Bunnings Warehouse, Frenchs Forest: Construction begins as plans for 5-storey outlet slightly tweaked
Construction of a five-storey Bunnings — the first of its warehouse stores in NSW with three levels of retail — has started. Find out where the hardware giant will go high-rise.
Manly
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Plan for a much anticipated high-rise Sydney Bunnings have received a slight tweak as construction work on the super-sized hardware outlet kicks off.
An Australia Post distribution centre and a two-storey office block at Frenchs Forest have already been bulldozed to make way for the massive five-storey store.
Now building work has begun on the $48 million development — which will boast three levels of retail — at the intersection of Warringah, Allambie and Rodborough roads.
Construction work includes installation of footings and retaining walls.
Northern Beaches Council recently approved a modification to the development application, allowing all floor levels to move upwards by 50cms — but with a corresponding decrease to the internal height of the Level 2 warehouse.
“The modification does not change the overall height of the building, and the change is not perceptible from the exterior of the building,” the council said in its assessment report.
When completed the outlet is expected to become a haven for do-it-yourself handypeople, tradies and professional builders on the northern beaches, even though it already has local outlets at Warringah Mall, Belrose, Balgowlah and Narrabeen.
The company was aiming to complete construction in early 2025.
Bunnings reckons the Frenchs Forest store will generate more than 800 jobs, including 700 during construction and about 135 vacancies for retail workers.
This outlet will be first time Bunnings will offer three levels of retail that includes hardware and building supplies, an outdoor garden centre, a large cafe and a kids’ playground.
There will be two levels of parking for close to 400 vehicles.
The Bunnings development application was approved by the NSW Government’s Sydney North Planning Panel in February, 2021. It would have been settled in 2020, but for a disagreement between the hardware giant and Northern Beaches Council about safe vehicle access to the site from Allambie Rd.
There were concerns that due to the building’s proximity to the busy intersection, there were “potential road safety issues with merging vehicles and conflicts with pedestrians”.
An agreement was reached to move the main driveway to Rodborough Rd, once traffic lights are installed at its intersection with Allambie Rd.
The project is still generating some community concerns about traffic in the area, especially with the new The Forest High School set to be built about 400m away on Allambie Rd.
There was also another conflict over the size of the Bunnings Warehouse logos and signs, as well as the building’s predominantly green colour scheme.
Bunnings agreed to reduce the size of the logo by 33 per cent on Rodborough Rd, remove a number of hammer logos from the rest of the building and restrict the amount of green paint it used on the facades.
Michael Staines, Bunnings Area Manager, said it was pleased to confirm construction was underway for the new store atn Frenchs Forest.
“We know the local community is excited and we’ll be sure to provide updates as the development progresses.”
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