Northcote Plaza redevelopment: Traders left in the dark

A major redevelopment of the iconic Northcote Plaza has been in the pipeline for years, but traders remain in the dark over when work will start.

Northcote Plaza is set to undergo a massive redevelopment, but many store holders have no idea when the major construction works will start. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Traders and shoppers have been left confused as uncertainty surrounds the imminent $500m redevelopment of the beloved Northcote Plaza shopping centre.

The redevelopment of the southern side of the centre, which will include an 18-storey tower with more than 600 dwellings and office space, has been in the pipeline for three years.

The upgrade will also include an additional 6500sq m of retail space, basement parking, a public laneway and a multipurpose space, according to developers.

But traders at the plaza centre say they’re still in the dark over when work will start.

Sight N Sound general manager Ciro Ciavarella said there had been “very little” communication about the future construction.

“I asked centre management a couple of weeks ago and they said construction is starting in a couple of months, but we don’t exactly know when,” he said.

“It would be great if they could give us information on how it’s going to happen and the stages.”

A render of the future redevelopment of Northcote Plaza, from developers Time & Place.

Mr Ciavarella said he had a loyal customer base who would keep his shop in business, but he feared other stores may not survive the transition.

“Whenever there’s alterations there’s always an impact … we’re probably going to lose carparks and then there’s the noise factor,’’ he said.

“People will probably stay away while there’s renovations … it’s going to make the centre quieter and it already is quieter … probably a lot of the food shops will suffer.

“It’s going to affect us … once it’s finished it’ll be good, we’ve just got to stick it out.”

Recently many major retailers have abandoned the plaza, including Kmart, Priceline, Telstra, Bank of Melbourne and more, leaving empty shops throughout the centre.

The site of the new development will be the former Kmart and one of the centre’s two Coles supermarkets, which is also due to close soon.

A worker at Casa Nova gifts and homewares shop, who also didn’t know anything about the construction timeline, said the centre had definitely been quieter since Kmart left three years ago.

“People are still coming, but not like before,” the worker said.

She said while many traders had left the centre, her store would stay.

“Where am I going to go? We hope for the best.”

The new centre will be named Northcote Green, developed by Time and Place, who stated online that the plaza will remain operational during construction works.

The adjoining shopping centre, Northcote Central, is also set for a redevelopment and will become a four-storey shopping hub, but there is no information on the project timeline.

The redevelopment plans for the plaza were disputed by Darebin council at VCAT in 2021, with the number of storeys in the new tower to be reduced from the initially proposed 28 floors and VCAT granted the developer a permit in May 2022.

Time & Place director Nick Paciocco said the development company had always maintained that construction would not commence until the second half of this year.

“We are aware that this has been a drawn-out process for retailers... this is a key driver for us in ensuring that our next step is the right one,” Mr Paciocco said.

“We have been refining the scheme through additional consultation feedback with a view to enhancing the final residential and retail realisation.”