Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson joined APPF Retail, The GPT Group, Lendlease and thousands of excited shoppers today to celebrate the official opening of Sunshine Plaza’s $440 million redevelopment.
The celebrations included the opening of the Sunshine Coast’s first David Jones, H&M, Sephora, lululemon and Sheike stores, as well as a new Big W, Kathmandu, JB Hi-fi, MECCA, Seed Heritage, Endota Spa and Baku, to name but a few.
Mayor Jamieson said the Sunshine Plaza expansion represented a significant capital investment in our region and for the retail industry.
“The calibre of retail outlets will encourage our residents to shop within our region and spend locally,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“This investment is welcomed by our council and shows the high level of confidence that continues to grow on the Sunshine Coast.
“The plaza is also a destination for the Hervey Bay and Bundaberg drive markets and will attract shoppers from the west.
“Our residents and visitors now have more retail options locally, as well as access to a substantial number of new employment opportunities.
“This is great news for our economy and great news for our community”.
Lendlease Managing Director of Retail Gary Horwitz said their customers wanted a world-class experience while retaining a sense of place and community, and that’s what we’ve created at Sunshine Plaza.
“Locals and Queenslanders living further north no longer need to travel to Brisbane for all their shopping and lifestyle needs — it’s all here, located in one of Australia’s most desirable tourism destinations; the Sunshine Coast.”
The new stores take Sunshine Plaza’s total retailer count to 345 over 107,000sqm and elevate the centre to be the first super-regional shopping centre north of Brisbane.
The redevelopment, which commenced construction in August 2016, is estimated to have generated close to 2,900 jobs over the past two-and-a-half years, and a further 2,300 retail jobs are expected to be created after today’s launch.
