Coles to spend $50 million to transform Norwood Mall into Norwood Village
COLES will spend $50 million to revitalise Norwood Mall in a bid to compete with the booming popularity of its Foodland rival on the other side of The Parade.
SUPERMARKET Giant Coles will spend $50 million to revitalise Norwood Mall in a bid to compete with the booming popularity of its Foodland rival on the other side of The Parade.
Plans for the mall, to be known as Norwood Village, show a 340-space basement carpark, a laneway lined with gourmet restaurants, 20 speciality shops and a new, market-style Coles supermarket.
It would also include a cafe overlooking James Coke Park and better pedestrian links from The Parade and George and Edward streets.
Construction would start next year and take up to 18 months to complete - if the project gets the nod from Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council.
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Coles SA property manager Hamish Brown said the redevelopment would create 300 jobs during the construction phase and a further 300 once complete.
"Norwood Village is going to be a terrific new landmark for The Parade," Mr Brown said. "It will play a key role in the rejuvenation of the region as a vibrant retail hub."
He said the development would set new benchmarks for design and would include high-quality building materials that reflected The Parade's character.
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NP&SP Mayor Robert Bria welcomed the upgrade, saying it would be good for The Parade.
"A $50 million investment for The Parade is fantastic news, particularly given the difficulty the retail sector is experiencing," Mr Bria said.
He hoped changes to the council's development plan, which pave the way for medium-density living in Kent Town and along The Parade, would be a catalyst for more of this type of investment.
In June 2011, the Eastern Courier Messenger confirmed that Coles was considering an upgrade to its Norwood site.
It was looking at building an eight-storey apartment block above the mall, which would have been in line with the State Government's planning reforms for higher-density living on Adelaide's fringe.
The last upgrade of Norwood Mall was in 2004 - an $8 million revamp which included new shops and toilets.
On the opposite side of The Parade, Norwood Place, which includes Foodland, opened in late 2004.