
FLOOR AREA |
Retail Leasing Opportunity – Cairns CBD Under Little Drifter Hostel:
- Dual street exposure to Lake Street and Shields Street – two of Cairns’ busiest pedestrian retail and tourism boulevards.
- Centrally located within 150m walking distance of the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon, Reef Terminal, Night Markets, and major transport interchanges.
- Surrounded by backpacker hostels, bars, QSR, tourism service operators and waterfront retail.
- Exposure to thousands of daily walk-by tourists, backpackers, digital nomads, and locals.
- Port of Cairns: 900m (approx. 11-minute walk)

Now available by Expression of Interest – a rare opportunity to lease one or more retail tenancies (or reconfigure the full ground-floor arcade) beneath Little Drifter Cairns — a newly refurbished, ~300-bed design-led hostel-hotel by LaCo.
This under-activated arcade offers a blank canvas for visionary operators to create a curated mix of essential, experiential, and tourism-driven retail aligned with the Drifter lifestyle. Ideal for:
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Food & Beverage (grab & go, café, juice, night-time bites)
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Bar / Hospitality / Entertainment
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Convenience & Essentials
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Health & Wellness (barber, massage, yoga, etc.)
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Tourism & Adventure (reef tours, scooters, e-bike hire)
Positioned in the heart of Cairns’ tourism and hospitality precinct, and surrounded by hotels, nightlife, and foot traffic, this is a chance to anchor a unique day-to-night precinct catering to both travelers and locals.
Now seeking EOIs from aligned operators.
Contact the team at Empire Property Partners to discuss retail configuration options, or to organise a site meeting with local agents Knight Frank Cairns.

