Residents of Waterloo are set to have a new Woolworths Metro on their doorstep after the supermarket signed a lease to become the anchor tenant at the planned Mastery by Crown Group development.
Mastery by Crown Group is a $520 million development that will become Australia’s first Japanese-themed multi-residential development.
The Crown Group sales team finalised $15 million worth of sales for retail space at the site last month, bringing the total retail space sold there so far to $40 million.
Its 2,177 m2 retail precinct with 27 stores and dining outlets will feature a dedicated Japanese eat street. The new Woolworths Metro will be located on the ground floor of Building E facing Archibald Avenue and Gadigal Avenue.
The development will comprise 368 luxury apartments built across five distinct buildings designed by three world-leading architectural firms – Japan’s Kengo Kuma and Australian firms Koichi Takada Architects and Silvester Fuller. It will also offer Crown Group’s signature resort-style facilities including an infinity-edge rooftop pool, gym, spa and community room.
Woolworths Group Property Operations Manager Tim Macmillan said the new small-scale 675m2 Woolworths Metro would assist with meeting demand for convenient groceries in Waterloo and the surrounding area.
“We are delighted to secure a key retail tenancy in this exciting residential and retail development,” he said. “We look forward to welcoming customers into our new Metro store later this year.”
The Woolworths Metro concept delivers exceptional food and grocery options to residents
Sales Director Prisca Edwards said her internal sales team had sold most of the retail space at Mastery by Crown Group, despite the challenges presented in 2020 and completion being two years away. Only four lots remain for sale.
“This shows the surprising level of confidence that investors have in retail in Australia right now, despite the conditions created by the pandemic,” Edwards said.
“There is obviously still high demand for quality retail space in sought-after areas, particularly those experiencing significant growth and urban transformation such as Waterloo. Having the tick of approval from Woolworths Metro gives retail and residential investors the confidence that this is a growth suburb, because they know the supermarket has done its due diligence about population growth areas”, Edwards said.
The retail precinct will form part of Crown Group’s long-term plan to develop a $1 billion portfolio of retail offerings at its residential developments world-wide. It intends to have 29,500m2 of retail space across nine of its Australian projects by 2024, valued at $284 million, then look to expand overseas.
Crown Group Chief Operating Officer Pierre Abrahamse said now that the lots were sold and Woolworths was secured, his retail team and Colliers would curate a retail tenancy mix to lease the remaining spaces, choosing tenants that would complement the development’s extraordinary architectural design and its Japanese theme.
“As an architecturally-led luxury developer, we tend to seek out retail tenants who cater to the luxury market and who also have a strong lifestyle appeal, with quality fit-outs and great interior design,” Abrahamse said.
“The retail mix at Mastery will reflect that, with Woolworths as the anchor tenant and a mix of food, convenience and lifestyle offerings in a ground-floor retail precinct comprising 27 restaurants, cafes and shops and reflecting the Japanese theme.”
Crown Group’s new General Manager of Commercial and Retail, Michael Charlton, said he was excited to launch a leasing campaign in coming months at Mastery by Crown Group that would attract some of the finest food offerings in keeping with the Japanese theme.
Four retail spaces remain for sale at Mastery by Crown Group, offering opportunities to secure prime inner-urban retail space in an area undergoing significant urban regeneration and population growth.
