DEVELOPERS of the fully approved and long awaited Marian Town Centre, located 25 kilometres west of the Mackay CBD, are finalising a building contract with Mainbrace Constructions and say they are on track to start construction in late May.
It is estimated that the shopping centre will be completed by May next year.
The developers have also just received board approval with leading national retailer The Reject Shop to go into Marian Town Centre and are negotiating with several other national specialty retailers.
“Along with The Reject Shop, we are thrilled to announce that we have also secured discounted fuel for the valley with a Woolworths Fuel service station and the valley’s largest hardware offering by way of a brand new 1,100m2 Mitre 10,” said Tipalea Partners Scott Spanton who are developing Marian Town Centre.
The Marian Town Centre will be anchored by Woolworths which will provide a full range supermarket in the new centre. It is to be developed on a 7.5 hectare site fronting Anzac Avenue and it will have more than 280 easy to reach carparks.
Marian Town Centre has been enthusiastically embraced by the local community and other stakeholders. Mr Spanton went on to say “When we acquired the site more than 18 months ago we were attracted by the fact that the immediate catchment was in need of a complete retail offering,”
“Having Woolworths onboard is a fantastic outcome and the people of the Mackay and Marian areas will be the big winners,” said Mr Spanton
“We have been very pleased with the response to leasing so far and we have leased close to 70 per cent of the specialty retailer space including an AFS Friendly Care Pharmacy, a medical centre, vet, a bottle shop, a butcher, a surf shop, fish and chip takeaway and noodle shop.” We have also secured Woolworths Fuel and Mitre 10 Hardware for the adjoining pad sites.
“We have only around six shops remaining to be leased, but that figure will change quickly when current negotiations are finalised.” He said leases finalised so far predominantly ranged from five to seven years.
Mr Spanton said the development and leasing team had embarked on a program to secure the very best mix and standard of tenants for the new centre.
We are still looking for the right operators for a café, hair salon, real estate agency and further take away food offerings.
“The local community in this catchment has been under serviced for a long time and we are totally committed to ensuring that when Marian Town Centre opens its doors the retail and shopping offering to the local community is first rate. “The businesses that go in there will be commensurate with the quality of the overall development and the standard and calibre of our anchor tenant.” Mr Spanton said the presence of Woolworths had led to a wave of interest from specialty retailers as they recognised there was significant strength in signing alongside the best in the country.
“Marian Town Centre will be the newest and most exciting shopping and lifestyle destination west of Mackay and it represents a fantastic opportunity for a number of specialist retailers,” he said. “Our search for the right operators is well progressed.”
Mr Spanton said the catchment for the centre included approximately 7,600 people and that was expected to grow to more than 11,600 by 2026. He said the area was currently well under retailed and that Marian Town Centre would fill an existing void.
He said construction contracts were about to be signed and during the construction of the centre more than 150 jobs will be created and on completion it will provide approximately 250 permanent positions so its economic benefit to the local community is significant and ongoing.
“We already have very strong interest from the local community in the retail employment that will be provided given the hours and the flexibility that this sort of work provides,” he said.
