Landlords cop blame as vacancies rise
Image: Balmain solicitor and community leader, Anny Slater
Easing rental pressures and enticing more customers to the streets of Leichhardt and Balmain are the only ways to stop escalating commercial vacancies, business owners say.
Several shop proprietors along the Darling St strip expressed concern about a duopoly of landlords forcing rents higher than the market value.
Thierry Naboulsi, who owns the City Perfume store on Darling St, said it was now cheaper to rent in Mosman than Balmain. He agreed it was a major problem that landlords preferred to leave their shops vacant rather than respond to market forces.
“If the rent is not meeting their expectations, they won’t rent the store,” he said.
Mr Naboulsi credited Leichhardt Council for its 30-minute free parking initiative, but condemned a failure to properly market Balmain and provide community activities. He would not guarantee staying in Darling St at the end of his current lease.
“If the street gets worse, everybody has to move to another location,” said Mr Naboulsi.
Balmain solicitor and community leader, Anny Slater, has at least one idea to improve the situation: giving residents input into what replaces the presently empty storefronts along Darling St. Borrowing an idea from New Orleans artist and designer, Cindy Chang, Ms Slater wants to line vacant shop windows with stickers that say “I wish this was a …” and allow passers-by to write down what sort of local business they would like to see open up.
But so far the suggestion has fallen on the deaf ears of Balmain real estate agents. “I’ve approached two – one hasn’t got back to me and the other said no,” said Ms Slater.
She felt compelled to look for new solutions to the vacancy problem because of a “general malaise” in the area, and says landlords have to take a longer-term interest in the health of Darling St.
“At least in the Balmain strip, landlords were passing on the land tax to the lessees and that coupled with the lack of people actually walking the strip and buying locally is a death knell for business,” said Ms Slater. “Some businesses have dealt with it by moving up to Lilyfield and Rozelle.”
Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne said Council’s employment and economic development plan, and its partnership with Renew Australia would help return customers to the area’s high streets.
“It’s about reversing the destructive cycle in which vacant retail premises leads to vandalism and less patronage and less retail traffic. By bringing people back into areas that have been closed off, you can attract long-term tenants who can make those shopfronts a permanent home,” he said.
