Ex-AFL player begins build at Armstrong Creek shopping centre

A $60 million shopping centre project is the first step to creating the Armstrong Creek Town Centre, which will become the retail, leisure and entertainment hub of Geelong’s south, developer Andrew Welsh says.

Welsh, a former Essendon footballer, heads property developer Welsh Group, which recently acquired its latest property at 500-540 Surf Coast Highway, allowing it to start construction on the shopping centre.

The first stage has a Coles supermarket and 25 speciality shops, including cafes and restaurants.

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Bulk earthworks had already begun, with shopping centre construction to start in coming weeks.

The developer would also rebuild Burvilles Rd, which separates the town centre and Geelong Lutheran College.

The centre expected to open in late 2020, along with fast food and bulk goods retail outlets fronting the Surf Coast Highway, which are the subject of a planning application with the council.

Welsh Group now owns 40ha of land within the Armstrong Creek Town Centre precinct.

“The Armstrong Creek Town Centre will be the first major commercial project in this region delivered by Welsh Group and will include a range of retail, leisure and entertainment, residential and community facilities, bringing an array of services and employment opportunities to the growing community,” Welsh says.

Stage one of the Armstrong Creek Town Centre includes a Coles supermarket and speciality shops.

He says Armstrong Creek Town Centre is modelled on similar projects at Rouse Hill in Sydney or Springfield in Brisbane.

“It’s a suburb within a town centre. It’s not your traditional drive in straight into a car park and retail, it’s a mixed use suburb within Armstrong Creek.

“It’s exciting to see the quality that’s going to be there to make a destination that’s not just retail but community services, the library and residential components.”

Welsh says other precinct landowners are planning retirement living, while the council owns the site for the future train station and a surrounding civic hub.

The mixed use component is a 15-year project to be built in stages timed as the population grows, he says.

“Once more population comes there is hotels, serviced apartments, we’re talking to a couple of different groups around university co-sharing in areas, there is large format locations for bigger footprint home uses, so it’s a huge long-term project.

“Stage one will initially service about 58,000 people and provide in excess of 1100 ongoing jobs, with the suburb set to rapidly increase to over 110,000 residents by 2036,” he says.

Welsh Group has appointed Colliers International agents Mike Crittenden and Adam Lester to manage leasing for the shopping centre and freestanding sites on the Surf Coast Highway.

Welsh says Colliers has a strong relationship with local operators but is getting national and international operators wanting to be a part of the town centre because they’ve seen how Rouse Hill and Springfield town centres have operated.

This article from the Geelong Advertiser originally appeared as “Construction starts on Armstrong Creek Town Centre retail complex”.