Plaza commitment signal of strong confidence in the Sunshine Coast
Mayor Mark Jamieson says the $400 million redevelopment of Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore announced today will add to the huge momentum generated by the range of major region building projects currently underway on the Sunshine Coast.
Mayor Mark Jamieson says the $400 million redevelopment of Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore announced today will add to the huge momentum generated by the range of major region building projects currently underway on the Sunshine Coast.
Sunshine Plaza will expand from 73,000 square metres to more 107,000 square metres with customers to enjoy an enhanced retail mix with the region’s first David Jones department store, a new BIGW, a refurbished Myer, a new Amaroo Street mall entrance, provision for large format fashion operators and more than 100 new specialty stores.
It is estimated that the redevelopment will generate up to 2900 jobs during construction and around 2300 additional retail positions once the project is complete.
Sunshine Plaza is jointly owned by the Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, managed by Lendlease and The GPT Group.
Mayor Jamieson said the development would send a further signal to domestic and global markets about the Sunshine Coast being an ideal location to invest.
“This investment is welcomed by our council and shows the high level of confidence that is growing in the Sunshine Coast,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“This important project for the Sunshine Coast will contribute to the impetus and growth that we are seeking to drive in our economy.
“Across the region, we are seeing an unprecedented wave of public and private investment occurring.
“This is great news for our community as we see more local job opportunities and greater access to facilities and services.”
Today’s announcement follows on from the $1.8 billion construction and fit-out work of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, which is due to open in April next year; the work underway now on the Maroochydore City Centre; the release of the first stage of the Aura (formerly Caloundra South) residential development; and the commencement of construction of council’s new solar farm at Valdora.
“These are all major investments now underway, and providing thousands of jobs for our residents in the construction sector and other related industries, helping to set us up for an exceptionally bright future,” Mayor Jamieson said.
The first stage of the Sunshine Plaza redevelopment will involve the construction of a car park on vacant land behind Toys R Us. This will provide alternative customer parking during the construction of the first multi-deck car park, located at the Kmart entrance to the Plaza.
Lendlease’s head of retail, Gary Horwitz, said Sunshine Plaza already achieved solid results, ranking second in Queensland for specialty sales productivity and performing significantly higher than the national benchmark.
“The current performance of Sunshine Plaza indicates a strong demand for an expanded retail offer,” Mr Horwitz said.
GPT Group’s head of investment, retail Scott Meehan said: “GPT is excited to invest in the expansion of one of its best performing shopping centres, which is located in a market that should continue to benefit from strong population and tourism growth.”
Construction is expected to start this month and will take around two years, with completion prior to Christmas 2018.