Bayswater: Mountain High Shopping Centre revamp complete but some shops still empty

A $20m upgrade of a Bayswater shopping centre is complete but locals are worried about the amount of empty shops.

The $15 million Mountain High shopping centre redevelopment in Bayswater. Picture: Supplied.

The $20m upgrade of Bayswater’s Mountain High Shopping Centre is complete, but some locals are still worried about the amount of empty shops in the complex.

But the developer behind the project says there are still plans to entice more retailers to the new-look centre, including a gym, hair and beauty salons and a butcher and baker.

Knox Leader first revealed the upgrade plans for the centre in 2020, with a 100-space childcare centre, new gym, medical centre, allied health services and beauty and food shops planned.

The centre is anchored by Coles, a chemist and Bayswater library.

Although the upgrade has been completed, resident Craig Powell said he was frustrated at a lack of communication about what was going on at the centre.

“It would be good to know what is going on, there is no communication from the (owners), and there are all these empty shops,” he said.

Mr Powell said he would like to see more eateries, including a coffee shop like Jamaica Blue, and a butcher and hair salon open in the centre.

“I came from Blackburn and they’re doing up North Blackburn Square (with more shops) and they seem to be getting new retailers but here there is nothing.

“What’s going on — I’m not expecting an Apple store but would like some sort of improvement.”

The developer of the project, Simon Bayley from Selbourne Capital, said the upgrade of the centre had taken a bit longer than expected, due to Covid lockdowns and challenges in the construction industry.

But he said about 35 per cent of the centre had been knocked down and completely rebuilt on three levels.

The childcare centre and kinder, known as Play, opened atop the upgraded centre on Tuesday and there are plans to attract more retailers.

“We’re bringing new amenity to the community with the new childcare and some new speciality tenants in the health and beauty area, some more grocery tenants and community focused tenants, including NDIS; and we’d like to bring a gym and some other community focused tenancies,” Mr Bayley said.

“We’ve still got quite a bit of leasing to do,” he said, adding they would like to add nail, hair and skin treatment businesses to create a real health hub in the centre, joining an existing massage tenant, along with a butcher and baker.

“What we’ve noticed in Bayswater, we’ve been out here for five or six years, when you do something that is really good quality there are plenty of people who want it.”

The new kinder and childcare centre opened on Tuesday.

“The aim here is to try and create synergies with the childcare.

“So the parents who are coming in will also expect the same health and beauty quality as they have with the childcare and also fitness and good groceries.

“It’s about providing a more holistic and higher quality amenity to the local community.”

Mr Bayley said they were hoping to open a gym in the next six to 12 months, tailored towards the local community.

He said the aim would be to attract smaller family-owned businesses to the centre, rather than bigger chains which tended to prefer bigger centres like Knox and Eastland.

“Smaller family owned businesses with real attention to detail and want to provide a quality offering,” he said.

“It’s pretty hard at the moment with the economy the way it is, we’ve just got to be patient, let the childcare get up and running and that will help build the footfall and build the spending capacity in the centre and then the tenancies will come.

“But you’ve just got to be patient and take it one step at a time, especially when there’s uncertainty in the economy.”

Mr Bayley said they were hoping to leverage off the public investment in the Bayswater train station and Knox Council’s plan to bring more vibrancy to the area.

Ben Mirkin, director of new kinder and childcare centre Play, which sits atop the centre, said he was excited to open the doors.

Mr Mirkin said “an amazing team” of experienced staff would run the centre, with plans to add a bush kinder program later in the year, and a great cook in place to prepare nutritious meals.

The kinder and childcare centre rooms are brand-new, with a new playground offering views out to Bayswater train station.

Mr Mirkin said three families with extensive experience in the early learning sector had come together to open the new centre.

“We knew how good childcare could be and we wanted to do it ourselves,” he said.

“We’ve invested in what I think is a pretty exceptional service.”

The centre will cater for children aged 0-6.