Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj invites Market Square to CBD forum

The secretive owners of troubled shopping centre Market Square have spoken out as Geelong’s new mayor pushes to make “our CBD great again”.

Mayor Stretch Kontelj has invited Market Square owners to a forum to establish a vision for the future of the Geelong CBD.

Market Square’s secretive owners have finally broken their silence on the future of the battling shopping centre.

The elusive overseas company had repeatedly failed to offer any detailed comment on the troubled site that is central to the future of Geelong’s CBD and has been consistently losing tenants.

The owners also snubbed Geelong leaders at a planned meeting in Singapore earlier this year, prompting a furious then-mayor Trent Sullivan to say the city would pursue compulsory acquisition of the shopping centre.

But new mayor Stretch Kontelj said the owners of the centre, Davinski Nominees, had now accepted an invitation to discuss their plans for the critical site at a forum next year. Davinski said it would send representatives Bob Bourke and Lurline Lett to attend the event.

The forum in February will focus on revitalising the city’s centre as the new Geelong mayor pursues his goal of “making our CBD great again”.

A draft masterplan for the site also went to the community for consultation this year and a final version is expected in 2025.

The redevelopment of Market Square is seen as a cornerstone project in the broader effort to rejuvenate Geelong’s CBD.

“We must be bold and explore all options to help central Geelong reach its full potential,” Mr Kontelj said.

It has been widely believed Davinski was waiting for all leases to end before it develops the site – bought from Geelong council for $32m in 1996 – into a mixed-used facility.

Davinski’s Mr Bourke said the owners were enthusiastic in regards to the forum and plans to create a future vision for the CBD.

“Phil Wong, one of the owners of Davinski Nominees, is delighted by the proactive and inclusive approach of Mayor Kontelj,” he said.

“He shares the mayor’s enthusiasm for building a strong future for Geelong, with Market Square playing an essential role.”

Mr Wong indicated his intention to visit Australia in February and is keen to meet with Mr Kontelj and city chief executive Ali Wastie during his visit.

It comes after an arranged meeting in August between then-mayor Trent Sullivan, Ms Wastie and the directors of Davinski Nominees did not eventuate.

The parties had organised, via Market Square property manager Knight Frank, to meet in Singapore in what would have been the their first face-to-face conversation in several years.

However, upon arrival in the country, communication ceased and the pair were essentially snubbed.

As part of Mr Kontelj’s 100-day plan, the City of Greater Geelong will host the February forum for stakeholders n the revitalisation of the CBD. It will include government, planners and developers.

Mr Kontelj said the key to activating the CBD was high-rise residential development.

“Retail is not the drawcard to the CBD anymore, so we need a community living there,” he said.

“I think we can aspire to build something architecturally iconic, something that becomes a drawcard in its own right like a Geelong version of the Eureka building with expansive views over the bay, rooftop restaurants but also retail and residential.”

Mr Kontelj said discussions around barriers holding back developers from progressing projects and trying to get an undertaking from the relevant level of government to address them would take place.

Originally published as Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj invites Market Square to CBD forum