Woolworths sells Mernda precinct to Occasio Projects for $500m project

Supermarket giant Woolworths has offloaded a near complete shopping centre and surrounding land in the Melbourne suburb of Mernda to Occasio Projects.

Occasio plans to offer wholesale investors the chance to back the new shopping centre and mixed-use development, Mernda Town Centre development, in coming years.

Supermarket giant Woolworths has offloaded a near complete shopping centre and surrounding land in the Melbourne suburb of Mernda to Occasio Projects, which will develop out the $500m precinct in the rapidly growing area.

The play is being backed by three wealthy investors, and Occasio plans to offer wholesale investors the chance to back the new shopping centre and mixed-use development, Mernda Town Centre development, in coming years.

Occasio will launch a series of funds that will give investors access to the development, which also includes homes and commercial elements around the shopping centre.

The project carries strong financial backing from the three shareholders of Occasio who have initially acquired the site via Mernda Retail Developments.

They include Ray Zelouf, founder of Occasio Projects; Dorman Capital, the family office of the co-founder of Regis Healthcare; and Jensz Investment Company, owned by Craig Jensz, who founded Lion Advisory.

The property has a complex history, with Occasio picking it up from a private syndicate whose plans for a supermarket were unrealised. The firm and its partners now plan to deliver the project in stages.

The funds it launches will back the development works and provide the opportunity for longer-term ownership of the retail asset, which sits in a growth corridor and will open next year.

Occasio is also in talks with local authorities about hopes for the town centre, which will have health and public-use elements. “We’re big believers in the sustainability piece,” Mr Zelouf said.

The firm is working with private and public groups. “The approach we’ve taken is always a partnership model,” he said. “It’s a niche we’ve managed to create.”

Building has now started on the first stage of the development, Mernda Shopping Centre, which will see Woolworths remain as the key anchor tenant to deliver a full-line supermarket, along with 35 speciality retail shops.

Slated to open in mid-2022, the shopping centre will cost $110m. The broader Mernda Town Centre project spans 27ha and will include retail, commercial, entertainment and residential elements. It will be delivered in multiple stages over the next five years.

Whittlesea Council is a foundation stakeholder in Mernda Town Centre, with future plans for a learning and wellbeing centre in addition to restoring the historic Mayfield Farm.

Mr Zelouf said the firm provided debt and equity solutions across its portfolio and was “progressively playing a more active role as development partner across a growing number of these investments”.