Redland Bay comes of age as $25m complex opens
A $25 million state-of-the-art, IT savvy building has opened on the bayside. DO OUR SURVEY
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Day trippers to Brisbane’s southern bayside will be able to wine and dine in a new shopping complex which opened today opposite the Moreton Bay foreshore.
The Redland Bay Village Shopping Centre, anchored by Woolworths, cost more than $25 million.
The state-of-the-art complex is the suburb’s first full-line high-tech supermarket.
Construction of the concrete building took more than 18 months with many businesses relocated over that year.
More than 60 Redland residents have got jobs in the new supermarket, which is on the second level above a dining precinct.
Many former Village Shopping Centre tenants, who endured the construction closures, will reopen in the new two-storey centre, designed around an airy courtyard and cafes.
Redland Bay WholeLife Pharmacy and Healthfoods is one of the anchor tenants at the centre, which will include an automated Woolworths, al fresco cafes, bottle shop and a gym.
Shoppers can use a travelator from the underground carpark, which has an electric vehicle charging bay, to the upstairs Woolworths, which will cover 3400 sqm offering more than 7600 products.
Woolworths and a BWS will be on the second level, which towers over the bayside and the popular Redland Bay Hotel.
The new complex will also mean residents and local shoppers from the bay islands will no longer have to travel to Victoria Point to get groceries.
Woolworths said the multimillion-dollar investment showed its commitment to the area and the 2600 sqm store will be staffed by 120 team members, 60 of whom are new and 60 who have transferred from other stores with most living in Redland Bay.
Shoppers will be able to use their smart phones to scan items as they shop to bypass traditional checkouts.
The village complex is twice the size of the former shopping centre, expanding from 4168 sqm to about 8518 sqm.
Shoppers and visitors to the area will be able to dine outside the shopping centre with fish and chips, Thai, Chinese, hot chicken, Domino’s, Subway, a bakery, restaurants, an oven-baked pizza parlour, and a bottle shop upstairs.
Two medical centres will continue to service the complex which also includes a QML Pathology, Australia Post, two real estate agents, hairdresser, barber and news agency.
Redland MP Kim Richards opened the new store today.
The former village shopping centre, which first opened in January 1982, was anchored by an Independent Grocers of Australia store for more than 25 years.
That IGA store, on Broadwater Tce, was demolished in February 2021.
Local developer Fox and Bell, wanted the full-line supermarket to open after its massive Shoreline housing estate was built 7kmn to the south.
The shopping centre overhaul has been in the pipeline for more than six years, when the developers first started mooting plans to build the housing estate.
The popular Redland Bay Discount Drug Store, relocated during construction, was rebranded as the wellness centre, and was the first to open in the new complex this week.
Along with offering vitamins, health tonics, crystals, organic foods and vegetarian substitutes, a key feature will be private dispensing booths where customers can talk to a chemist about their scripts.
Another feature at the pharmacy is a robotic dispensary, which automatically collects prescriptions from the store’s warehouse and dispatches them to the front counter.
Pharmacist Evelyn Watson and her daughters Fiona Watson and Shona Volker have run the business in the heart of Redland Bay for 25 years but were ready to update their image when the new premises opened.
Pharmacist Fiona Watson said the new line of products would attract more people into Redland Bay and the automated system would free her up to help customers find the health products they needed.
“The WholeLife chemist brand will allow us to offer all our traditional pharmacy services including community care and expert advice, as well as significantly increasing our focus on natural beauty, healthy eating, sustainable living, sports nutrition and lifestyle products,” she said.
“This is really exciting for Redland Bay, our expanded offering will now include many popular brands that were previously hard-to-find in the Redland Bay area.
“We have also made some investments in new technology, namely the addition of the dispensary robot.
“This will allow the pharmacists to be more accessible and available, and will be one of the first in Redland City.
“This new technology manages the stock, so our highly qualified staff can help people with their health.”
The chemist is running a competition to name the robot with the winning name announced at the shopping centre’s Grand Opening in April.
Under the WholeLife brand, the Redland Bay chemist will continue its home delivery service six days a week to Redland Bay, Victoria Point and Mount Cotton.
The chemist will also continue its vaccination program and has a special clinic room and reception.
The new complex will also include a gym and an electric vehicle charging station.
Developer Fox and Bell Group director Gary Hargrave said despite extended rain delays and lockdowns, construction was currently on program and believed the centre would fully open in May.
Originally published as Redland Bay comes of age as $25m complex opens
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