Woolworths has celebrated the start of construction on a new $20 million neighbourhood shopping centre in Dandenong Junction on Monday 4 April.
On completion, Dandenong Junction Shopping Centre will be home to more than 5,000 square metres of retail space, including a state-of-the-art Woolworths Supermarket and Direct to Boot facilities, a BWS, nine specialty stores and over 280 car spaces.
Located at 1-5 Gladstone Road, Dandenong, the new development will bring significant employment opportunities to the local community, with 350 full time, part time and casual jobs during construction, and 200 ongoing, when the centre opens in late 2022.
A ceremonial sod turning marked the official start of construction, attended by The Mayor Greater Dandenong Council – Cr Jim Memeti and CEO Greater Dandenong Council – John Bennie.
Woolworths State Development Manager Don Foulds highlighted the importance of the growth to the Dandenong community.
“The Dandenong Junction development is an important part of our ongoing commitment to support jobs growth and increasing demand for more localised, neighbourhood retail close to where residents live and work,” Mr Foulds said.
“The location of this development, which is undergoing major transit-oriented urban renewal, means workers and commuters will be able to grab a bite to eat at lunch or pick up groceries on their way home without having to travel too far.
“We’re confident we can deliver a high quality and convenient shopping destination that will meet the growing and evolving needs of the Dandenong community well into the future.
Mayor Memeti added: “Our focus is on rejuvenating Greater Dandenong to create a municipality that supports entrepreneurship and quality outcomes for the south east,” Cr Memeti said.
Woolworths is targeting a 5-Star Green Star certification for the entire shopping centre development from the Green Building Council of Australia.
To reduce the environmental impact of the Centre’s operations, the building will incorporate a range of sustainability features, including more than 500 solar panels spanning the roof. The system will have the capacity to generate approximately 260 megawatt hours of electricity each year helping to offset almost 20 per cent of the supermarket’s energy needs.
The car park asphalt will be surfaced with Reconophalt – an asphalt containing high recycled content derived from waste streams, such as soft plastics, glass and toner, which would otherwise go to landfill or stockpiled.
Don Foulds pointed out the benefit in prioritising sustainability.
“These efforts are not only good for the environment, but will also help us keep operating costs down so we can continue to offer great value to our customers.”
