand pumping between Monday and Friday.
Vicinity is moving as it sees Brisbane as under-served by large-scale mainstream and premium CBD retail complex. While Sydney and Melbourne are anchored by major city-centre retail destinations Brisbane does not now have an anchor complex.
Vicinity chief executive Peter Huddle is bullish about the opportunity to redevelop the centre into a modern complex.
“The confluence of structural forces reshaping Brisbane, including accelerating urban densification, transformative infrastructure investment, and the catalytic effect of the 2032 Games, creates a once in a generation investment opportunity. Uptown sits at the precise intersection of those dynamics, and we are deploying capital accordingly,” Mr Huddle said.
The multi-level, 63,965sq m Uptown Mall fronting Queen Street Mall is anchored by Coles, Target, Event Cinemas and a multi-level 1450sq m commercial car park.
Myer exited its longstanding store at the centre in 2023 as retail conditions soured but is considered a prime candidate to make a return to the complex.
Vicinity will take the ageing centre and make it into an upscale retail, dining and entertainment precinct like the Emporium centre in Melbourne’s CBD.
A deal has been quietly in the works ever since David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital indicated its interest in the stake last year. However, Vicinity owned the minority 25 per cent interest, giving it pre-emptive rights over the stake put on the block.
The move comes as retail property has swung back into vogue, with landlords betting on a longer-term resurgence of their assets amid a scramble for space by top retailers.
Citi analysts said Australian retail real estate demonstrated resilience in the first quarter of 2026, with near-full occupancy, rising rents, record transaction volumes and supply that remains structurally below long-term averages.
National retail vacancy held at 4.7 per cent — below the 10-year average of 5.1 per cent — while retail transactions reached $2.4bn in the first quarter, after a record $13.7bn in 2025, with robust investor interest underscoring sector confidence.
Discretionary spending remains healthy, supported by budget stimulus adding $6bn to household disposable income in fiscal 2027, through consumers are becoming more value-conscious than anticipated.
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Ben WilmotCommercial Property Editor