Masters $14m ghost store in Nowra closes before it opens

A $14 million warehouse which would have housed 180 new jobs on the NSW south coast is set to become a ghost site before it opens after the Masters DIY disaster.

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A $14 million warehouse which would have provided a jobs boost to the NSW south coast is set to become a ghost site before it opens after the Masters DIY disaster.

The 13,000sqm warehouse built for Woolworths’ Masters Home Improvements would have created 180 jobs and boasts 392 parking spaces but will now stand as a mirage on the Nowra landscape unless a new buyer or lessee is found.

Woolworths announced yesterday it could no longer sustain over $600 million in losses racked up by its home improvements division, leaving a question mark over sites like Nowra and the 8500 staff it employs around Australia.

Ghost site... Masters Nowra warehouse under construction. Picture: James Croucher

Hopes dashed... Local mayor and former federal Liberal MP for Gilmore Joanna Gash.

Local mayor and former federal Liberal MP for Gilmore Joanna Gash said the decision was a “huge blow”.

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“It’s significant to our area,” Ms Gash told The Australian.

“We were very, very happy to see it all happen.

“It’s a huge project, which was going to employ a lot of young people.

“And to see this now happen. I’m just hoping against hope that some people purchase it and do something with it.”

DIY disaster... Woolworths is pulling the plug on Masters venture Picture: Toby Zerna

Under a cloud...Who will buy the Masters chain?

Ms Gash said Masters had a responsibility to honour existing business arrangements.

“They (Masters) have a lease here; they have to honour their lease,” she said. “Development is very hot here at the moment, there’s very little space here to do things and to see things happen like this is just very sad.”

A Masters spokeswoman confirmed the Nowra store would not open, but said the company was “committed to doing the right thing by our landlords and developers”.

“We will be dealing with sites where construction is planned or under way on a case-by-case basis.

“This store (South Nowra) will not open,” she said.