Shopping centre on track- Construction on Ikea and Harvey Norman is on track and set to open next year. 53891

By Lia Bichel
CONSTRUCTION on the largest Homemaker Centre in Australia is well underway in Springvale, and on-schedule to open next year.
The centre will include about 20 stores including home furnishing giants IKEA and Harvey Norman.
The $286 million development will sit on an 80,000 square metre site on the corner of Westall Road and the Princes Highway and will create about 1500 jobs.
IKEA spokesman Jude Leon said the project was expected to open in October 2011, and would be a major boom for the area.
“Our Richmond store has been very successful so we are excited about the Springvale Store which will make it easier for many more Melburnians to shop at Ikea,” he said.
“(The Springvale site) is highly visible and has great motorway access. Being located alongside other major retailers will make us part of one of the largest homemaker centres in Australia.”
City of Greater Dandenong mayor Jim Memeti announced the centre in January and said it was not only fantastic news for the City of Greater Dandenong, but for Melbourne’s south-east region as a whole.
“Not only will the arrival of big name brands like IKEA and Harvey Norman help foster business growth and development in the region, but it will also highlight the business and employment opportunities available in the City of Greater Dandenong,” he said.
“The decision to build a development of this scale in our city, not only shows confidence in our local economy and our future but it also expands on Greater Dandenong’s retail diversity.”
IKEA is the world’s largest home furnishings retailer with over 285 stores in 36 countries and territories, employing more than 135,000 workers.
Last year the turnover for all IKEA stores was approximately $40 billion in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.