CONSTRUCTION has commenced on a $14 million Jimboomba Shopping Centre makeover that will breathe new life into Jimboomba town centre.
The joint venture between diversified property groups Pellicano and Zagame Group will focus on food and lifestyle with 14 retail stores, health and wellness tenancies and a family restaurant. Supermarket giant Woolworths will stay on and get a $3 million makeover of its own.
The project will update footpaths, street lighting, install shade sails in the carpark and feature landscaping, a water feature and a public artwork.
Work is expected to end, weather permitting, by the end of July 2019.
Jimboomba councillor Trevina Schwarz said she was excited.
“The community has been waiting for this in excess of a decade,” she said.
“Finally we will have a destination with a focus on family friendly cafes and offerings that will make it a place to be and not just a place to shop.”
Cr Schwarz said the redevelopment had the backing of Logan council due to the well-considered approach from developers in the early planning stages of a project that would create a lively town centre for Jimboomba.
Zagame Group has owned the retail precinct for more than a decade. The joint venture appoints Pellicano Group’s building arm, Pellicano Builders as the head contractor for the duration of the project.
The team lands in Jimboomba from a project in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and have worked together on projects that include Trafalgar Lane and South City Square, both in Brisbane’s rebirthed Woolongabba.
Zagame property director Peter Runting said the project would offer essential goods and services and would see new jobs created as the retail precinct expanded to house 1,200sqm of fresh retail space.
“We’ll bring the post office back into the development. There’s no fashion element, but that’s not what this is about. The focus is on leisure, health and wellness ... That might include a gym or it might not … maybe massage … perhaps childminding. We’re talking about lifestyle tenancies.”
Mr Runting said the design opened the centre to Cusack Lane and would feature major landscaping and cooling water feature.
“The climate can get harsh out here,” he said.
“We took our inspiration from Orion (at Springfield) and North Lakes. The latter has running water through its food zone. It may be psychological, but these things all make a difference to how people feel.”
Pellicano’s construction project manager Michael Freshwater said bulldozers moved in last week to begin demolition work that would be carried out across three stages.
“We’ll recycle what we can – the metal you see here; some solar panels we’ve taken from the roof – anything we can use elsewhere,” he said.
Woolworth’s store manager Vladimir Galic said the supermarket was long overdue a makeover of its own.
“It’s only been 21 years,” he said.
Current works are being conducted on section of the centre which fronts Cusack Lane. The rest of the centre remains open for business during regular operating hours.
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