A new $70-million community retail hub Kalkallo Town Centre, designed by architecture firms Clarke Hopkins Clarke and i2C Architects, is now under construction in Melbourne’s northern growth corridor.
Developed by Oreana Property, the 8,000-square-metre centre will provide essential amenities to the Cloverton Estate in the initial stages of the Lockerbie North precinct.
Lockerbie North is expected to become one of the largest new cities outside of Melbourne, due to the rapid growth of the Cities of Hume and Whittlesea, which are forecast to welcome 15,000 new residents every year for the coming decade.
Melbourne-based FOURSQ Construction was appointed by Oreana as building contractor for the development, which is expected to create more than 200 new jobs for Victorians and is scheduled to reach practical completion early next year.
Oreana group managing director and co-founder Tony Sass said the company was focused on delivering infrastructure that meets specific community needs and its specialist development team had conducted extensive assessment programs to identify these, as with Kalkallo.
Sass continued: “Kalkallo Town Centre will be an important civic asset for the community in this major growth area and will encourage people to come together and interact in a tailored, community hub environment.
“We’re looking forward to working with FOURSQ Construction to deliver this commercial development and ultimately help shape a vibrant, well-equipped community.
Located on the newly constructed Cloverton Boulevard at the intersection of Toyon Road in Kalkallo, the retail hub will feature a full-line Woolworths supermarket, 148-place childcare centre managed by Aspire, petrol station, medical centre, discount pharmacy, as well as food and beverage stores.
Leasing has been strong to date with precommitments in place for more than 90 per cent of available space.
FOURSQ Construction director Brendan Canavan said his team had a strong history in delivering retail projects across Victoria.
Canavan said: “This will be our first build with Oreana Property and our largest retail project to date, so it marks a really important milestone.”