Narellan, in Sydney’s south-west, is a strong example of the type of growth now expected in the middle to outer suburbs. Many people want to live, work and raise their families in a nurturing, village-like environment; as the city expands and consolidates its development, local centres evolve accordingly. With this comes the need for robust and modern infrastructure, to support a young and growing community with business, leisure and employment opportunities close to home.
The Camden area has a rich history dating back to grants of pastoral land in the early nineteenth century, long before it was part of greater Sydney; originally a separate town, it has retained its own character through demographic changes, right through to its present period of prosperity and maturation. Its status as a regional hub was cemented by the opening of the original Narellan Town Centre shopping mall in 1995. The product of a bold vision by two local families, it remains Australia’s largest family operated retail centre.
Now in the latest exciting stage of Narellan’s story, the Town Centre has undergone an impressive revamp. Extending the original section south of the major arterial Camden Valley Way, the development incorporates a brand-new section north of the roadway, and is crowned by the linking of the two parts by means of a 38-metre-wide pedestrian skybridge.
Mainbrace Construction, having executed over a thousand shopping projects of all sizes and levels of complexity, brought a notable depth of experience to the build. Already attracting thousands of visitors per day, the centre’s floorspace has more than doubled and it now boasts hundreds of additional parking spaces and dozens more retail tenancies, including several major retailers such as Target, H&M, Kmart, Coles and an expanded Woolworths. Further boosting the amenity of the area for locals and visitors alike are the new dining precinct and landscaped public outdoor space.
Such a complex undertaking can be exacting from a fire safety engineering point of view. The open plan nature of the layout, the presence of design features such as extensive glazing, and the range of classifications present in these buildings necessitated the formation of astute performance solutions to accommodate the requirements. CORE’s involvement with numerous retail projects gives us an assured approach to such challenges.
We greatly appreciate the hard work of everyone involved in bringing Narellan a first-class refurbishment of its Town Centre, affording this growing area ever greater opportunity and advantage.
