A second shopping centre development in Wagga’s booming northern suburbs is on the cards with an Albury developer entering the market.
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Greg Howick from Fitzpatricks Real Estate said a developer had secured a block of land earmarked for a Boorooma Shopping Centre on Messenger Avenue, which could include a service station.
“The strength of the residential growth to the northern Boorooma and Estella areas is certainly evident,” Mr Howick said.
“Like the Glenfield of old the northern residential areas are well overdue for this style of development and the addition of a fuel outlet to the normal supermarket and specialty shops would certainly cap it off for residents. Negotiations and planning have been underway for some time.”
Estella resident Therese Kuriakose said she hoped one of the centres would open soon.
“I’m a nurse and shift worker and I was just whinging to my friends last week that if I need milk the amount of time it takes to drive to the shops and back again is quite annoying,” she said.
“I’m quite excited, I used to live in Albury, at Thurgoona near the university and everything was set up there, the supermarket was close by and hopefully one day this will come too.”
According to Mr Howick, the site had been secured by a development entity associated with Albury’s Barker Group, which had developed the Good Guys, BCF and Pet Barn centre on Edward Street as well as a Wesfarmers-Blackwoods distribution centre.
“They have extensive experience in supermarket development throughout the state, constructing both of Wagga’s Aldi stores and the ones in Lavington and Yass,” Mr Howick said.
“A key feature is that it is directly off the main road to residential areas and the university.”
The announcement came just days after preliminary work started on the long-awaited Estella Shopping Centre – located less than a kilometre away – setting the stage for a potential race to see who would be the first to open a supermarket in the area.
Developer Travis Barker said he had “strong confidence” in the future of the Boorooma project.
“Over the years we have successfully completed a number of commercial projects in Wagga and are very confident we have a strong site with our Boorooma acquisition,” he said.
“Inquiry has been healthy to date in that we have had to review the proposed layout a number of times to get the right mix and are still receiving fresh inquiries. Construction will commence as soon as all plans are approved.”
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