Luxury property developer, GURNER™ has confirmed Winning Appliances, Australia’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance specialist, to occupy over 1770sqm of prime retail space at its iconic ‘FV’ development in Brisbane.
The partnership will see the appliance brand move from their existing showroom facility at 209 Brunswick Street, which will soon be demolished to make way for the third stage of ‘FV’, due to commence construction later this year.
The deal comes as GURNER™ recently announced the impending sale of FV’s management rights which is expected to include letting agreements to the majority of the project’s 900+ apartments, together with the option to purchase the associated freehold real estate and retail at ground level.
Winning Appliances and GURNER™ commissioned architect Elenberg Fraser, to custom design the retail space, which will span over two levels and boast two street frontages thanks to its unique postion in the apex of GURNER™’s first FV building, Flatiron, which features a 270 degree curved glazed façade, inspired by New York’s iconic building of the same name.
A fourth-generation family business, Winning Appliances was founded in 1906 by John Richard William Winning, as R.W. Winning and Co., a business that dealt primarily with horse and carriage needs, as well as hardware supplies.
Today, Winning Appliances spans 12 stores across NSW, QLD and WA and has an unmatched selection of the world’s best cooking and laundry brands including Sub-Zero and Wolf, Miele, Gagganau and Smeg, among many more.
Winning Appliances CEO, David Woollcott said FV will be Australia’s absolute best location for customers, architects and designers to shop for appliances, on par with Winning Appliances’ Flagship Redfern Showroom in Sydney.
“The FV building was a natural fit for the Winning Appliances brand, as like FV and GURNER™, we are synonomous with high quality, world-leading design and technology. We pride ourselves on offering our customers the world’s most iconic appliance brands and there’s no doubt that the FV building will become an iconic Brisbane building.”
GURNER™ Founder and Director, Tim Gurner said the impending arrival of Winning Appliances marked the first phase of the site’s profound transformation that would see Brunswick and Alfred Streets become a first-class retail and dining destination.
“ The retail offering at FV is unique in that it spans three frontages and offers a range of opportunites across retail, dining and amenity.
“ Our vision is to create a new destination for Fortitude Valley complete with cafés, restaurants, bars and first-class retail shopping brands.
“ Winning Appliances is a premium retail offering stocking some of the world’s most sought-after brands so it’s a natural fit for FV.
“Given the premium level of the development, Winning Appliances will also supply the white goods packages into all 651 apartments in our first two buildings, Flatiron and Valley House.
“We are excited to be working with Winning Appliances and our long time collaborators, Elenberg Fraser to create a custom-designed showroom that is befitting of such a premium brand and location.
“ We are now looking to compliment this retail offering with a mix of cafés, bars and restaurants through the sale of FV’s management rights, to create a truly spectacular precinct in the Valley.
“ FV is one of the first truly mixed use retail and residential sites in Australia of this scale, and one that mirrors the international luxury resort models from around the world.
“ We will be fitting out the remainder of the retail with some of Australia’s leading café and restaurant operators. We are aiming towards opening the first two buildings in mid-2017 with all ground floor retail activated and ready for residents.
“ We will soon be closing expressions of interest for the management rights campaign and we look forward to making a major announcement in the coming weeks,” he said.
GURNER™’s FV project has turned heads since its initial launch in 2014, thanks to its hotel-style luxury design and unparalleled dedication to luxury amenity throughout.
The three-tower project features a total of 3,000sqm of private amenity; complete with a number of pools and bars, private dining areas, cinema facilities, a gym, yoga studio, business club and conferencing and much more.
Construction of the project’s first two stages, ‘Flatiron’ and ‘Valley House’ is currently underway, with these stages slated to reach completion in mid 2017. Construction of the third tower is anticipated to commence in late 2016.