Burnside Village expansion begins after 30-month Covid delay

Two and a half years after Covid derailed plans for a huge expansion of Burnside Village shopping centre, excavators are on site. But in that time the plans have changed.

What the Burnside Village expansion will look like on the corner of Greenhill Rd and Sydney St. Picture: Cohen Group

The long-awaited expansion of Burnside Village is under way following a two and half year delay caused by Covid-19.

Diggers are now preparing the vacant block for construction of the multimillion-dollar extension, which will feature a three-storey building along Greenhill Rd, from Portrush Rd to Sydney St.

Negotiations between Burnside Village owner Cohen Group and local, national and international retailers to attract dozens of new stores in the expanded centre, which will also include restaurants, cafes and a 24-hour “gym and lifestyle facility”.

An artist’s impression of the plans for Burnside Village, seen from Portrush Rd. Picture: Cohen Group

Cohen Group confirmed early infrastructure work had started ahead of construction.

“We have started the preliminary site works for our project known as Burnside Village Stage 6,” Cohen Group director Andrew Cohen said.

“This project was originally due to start in January 2019, so we are pleased to finally get this under way.”

Cohen Group put its development plans on hold in April 2020 during the demolition of several buildings that previously stood near the corner of Greenhill and Portrush roads and as the impact of Covid-19 was quickly escalating.

In April last year Cohen Group revived the project, after what it described as an “extraordinary” recovery in retail trade at the centre.

An artist’s impression of the expansion of Burnside Village, seen from the corner of Greenhill and Portrush roads. Picture: Cohen Group

It went back to the drawing board to revise its initial pre-Covid designs approved in 2019, removing a luxury cinema from the plans and instead including space for a 24-hour “gym and lifestyle facility”.

A seven-storey office building on the corner of Greenhill and Portrush roads and a proposed medical centre were also scrapped, while plans for an additional 600 underground car parks were reduced by 45.

The revised plans won planning approval last month, and also include the removal of an established river red gum tree valued by the council at $160,000.

Cohen Group has longer term plans for another extension south of the existing shopping centre, potentially including more specialty stores, a supermarket, fresh food precinct and 350 car parks.

Mr Cohen said earlier reports that the two stages of development were worth a combined $360m were inaccurate, but declined to provide updated estimates of cost or end value.