Town centre opening getting closer

INTERIOR and exterior finishes, a glass roof, signage, landscaping, and road works are bringing the Armstrong Creek Town Centre to life weeks before the grand opening.
The countdown to the completion of stage one is on, and 31 lucky people have the chance to win a Coles gift card through the Armstrong Creek Town Centre Instagram page. Anchor tenants Coles and Liquorland are among the retailers opening their doors to the public on July 29.
Developed by Wel.co, Armstrong Creek Town Centre is a sustainable, pedestrianised and vibrant town centre which will foster a sense of community and give residents and visitors a place to shop, live, work and play.
City of Greater Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said the site would be an attractive “social heart” of the Armstrong Creek Urban Growth area, and provide a destination for a range of experiences, services, and facilities.
“The town centre will create a sense of civic pride, enjoyment and help create an even stronger Armstrong Creek community.”
Stage one will service 55,000 people and deliver more than 1000 ongoing jobs for the region.
Former Essendon footballer and Wel.Co managing director Andrew Welsh chose to develop the Surf Coast Highway site into a focal point, not only because of the location to neighbouring estates including Warralilly, Armstrong Creek and Anchoridge and its proximity to Geelong, Torquay and the coast, but also because he had personal connections to the area.
After experiencing the beauty of the region on holidays, Mr Welsh saw the need for a town centre to link growing suburbs and create a meeting point for community members, a civic centre, and a variety of retailers within an accessible distance to the region’s beaches and attractions.         
“It’s a really central hub for future employment, retail and residential areas,” he said.
“If you’re travelling to or from the Surf Coast, Bellarine or greater Geelong area it is a central point for a lot of traffic – to provide an easily accessible precinct on the Surf Coast highway was really important for us.
“The amount of tourists we see traveling to the Surf Coast and Bellarine areas, and with the Port Phillip ferrie services at Geelong and Portarlington, there will be a lot more people travelling to and relocating to the area.”
The 40-hectare site will accommodate for the region’s growth and in future offer residential, hotel and wellness and medical facilities, a library, cinema and an indoor swimming centre. A train line and station are also proposed for the site.
Mr Welsh said the site embodied a range of sustainable design and development principals including protecting and enhancing natural and cultural assets, using alternative energy sources such as solar and promoting sustainable construction techniques and materials.
“We’ve focused on sustainability throughout, from building requirements, to waste being removed.
“We want to achieve a really sustainable centre for an area that we want to be growing with for a very long time.”