Following recent advancements with the redevelopment of the Kwinana Hub Shopping Centre, particularly the future of current shop owners, the Town is providing an update to all residents.
Background
The redevelopment of the Hub Shopping Centre has been a project that has been progressed over the past several years by the last two shopping centre owners. The Town has been in regular discussion with Woolworths, the current owners, since they purchased the site a couple of years ago.
With the redevelopment now imminent, genuine concerns have been raised by many local shop owners based at the Hub who are now required to source alternative premises while the redevelopment is taking place. The primary concern of shop owners is the very short period of time provided to relocate.
How is the Town supporting these local businesses?
The Town’s jurisdiction begins and ends with planning and development compliance and unfortunately Local Government’s are unable to influence commercial decisions such as these.
However the Town has an obligation to represent and advocate on behalf of the Kwinana community and as such, on Thursday August 4 Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams and CEO Neil Hartley convened a meeting with many of the affected shop owners upon hearing they had received eviction notices.
Concerns raised at this meeting were then relayed to Woolworths during another meeting held on Tuesday 9 August; the outcome of this Woolworths meeting is outlined below.
Result of meeting between Town of Kwinana and Woolworths
Town of Kwinana CEO Neil Hartley and Mayor Carol Adams yesterday met with representatives from Woolworths to discuss the imminent redevelopment of the Hub Shopping Centre and the impact which it was having on individual tenants.
The Woolworths representatives were very sympathetic to the concerns expressed by tenants and were already looking to review their development plans to assist wherever practical and seek out opportunities that would provide a little more time for at least some of the lessees.
The extent of the redevelopment and more specifically the amount of demolition required due to the age of the centre was much greater than originally envisaged and therefore facilitating a ‘staged’ development with tenants remaining would have been technically difficult.
Woolworths advised that whilst it was difficult to adjust the building reconstruction program, they were focusing on community and health services that might be able to be accommodated (if only for a portion of the construction period) and were working with their building contractor to see if the building works can be re-timed in any way.
Safety is a primary concern with any outcome and with the need to almost completely replace up to 35 year old drainage, electrics, plumbing and internal firewalls in most of the building, staff and customer safety will be a primary issue to overcome if some shops are to be made available for temporary use. Woolworths also advised that half of the roof will be removed and replaced.
Woolworths representatives or Centre Management will try to meet with shop owners on an individual basis to explain the development plans in more detail.
They also stated that, as the development progressed, they would communicate with the community as to which shops would still be open and from where the public could access them.
Which shops will remain open during the redevelopment?
It is our understanding that the following businesses will continue to trade throughout the redevelopment:
• Woolworths
• Subway
• Australia Post
• Liquorland
• TAB
• Public Library
With that said, it is hoped that Woolworths and essential service providers (chemist for example) can reach an agreement which will see some more businesses remain trading for at least a short duration.
Future of the Hub Shopping Centre
The major upgrade of the Hub Shopping Centre will see almost double the current retail floor space, growing from 16,738m2 to 30,794m2 and encompassing a multitude of new shopping and dining experiences, mini major stores, specialty shops and a major Big W department store.
Brand new and increased car parking facilities will be included in the redevelopment as well as a new bus port and centre entry points.
Appropriate landscaping and beautification of the shopping district is also detailed in the development application.
The redevelopment of the Hub Shopping Centre will contribute greatly to the vision for Kwinana’s future with Woolworths also committing nearly $800,000 to the upgrade and beautification of Chisham Avenue which will soon encompass a range of single and double storey restaurants and specialty shops.
Timeline
It is expected that Woolworths will begin work on the Hub Shopping Centre in the coming months with the project expected to take no more than 18 months to complete.
Full completion is currently set for November 2012 but initial stages of the development are set to be completed in the months prior.