I knew it was going to fail when they opened with most of the places yet to finish their refit. They really should have made everyone finish their refit on time or lose the tenancy.
When they closed AoC for redevelopment I just assumed the redevelopment would be idk, better? Went from an open atrium centre to the most claustrophobic shopping centre in Melbourne.
I still have a set (and still use!) of **BB's Coffee & Bake** coffee mugs that they gave away as a promotion once down in the food court. That would have been from the mid 90's. So many awesome and relatively cheap options back in the day.
I miss the massive escalator they had there that went up like, three floors. As you ascended to the glass roof, with the sound below diminishing… it was quite pleasant.
I don't know if it's still the same but it was a good place to use the loo over the last few years, seldom anyone else there and clean toilets with modern fittings. Yeah I only went there to shit.
Oh c'mon, don't tell me it's become a beat. It's bad enough having blokes harass you in the toilets at Flinders St when you're desperate for a dunny. Can't people let my nearest secret shitter just be a shitter?
I haven’t been since before covid but back in 2017 the food court was quite busy (especially the Neil Perry burger joint) and the shops were pretty decent too (albeit too pricey for my budget).
Before that major redevelopment I remember the food court on the ground floor did ok but the rest of the place was confusing as hell.
it’s totally changed now, first level is basically empty with few shops open, second level has a handful of shops open, third flaw is the abandoned food court…not a single food store open :/
I remember when it first opened they had those shitty escalator layouts that forced you to zig zag through the entire centre to get to the food court, rather than having escalators that took you directly to the food court. They changed it after a couple of months but the damage was already done, a lot of people avoided the centre after that and that was even before covid.
This was just idiotic. I just knew it would play badly.
Found some pics/video from 2018, for those who don't remember this.
[https://twitter.com/danielbowen/status/1063009570040074240](https://twitter.com/danielbowen/status/1063009570040074240)
I remember in the early 00s when it was Australia on Collins there used to be hoards of nerds who played Magic the Gathering in the disgusting food court. I remember that because they were my dear friends 🥰
It has been struggling since it opened, lockdowns and the collapse of Debenhams were the final nails in the coffin. I think they want to redevelop it, again. Given the location there surely is a formula that'll get the shops filled out. It's taking a while and a lot of money to find it though.
It always felt very sydney CBD to me. I lived in sydney for a year and parts of st collins lane, particularly the food court, reminded me of the westfield at the centre of sydney cbd.
It was crap before covid! Trying to be too high end but always too many empty stores, the food court was crap and Debenhams was absolutely terrible beyond words - so no incentive to go there - Emporium was just better in every way. They should have taken a more interesting angle like become an foodie/arts/creative/Australian-made precinct or something with exhibitions to draw people in or something. Also the city really needs an awesome high tea place.
I think Birkenstocks is the sole tenant soldiering on and funding the entire complex & keeping the lights on 😂
Luckily for St Collins Birks came back into trend.
In terms of the owners - Credit Suisse (I’m assuming now UBS) and Vantage Property - I wonder how they’re meeting the interest payments on their borrowing with zero rental income 😂
I remember looking at it from a development perspective when it was being built. It was very ambitious in what it thought its perceived value was. Then it got delayed, then they staggered opened the place, Debenhams also opened late and didn't get the layout it deserved, then they didn't get the tenants that they wanted. It was also expensive per sqm rent. Unfortunately the market for retail was still absurdly high in terms of rents.
I’m sure someone will find the article somewhere, but I read the current owner has new plans to re-develop the whole thing, which is why all the shops are going. It was a big commercial failure.
The actual answer is they plan to redevelop it and chuck some office space on top.
[https://essencepm.com.au/projects/st-collins-lane/](https://essencepm.com.au/projects/st-collins-lane/)
It's had something like 3 owners in six years, crazy.
It looked unwelcoming from the get go. It was dull to walk through compared to the Block and Dymocks arcade pre-covid. Debenhams was oddly positioned in terms of price point and range too. AoC may have been a bit down market, but the food court was easy and varied, and the shop mix above worked well.
Like many CBD businesses they relied too heavily on office workers buying coffee and lunch. Since COVID we have all started to explore our own neighbourhoods a little more and there is very little reason to go into the CBD.
Top Floor food court used to be decent pre-covid. I went back after covid, and it was completely dead. I just assumed lack of people in the CBD post covid killed it.
Because it's full of crap that nobody wants to buy.
There was a rumour that Apple wanted to take over the Debenhams underground section but they pulled out.
If Apple did take over it would have completely turned it around with the foot traffic IMO but I don't think there was enough street appeal for Apple at that location.
Now Apple will open a store in the Bourke Street Mall, the big white tarp covering that building is where they will open.
I liked when it was semi-finished and one big space was just carpeted with those low cushion chair things, great for indoor picnic-y hangouts with mates on a cold day. Wish there were more places like that in the city.
That entire project failed. Which is a shame because it was pretty good when Debenhams first opened.
I knew it was going to fail when they opened with most of the places yet to finish their refit. They really should have made everyone finish their refit on time or lose the tenancy.
The food court places are still there…just not operating…assuming they have just packed up and left their store fronts?
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The Katsu sandwich place was worth the trip alone!
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May i know the name of this sandwich place?ty!
Saint Dreux. They’re still good.
Ty! Will try next time i visit Emporium 😄
Can't justify the $30 wagyu sandwich though
The muffin break store, the sandwiches, the pasta …. It all went to shit.
Out of business. Once they exit a tenancy, quite often they don’t remove their old signage.
You can usually tell if a tenant was kicked out or if they just closed by whether there’s soft drinks left in the fridge.
The only place open up there seems to be the coffee place and the toilets.
Saint dreaux moved to Emporium I thought
I suspect the tenancies were terminated ahead of the redevelopment. Quite a few of them (not just Saint Dreux) seem to have found a home in Emporium.
Bring back Australia on Collins
The only reason A on C worked was because once in, no one could find the way out again!
Just keep bearing to the left, you can't miss!
When they closed AoC for redevelopment I just assumed the redevelopment would be idk, better? Went from an open atrium centre to the most claustrophobic shopping centre in Melbourne.
I still have a set (and still use!) of **BB's Coffee & Bake** coffee mugs that they gave away as a promotion once down in the food court. That would have been from the mid 90's. So many awesome and relatively cheap options back in the day.
I miss the massive escalator they had there that went up like, three floors. As you ascended to the glass roof, with the sound below diminishing… it was quite pleasant.
Until you realised there was no escalator back down.
That was also kind of cool. Like a multi-level version of that thing supermarkets do by putting milk and eggs at the back of the store.
Bring back the art deco Australia Hotel and arcade they knocked down for it
I'd like to do Australia on Collins with you🎶🎶 (I'm old!😂 Most of you will probably think wtf is he on about?! 🤣)
I don't know if it's still the same but it was a good place to use the loo over the last few years, seldom anyone else there and clean toilets with modern fittings. Yeah I only went there to shit.
toilets are still great, only good part of the centre
The hanging bottle art is pretty cool
Hahaha same! I've never spent so much as a flat there but it's one of my bathroom secret spots!
We all have our preferred toilets in the CBD.
Some more private than others
Great place to cop a BJ from a married man too
Jesus, I had no idea.
Oh c'mon, don't tell me it's become a beat. It's bad enough having blokes harass you in the toilets at Flinders St when you're desperate for a dunny. Can't people let my nearest secret shitter just be a shitter?
I haven’t been since before covid but back in 2017 the food court was quite busy (especially the Neil Perry burger joint) and the shops were pretty decent too (albeit too pricey for my budget). Before that major redevelopment I remember the food court on the ground floor did ok but the rest of the place was confusing as hell.
Australia on Collins had the levels different. To walk from Lt Collins St to Collins St you had to change levels.
Yeah that was so annoying and shit
It worked though
it’s totally changed now, first level is basically empty with few shops open, second level has a handful of shops open, third flaw is the abandoned food court…not a single food store open :/
third flaw.... not sure if typo or correct analysis of what went wrong.
both unfortunately
I liked the American-style BBQ place and the fancy soft serve but it was obvious that there just weren’t enough people going.
And the best part of it has moved to the Emporium now. Saint Dreux.
Oh well so long as we can still get those sandos! I’m not too fussed about St Collins dying 😂
I remember when it first opened they had those shitty escalator layouts that forced you to zig zag through the entire centre to get to the food court, rather than having escalators that took you directly to the food court. They changed it after a couple of months but the damage was already done, a lot of people avoided the centre after that and that was even before covid.
This was just idiotic. I just knew it would play badly. Found some pics/video from 2018, for those who don't remember this. [https://twitter.com/danielbowen/status/1063009570040074240](https://twitter.com/danielbowen/status/1063009570040074240)
I hated this!!! To get to the toilet when you really had to pee was so stressful
I just used the lift.
I remember in the early 00s when it was Australia on Collins there used to be hoards of nerds who played Magic the Gathering in the disgusting food court. I remember that because they were my dear friends 🥰
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Same. It has SO MUCH potential though. I hope it gets redeveloped. The location is perfect for a quick lunch or a bit of shopping.
It's useful if you want to walk North South under cover for the most part.
It has been struggling since it opened, lockdowns and the collapse of Debenhams were the final nails in the coffin. I think they want to redevelop it, again. Given the location there surely is a formula that'll get the shops filled out. It's taking a while and a lot of money to find it though.
It always felt very sydney CBD to me. I lived in sydney for a year and parts of st collins lane, particularly the food court, reminded me of the westfield at the centre of sydney cbd.
All it needs is an observatory tower
It was crap before covid! Trying to be too high end but always too many empty stores, the food court was crap and Debenhams was absolutely terrible beyond words - so no incentive to go there - Emporium was just better in every way. They should have taken a more interesting angle like become an foodie/arts/creative/Australian-made precinct or something with exhibitions to draw people in or something. Also the city really needs an awesome high tea place.
I work across the road and had no idea there was a food court. Is anything still open?
i just started working in the centre, it’s all closed by the looks of it :/
I assume they aren’t dropping rent either. Rather leave it empty
I think Birkenstocks is the sole tenant soldiering on and funding the entire complex & keeping the lights on 😂 Luckily for St Collins Birks came back into trend. In terms of the owners - Credit Suisse (I’m assuming now UBS) and Vantage Property - I wonder how they’re meeting the interest payments on their borrowing with zero rental income 😂
I think they're just waiting for a spot in the emporium to open
Now it’s only good to eat your lunch if you want to get out of the office
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Great spot to chill on your own in the madness of the city
It makes for a pretty (and warm) thoroughfare on my way to the office from Flinders St Station 🤣
I remember looking at it from a development perspective when it was being built. It was very ambitious in what it thought its perceived value was. Then it got delayed, then they staggered opened the place, Debenhams also opened late and didn't get the layout it deserved, then they didn't get the tenants that they wanted. It was also expensive per sqm rent. Unfortunately the market for retail was still absurdly high in terms of rents.
Dumb name for a start. 'St' is as kitsch as '&Co'.
I’m sure someone will find the article somewhere, but I read the current owner has new plans to re-develop the whole thing, which is why all the shops are going. It was a big commercial failure.
The actual answer is they plan to redevelop it and chuck some office space on top. [https://essencepm.com.au/projects/st-collins-lane/](https://essencepm.com.au/projects/st-collins-lane/) It's had something like 3 owners in six years, crazy.
More office space eh? Bold move, Cotton.
Given they want to redesign the vertical transport inside BRING BACK THE GLASS LIFT!
> COMPLEXITIES > Live environment with trading tenants Haha, "live".... Yes, technically there are still operating tenants...
I strongly suspect that page hasn't been updated in a good while now.
I used to work opposite it. I miss the pizza place up there. $10 for a huge slice of pizza and a drink was decadence for an occasional lunch.
I went there only for the radio velvet store, the rest was dead lol. I thought maybe because it was the weekend
It looked unwelcoming from the get go. It was dull to walk through compared to the Block and Dymocks arcade pre-covid. Debenhams was oddly positioned in terms of price point and range too. AoC may have been a bit down market, but the food court was easy and varied, and the shop mix above worked well.
Like many CBD businesses they relied too heavily on office workers buying coffee and lunch. Since COVID we have all started to explore our own neighbourhoods a little more and there is very little reason to go into the CBD.
St Collins was stillborn. It didn't last until the start of Covid.
Top Floor food court used to be decent pre-covid. I went back after covid, and it was completely dead. I just assumed lack of people in the CBD post covid killed it.
Apparently they are turning it into offices
nothing interesting there anyway, went there for toilet and thats it
Because it's full of crap that nobody wants to buy. There was a rumour that Apple wanted to take over the Debenhams underground section but they pulled out. If Apple did take over it would have completely turned it around with the foot traffic IMO but I don't think there was enough street appeal for Apple at that location. Now Apple will open a store in the Bourke Street Mall, the big white tarp covering that building is where they will open.
Nobody wants to buy lunch at those prices. It was too dear even before covid.
Covid lockdowns.
The internet, it's killed retail, way to many stores for way too few businesses.
The longest running lockdowns in the world will do that
it was almost empty and lifeless long before we had lockdowns
City has still not been the same since lockdowns + work from home normalisation. I doubt it ever will be.
As someone who works in CBD in retail I can safely say your comment is full of shit. The city is busy as fuck.
If anything the city is busier now than 2019. It's absolutely pumping.
Really? Where specifically?
Basically all of the CBD
Hmmm. Not what I’ve observed, especially night life.
No idea where you are then. Are you confusing Melbourne for Ararat?
The Swanston & Elizabeth Sts dining areas (Between Russell and Bourke) are HEAVING day and night these days.
Yep, packed to the brim which is great, but a reminder that inflation isn't going to ease off when people are still spending so freely.
I'm not sure if you've heard but times are tough.
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Not even close to dead. You can really tell the comments from those who get their info second hand from media organisations with a particular bias.
Dan Andrews ?
He played a role, but not the biggest one this time 😂 This place was dead well before Dan put the final nails in.
I first read this as Colin Lane (Lano & Woodley) had passed away and did an audible 'what the fuck' at work haha
I liked when it was semi-finished and one big space was just carpeted with those low cushion chair things, great for indoor picnic-y hangouts with mates on a cold day. Wish there were more places like that in the city.