A radical $23 million makeover of a popular, but ageing, shopping centre on the northern beaches has started.
Plans for the start of the radical makeover of a popular, but ageing, shopping centre on the northern beaches have been revealed.
The new owner of the Forestway Shopping Centre has released images of the first stage in the $23.5 million modernisation of the 57-year-old mall at Frenchs Forest.
Revelop, a Parramatta-based property investment and management company, bought the centre in March for $100m from the giant US investment firm giant Invesco Assest Management.
An artist’s impression of one of the entrances to a modernised Forestway Shopping Centre at Frenchs Forest.
Invesco had plans to partly demolish and redevelop the centre — one of the largest on the northern beaches — which now accommodates Woolworths and Aldi supermarkets, a McDonald’s and 37 retail and hospitality outlets.
It wanted to double carparking to 740 spaces on the 2ha site near the intersection of Forest Way and Warringah Rd.
Invesco also had plans for a large restaurant, childcare centre, medical centre, a two-level basement car park and a gym as well as more shops and office space.
The new owner of the Forestway Shopping Centre wants to improve the aesthetic of the 57-year-old mall at Frenchs Forest. Picture: Revelop
But the redevelopment was knocked back by the Sydney North Planning Panel in late December on the grounds it would generate too much traffic on residential streets and did not meet many “environmental planning grounds”.
The new owner, however, said it had no plans to increase the general size and scale of the centre, but would improve parking, its appearance and the tenancy mix.
Revelop director Charbel Hazzouri said he wanted to keep it as a “neighbourhood shopping centre” that offered a “truly one-stop shop customer experience”.