Forestway Shopping Centre: Images of major modernisation makeover revealed
A radical $23 million makeover of a popular, but ageing, shopping centre on the northern beaches has started. See the pictures.
Manly
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Plans for the start of the radical makeover of a popular, but ageing, shopping centre on the northern beaches have been revealed.
The new owner of the Forestway Shopping Centre has released images of the first stage in the $23.5 million modernisation of the 57-year-old mall at Frenchs Forest.
Revelop, a Parramatta-based property investment and management company, bought the centre in March for $100m from the giant US investment firm giant Invesco Assest Management.
Invesco had plans to partly demolish and redevelop the centre — one of the largest on the northern beaches — which now accommodates Woolworths and Aldi supermarkets, a McDonald’s and 37 retail and hospitality outlets.
It wanted to double carparking to 740 spaces on the 2ha site near the intersection of Forest Way and Warringah Rd.
Invesco also had plans for a large restaurant, childcare centre, medical centre, a two-level basement car park and a gym as well as more shops and office space.
But the redevelopment was knocked back by the Sydney North Planning Panel in late December on the grounds it would generate too much traffic on residential streets and did not meet many “environmental planning grounds”.
The new owner, however, said it had no plans to increase the general size and scale of the centre, but would improve parking, its appearance and the tenancy mix.
Revelop director Charbel Hazzouri said he wanted to keep it as a “neighbourhood shopping centre” that offered a “truly one-stop shop customer experience”.
He said the concept drawings for stage one of the redevelopment showed an upgrade to the mall’s floors, ceilings and shopfronts and “aesthetic, giving everyone an idea of what’s to come”.
“As the images suggest, the external works are low scale, but high impact on amenity and aesthetic ensuring a convenience-based centre with improved parking and circulation to the betterment of the community and customer experience.
“Internally, the centre retains its level access and convenience, but provides for a vastly improved finish and more diverse tenancy range to ensure Forestway will always be the local community’s one stop shop.”
Mr Hazzouri said as part of stage one, a Crave Nutrition cafe and a Vintage Cellars wine outlet, as well as a florist, will be included on the western side of the centre, near the Guzman Y Gomez Mexican eatery.
Revelop hoped that work would be finished by this Christmas.
A development application for the next stage, including improved carparking, was expected to be lodged with the council before the end of the year.
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