Northern suburbs residents keen on retail therapy will soon be spoilt for choice, with a regional shopping centre set to open its doors in Merrifield in 2019.
The centre, which will be the size of Westfield Fountain Gate, will be built by Merrifield developers MAB Corporation and Gibson Property Corporation, and fund managers QIC, which recently completed the $665 million redevelopment of Eastland.
It will be built on 30-hectares within the Merrifield city centre on the corner of Donnybrook Road and the Hume Freeway in Mickleham.
Merrifield project developer Matthew Planner said the site will have more than 200,000 square metres of retail space and would provide people in Melbourne’s north with a cutting-edge retail experience.
He said there was significant need for a regional shopping centre in the area, with more than 650,000 people expected to live in the outer northern suburbs by 2041.
“The centre will be the epicentre of the northern growth corridor of Melbourne,” Mr Planner said.
“We know that shopping centres have evolved in recent years and so we want to provide a lifestyle destination offering entertainment and dining experiences in addition to retail offerings.”
The centre will be built in stages, with stage one expected to open in mid-2019. The first stage will likely include a major supermarket and speciality retailers.
Mr Planner said the decision to build the centre in stages meant that it could grow with the community.
“It is not our intention to wait for the population to arrive and deliver the centre in one hit,” he said.
The shopping centre will be located alongside Merrifield’s business park. The two precincts are expected to create about 30,000 jobs.
