Warralily shopping centre officially opens

SHOPPING in Armstrong Creek has taken a leap forward with the official opening of The Village Warralily last week.

Residents of the Warralily estate are among new specialty business operators helping bring convenience, connections and hundreds of jobs to the retail centre at the corner of Barwon Heads Road and Central Boulevard.

The hub’s formal opening by City of Greater Geelong mayor Bruce Harwood, South Barwon MP Andrew Katos and Corangamite federal member Sarah Henderson marks a significant milestone in the first stage of development, which has already attracted $50 million of investment and responds to need for amenities in one of the region’s fastest-growing residential areas.

“This is all about enhancing lifestyles and providing employment in a location, which already has so much to offer,” Tarek Abdulnour from village developer APD Projects said.

“More than 5,500 people already call Warralily home and it will be the longterm destination for many more.

“Opening of The Village Warralily Shopping Centre is such an important progression. We’re proud to be the first Armstrong Creek retail centre, offering such diversity, and we’re proud that so many locally owned and run businesses have joined us.”

The shopping centre has Woolworths as an anchor tenant, and 15 retail and food outlets bordering a town square plus office spaces, medical and dental clinic, a chemist and a gym.

A $6 million McDonalds Restaurant and $5 million 7-Eleven fuel and convenience store are both set to open beside the centre in about a fortnight.

Construction of an ALDI supermarket is scheduled to start in 2018, a neighbouring all-abilities primary school is scheduled to open for first term in 2018 and work on an adjoining City of Greater Geelong and state government funded sport and recreation precinct with pavilion is under way.

Hundreds of jobs will grow from The Village Warralily, with 120 at Woolworths alone, about 100 positions at McDonald’s, 15 at 7-Eleven and more at the smaller businesses, all focused on providing opportunities for locals.

The Village Warralily Shopping Centre is designed by award-winning architects Clarke Hopkins Clarke with particular focus on creating an appealing “eat street” heart with street furniture, feature lighting and sculptures enticing people to meet, linger and dine.

Building exterior finishes take cues from nearby coastal settings and the centre extends the strong environmental credentials of the Warralily community with use of environmentally friendly cleaning materials, biodegradable bags, solar panels to power car park lighting and a zero-waste pledge from Woolworths.