Tuesday, 18 November, 2014
By Scott Sawyer
Work on 1.5ha, $48 million Bunnings superstore is under way at Dalton Drive in Maroochydore. The superstore, which is expected to create more than 150 additional jobs will be one of the biggest Bunnings stores in Australia.
Bunnings’ chief operating officer, Peter Davis, said the new store would boast a range of features. “Bunnings will invest more than $48 million in the development, fit-out and stock for the new store which will have a total area of more than 15,000sq m, including the main warehouse, indoor timber trade sales area, building materials and landscape supplies yard and outdoor nursery, as well as an indoor playground, café and parking for about 530 cars,” Mr Davis said.
Sustainability measures include LED lighting, rainwater harvesting and undercover parking.
Sunshine Coast Mayor, Mark Jamieson, welcomed the development in view of the looming Maroochydore CBD development. “The Regional Economic Development Strategy contains plans to diversify the economy through developing seven high-value industries,” he said. “Two traditional pillars of the Coast’s economy – construction and retail – will continue to play a significant role and the new Bunnings Maroochydore development is one such component of that, which we welcome.”
The new store, expected to open late next year, will replace the existing Bunnings on Maroochydore Road.
A representative from construction firm H. Troon said local operators would benefit from the project. “We definitely quote locally and we’re using local engineers because it saves us dragging people around everywhere,” the representative said. “The store will be one of the biggest, definitely in the state, and one of the biggest nationally.”
The representative of the long-established construction group said their intimate knowledge of Bunnings’ layouts, having worked with them for more than 10 years, meant they were well-versed in how to best create user-friendly sites. “They’re probably a bit more specific in what they want, their requirements are pretty specific,” the representative said.
Sunshine Coast Daily October 16, 2014
Tags: Apartment Living, Bunnys Development, business, CBD, coast, development, maroochy boulevard, Maroochydore, master plan, opportunity, Queensland, Sunshine Cove, Sunshine Plaza, waterfront
Posted in Press Clippings
