$114m upgrade plans for Forestway Shopping centre
Plans for a multimillion-dollar upgrade of Forestway Shopping Centre, on Sydney’s northern beaches, would see huge changes implemented.
Plans for a $114 million upgrade of Forestway Shopping Centre would add an extra
12,000sq m of retail and doubling the amount of parking spaces available and a rooftop “skypark”.
The largely two-storey shopping centre style would be retained at the Frenchs Forest site.
It would have a maximum height of 16.89 metres - about four metres above the area’s height limit.
Plans lodged with Northern Beaches Council had asked for a height exception to be granted.
“The areas of non-compliance relate to the lift overruns, roof plant, shade sails, car park
upstand and pitched architectural roof forms,” the report said.
“Importantly the building, including any areas of GFA are below the 12m building height.”
There would be ground level retail, including two enlarged supermarkets, two large stores and speciality retail.
On level 1, retail such as restaurants, gymnasium, allied health, commercial offices and
child care would be installed.
It would also have a “skypark” which has been described as an area for passive recreation in the report, prepared by Urbis for the shopping centre.
The report promises the “provision of an elevated local park that comprises artificial lawn, raised planters with tree and shrub planting, green wall, indicative play with nature play elements and arbour walkway”.
A landscape report submitted with the development application says it would offer “a variety of social spaces offering programmable events for young families and older
children”.
It would have create “nodes of social activity with seating positioned to maximise views”.
There will also be two levels of basement car parking and one upper level of car parking at level 2 providing 841 spaces, increasing from 413.
Part of the works would include a new signalised intersection and pedestrian crossing on Forest Way to ease traffic flow and improve access to and from the centre.
The shopping centre originally opened in 1964, and is anchored by an Aldi and Woolworths supermarkets, with a total of 45 speciality stores.
The report, prepared by Urbis on behalf of
If approved, development would take three years.