Tuesday, 23 August, 2016
Exclusive: 100 new shops come to Coast
Shoppers have new reason to rejoice as the long-anticipated redevelopment of the Sunshine Plaza will begin this month, bringing 100 new retailers and David Jones into Maroochydore. Nearly nine years after developer Lendlease first announced plans to expand the Coast’s most popular shopping centre, the upgrade is now poised to begin. The property, jointly owned by the Australian Prime Property Fund Retail and managed by Lendlease and The GPT Group, gained final approval to start construction of the $400 million redevelopment.
The Plaza will expand from 73,000sq m, cementing its position as the largest retail centre north of Brisbane and a leading fashion, leisure and tourist destination. It is estimated that the redevelopment will generate up to 2900 jobs during construction and about 2300 additional retail positions when complete. Construction is expected to start this month and will take about two years, with completion before Christmas 2018.
A Lendlease spokeswoman said the retail mix included the region’s first David Jones department store, a new BigW, a refurbished Myer, a new Amaroo St mall entrance, provision for large format fashion operators and more than 100 new specialty stores.
The transformed centre will also feature new outdoor waterfront dining along Cornmeal Creek, further enhancing the “indoor/outdoor” experience at Sunshine Plaza. Parking will be improved with two new multi-level car parking facilities with more than 1400 additional car spaces, taking the total number of spaces to nearly 5000. The first stage of the redevelopment involves the construction of a car park on vacant land behind Toys R Us providing alternative parking during the construction of the first multi-deck car park at the Kmart entrance.
Lendlease’s head of retail, Gary Horwitz, said extensive community consultation provided deep insights into the needs and aspirations of the local market. “We are thrilled to be creating this amazing retail space for the Sunshine Coast,” Mr Horwitz said. “The design will capture the community’s desire for a sophisticated experience whilst reflecting the Sunshine Coast’s rich natural beauty and relaxed coastal lifestyle. “We are proud of our strong history at Sunshine Plaza, having delivered innovative and unique retail experiences which will celebrate the outdoor coastal strengths of the region. “The centre already achieves solid results, ranking second in Queensland for specialty sales productivity and performs significantly higher than the national benchmark. The current performance of Sunshine Plaza indicates a strong demand for an expanded retail offer.”
Redevelopment Plan
• A $400 million investment into the heart of Maroochydore.
• It will bring the Sunshine Coast’s first David Jones into Maroochydore as well as 100 new retailers.
• It will increase the size of the plaza from 73,000sq m to more than 107,000sq m.
• Creating up to 2900 jobs during construction and about 2300 additional retail positions when completed.
• Construction begins this month with completion before Christmas 2018.
• The Amaroo St mall entrance will be revamped for the large format fashion operators.
• The transformed centre will also feature new outdoor waterfront dining along Cornmeal Creek, further enhancing the “indoor/outdoor” experience at Sunshine Plaza.
• Two new multi-level car parking facilities will create more than 1400 additional car spaces, taking the total number of spaces to nearly 5000.
Sunshine Coast Daily
Kathy Sundstrom
Posted in Press Clippings
