The much anticipated completion of the final stage of the revitalised Emerton Village Shopping Centre in Western Sydney was celebrated at an official opening event held on Friday 4 December, with the community celebrating the opening of local small businesses – including a new food precinct.
First built in 1974, the redevelopment that began in February this year has seen Woolworths inject about $30 million of investment into the local Emerton area, creating more than 80 new jobs throughout construction and 350 ongoing retail jobs in the precinct.
Mainbrace Constructions delivered the redevelopment for Woolworths on a fast-tracked schedule, while enabling many of the existing businesses to remain open and trading throughout the duration of works
The newly reconfigured and refurbished Emerton Village Shopping Centre now includes approximately 20 specialty retail stores, in addition to a modern full-line Woolworths supermarket and 300 customer car spaces, significantly improving customer amenity and access to the centre. Providing everyday convenience and value, the renewed and expanded Woolworths Emerton store (which opened in stage 1 of the redevelopment) employs 110 local team members, with 50 new team members joining during this first stage.
“We are delighted to celebrate the completion of the revitalisation of Emerton Village Shopping Centre, which forms an important part of our ongoing commitment to investing in Western Sydney,” said Andrew Loveday, Woolworths Head of Property Development. “We’re proud to have delivered a modern and contemporary neighbourhood shopping destination, anchored by a state-of-the-art full-line Woolworths supermarket, to meet the needs of the local community.
“Our ambition has always been to create a safe, vibrant and convenient destination that the community can take pride in, which we believe we have achieved,” Loveday stated, adding: “The revitalised Emerton Village Shopping Centre now provides the community with a local shopping and meeting place to be proud of and to enjoy now and well into the future.”
The newly reconfigured and refurbished Emerton Village now includes approximately 20 specialty retail stores, a modern full-line Woolworths supermarket and 300 customer car spaces
Emerton Village Shopping Centre’s newest features include a brand new entrance, seven new specialty stores, a restaurant and café precinct, and more than 100 new car spaces at the northern car park on Jersey Road, almost doubling the car spaces at the centre.
Special guests, Federal Member for Chifley, Ed Husic MP, State Member for Londonderry, Prue Car MP, and Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Tony Bleasdale OAM, attended the official opening and toured the new centre. They shared the occasion with hundreds of excited local shoppers enjoying a range of community activities and live music.
“It’s so good to see a renovated centre that we can be proud of in our community,” said Ed Husic MP, Federal Member for Chifley. “It should prove to be a great place for local small businesses to grow and operate,” he said, while thanking Woolworths for investing in the area and in this fantastic centre.
“In what has been a tough year, the redevelopment of Emerton shops has been a game-changing investment by Woolworths in our community,” agreed Prue Car MP, State Member for Londonderry, adding: “Emerton Village is now a state-of-the-art centre that residents are very proud to call their local shops.”
Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Tony Bleasdale OAM agreed, stating: “The $30 million redevelopment of Emerton Village Shopping Centre reflects the confidence that both Woolworths and our Council share in the continuing growth and development of Blacktown City.
“Woolworths is to be congratulated for providing the local community with more jobs and a vibrant shopping centre and meeting place to be proud of and to enjoy for many years to come,” added Bleasdale.
Retail specialist Mainbrace Constructions delivered the redevelopment for Woolworths on a fast-tracked schedule, while enabling many of the existing businesses to remain open and trading throughout the duration of works.
Stage 1 of the redevelopment included the opening of the expanded, reconfigured and refurbished Woolworths supermarket, several new tenancies, the relocation of tenants who had been trading in temporary locations, new car parks and a new entrance. Stage 2, which completes the redevelopment, included a new northern façade, new primary entrance, a dedicated drive-through pick-up facility, new specialty stores, an external restaurant and café precinct, and more car parking. In all, the redevelopment introduced 13 new tenancies within the centre, seven new food tenancies in the northern dining precinct, and 300 new parking spaces.
“This has been a collaborative project from the outset and we’ve enjoyed working with Woolworths, Council and other key stakeholders to ensure the refreshed Emerton Village will be a convenient, vibrant and comfortable place for the local community to visit for many years to come,” said Rob Doust, Mainbrace Managing Director. “Despite the constraints of working within a busy operating environment, we safely delivered this complex, large-scale redevelopment on a fast-tracked schedule, while minimising disruption to shoppers and businesses throughout the duration of works.”
The redevelopment that began in February 2020 has seen Woolworths inject about $30 million of investment into the local Emerton area
Mainbrace has completed more than 490 projects for Woolworths across Australia, including new builds, store refurbishments and interior repurposing projects. The company recently completed the new Cameron Park Plaza staged development for Woolworths near Newcastle along with projects for Woolworths in Rockdale, Lidcombe and Lake Munmorah.
