Tram closure flagged as joint culprit in Jetty Road shopfront vacancies
Latest JLL shop vacancy data shows the state government’s closure of the city to Glenelg tram is partly to blame for trader turmoil in Jetty Road, while two major Adelaide shopping strips are hitting record highs with empty shopfronts.
Despite ongoing public criticism of the Holdfast Bay Council – including a brutal assessment from Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis – a new report showing retail vacancies on Glenelg’s Jetty Road hit 5.8 per cent compared to four per cent in quarter one was partly blamed on the state government’s tram closure for upgrades.
According to JLL’s Adelaide Retail High Street Overview report, foot traffic in the retail precinct was “somewhat disrupted” by Holdfast Bay’s ongoing Transforming Jetty Road Glenelg project along with the tram service closure while the network is upgraded.
Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson said the algal bloom, tram upgrades and ongoing construction in the shopping and entertainment strip had all led to a decreased visitation to Jetty Road.
“The failure of the tram bringing down 2,000 people a day coupled with the algal bloom have been left out of the conversation in relations to Jetty Road,” she said.
“From Partridge Street to Brighton Road, that entire section of the road has been completed for months. What we’ve seen in that part is a decrease in foot traffic and that can only be attributed to the tram.”
Wilson said the Jetty road upgrades would only provide temporary high vacancy rates and expected the number to fall over the summer period following construction completion.
“You just have to look at the vacancy rates of King William Road which is now the highest performing Main Street,” she said, adding that shopping strip had undergone extensive upgrades.
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Transport Minister Emily Bourke said the tram upgrade plan remained on track and the tram service from the city to Glenelg would be operating again by the end of January.
“The $870 million tram grade separation project has been years in the planning,” Bourke said.
“The State Government has added 44 buses to the fleet to accommodate the partial tram line closure.”
“And given the current state of Jetty Road, we are increasing way finding signage in the area to help people navigate the mess and find our replacement bus services.”
Two other key shopping strips showed rising vacancies, with premium Rundle Street recording a two per cent increase in vacancies from the previous report in quarter one of this financial year, taking its total to 10.3 per cent — the highest level since COVID-19 in mid-2021.
“The more successful precincts can be victims of their own success, and they typically charge higher rent — when times are tough it sometimes presents a challenge to retain a lot of these retailers,” Rick Warner, JLL South Australia director of research, said.
Long-term Rundle Street retailers Zimmerman and Aje Athletica both closed stores recently, with Zimmerman opening its new boutique in the newly upgraded Burnside Village.
“Some of the fashion operators have relocated to Burnside Village which has attracted some retailers in the fashion sector,” Warner said.
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It followed the closures of other fashion retailers Derma Department and Azalia Boutique in the six months to Q1 2025.
Prospect Road also recorded its highest vacancy rate at nine per cent since tracking began in the area in 2018, but Warner said the numbers “look worse on the surface than it really is”.
“Prospect Road is more susceptible to volatile movement just because it’s way smaller than every other precinct, so even if a couple shops become vacant it really spikes,” Warner said.
“There’s been two new developments in Prospect Road and both of those have had retail along the ground floor, and those new spaces are leasing out quite well so that’s indicative of the demand in Prospect Road.”
Meanwhile, lifestyle precincts on King William Road and The Parade have hit record-low vacancies.
The Parade in Norwood decreased 2.6 per cent over the past six months to a 4 per cent vacancy rate, with the ORTA apartment development completion to support local pedestrian foot traffic.
Warner said “residential development is the key to success for all of these high streets”.
“You get more pedestrians, more night time economy spending if you’re building more apartments along these strips and you can see that in the successful ones like The Parade,” Warner said.
King William Road recorded a 3.9 per cent vacancy rate — it’s lowest on record — with hospitality venues representing 32 per cent of tenants.
Warner said the “strong hospitality precinct” was a contributing factor to King William Road’s low vacancy.
New entrants to the area included restaurant operators NuNu Fusion Thai and Pohkay, along with fashion operator Second Ave.
