More than five years after being scheduled to open, the Estella shopping centre is still stuck in its planning stages.
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Developers are still struggling to secure finance, which is expected to further delay the project.
The site is managed by Raine and Horne Wagga and in a statement to The Daily Advertiser, director Grant Harris said the project will still go ahead.
“The developer is still keen to proceed although local banks don’t seem to have the appetite to lend the money required,” he said.
“We’re seeking further options for finance.”
A development application was lodged in 2009 for the shopping centre and it was scheduled to open on July 27, 2011 on the corner of Avocet and Rainbow drives.
Committee 4 Wagga chairwoman Judy Galloway understands the people in Estella have “been crying out for a shopping centre for a long while”
“Estella Rise is one of the fastest-growing areas (in Wagga),” she said.
“To support that community, they certainly need the infrastructure from the shopping shopping centre as well as things like school development.”
The update comes as Wagga’s population is forecast to grow to more than 80,000 people by 2036.
The developer is still keen to proceed although local banks don’t seem to have the appetite to lend the money required
- Raine and Horne director, Grant Harris
With more than 900 residents to arrive each year, developers, council and businesses will have to find a way to keep up with the demand.
Neville Chapple, director of Premium Property Brokers working as the real estate agents on Estella Rise, told of how the housing development is going well.
“Over 300 lots have been sold,” he said.
“It’s hard to put an exact number on how many people have moved in, but about two-thirds of those houses have been developed.
“We’re now in stage three, the final stage which will see 80 new lots developed.”
Mr Chapple said the shopping centre “will be great for the local community”.
