Woolies hastens plans
Bid to complete shopping centre in 2020
WOOLWORTHS may be dragging a shorter chain than first imagined with the supermarket giant saying it wants to open its new Gordonvale shopping centre by the end of next year.
The new time frame comes despite the company’s inhouse corporate property division Fabcot last week applying to Cairns Regional Council for a six-year extension on the project.
In that application, Woolies said it expected “that initial development works will commence in the next two to three years”.
However, the fresh food people have now issued a statement saying a late-2020 completion date was expected – as long as an infrastructure agreement with the council to construct a new access road can be progressed in a timely fashion.
Woolworths development manager Chris Sheehan said the company was absolutely committed to the project and would make an announcement later in the year on the start of construction.
“The multi-million-dollar shopping centre will feature a 3200sq m full-line marketplace supermarket with a number of retail specialty stores providing a range of convenient amenities,” he said.
“It is expected to be Woolworths’ first four-star Green Star development in North Queensland, rated by the Green Building Council of Australia.
“This new development will continue our strong record of economic contribution to Cairns, creating hundreds of jobs during the construction stage and over 120 retail jobs when the centre opens.”
Woolworths is making a big play in Cairns with its controversial push to open a new shopping centre at Trinity Beach – still contested in the Planning and Environment Court by nearby shopping centre operators – and plans to open for the first time at Cairns Central Shopping Centre.
“Pending approvals, when all three new developments across Gordonvale, Trinity Beach and Cairns Central are open and operational, Woolworths will have created more than 450 new jobs and invested more than $40 million into Cairns,” Mr Sheehan said.
“We are looking forward to delivering Gordonvale residents and the broader community a modern convenient and sustainable neighbourhood shopping centre that will meet their needs well into the future.”