Bayswater’s Mountain High Shopping Centre to get $15 million overhaul
The revitalisation of a Knox suburb is set to continue, with a huge childcare centre and new shops planned as part of a shopping centre upgrade. SEE THE PLANS.
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A Bayswater shopping centre is set to get a $15 million overhaul with a freshened-up village atmosphere and more services.
But work might not start at Mountain High Shopping Centre until early 2021, with uncertainties stemming from the coronavirus outbreak halting progress.
Centre operator CHP Management received a permit from Knox Council in March 2019 for its planned redevelopment, which involves demolishing the northeast corner of the centre and adding a third level.
Artist impressions indicate a 100-space childcare centre, potentially over two levels, will be built as well as a new gym, medical centre, allied health services and beauty and food shops.
The centre’s facade will also be modernised along Macauley Lane and at the nearby entrance between High and Station streets.
CHP Management spokeswoman Hayley Wilkinson said it wanted to create “a local village that provides for all the needs of the local community”.
Ms Wilkinson said the upgrades would bring “a new vitality” to the area and also create a better connection to nearby Bayswater railway station.
“The activity centre should be a services hub for the industrial estate which has a large number of employees and businesses and, given the impact of COVID on our future behaviours, it should also be a local village that provides for all the needs of the local community,” she said.
The centre has been affected by empty tenancies and shop closures in the past 12 months, including two cafes, a Dimmeys store and a pizza shop.
Ms Wilkinson said the centre was optimistic of attracting new businesses and services with its redevelopment.
“We are hopeful once this period passes (coronavirus) and the economy stabilises there will be a lot of people wanting to start new businesses,” she said.
Regular shoppers responded positively to the plans, with Bayswater’s Jane Healey saying it could draw more shoppers from nearby areas.
“Anything to reboot this area is good, and there’s always a shortage of childcare,” she said.
Croydon’s Linda Drew, who takes her elderly father shopping at the centre, also felt the rebuild could work depending on retailer choices.
“I grew up in Bayswater and it would be nice to have it revamped and bring a different type of clientele to the area,” she said.
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