One of Sunshine’s key shopping centres will expand after the City West Plaza homemaker centre was bought by the Sentinel Property Group for $29.5 million late last month.
Sentinel manager director Warren Ebert said the plaza had lots of potential, with “exposure to some 70,000 vehicles per day on Ballarat Road”. He said there was also potential for residential development on the site.
“It’s likely to be mixed use,” he said. “Certainly, down the track there will be some changes, but not in the immediate future. The centre has a strong national tenancy profile.
“We have identified substantial value-adding opportunities, including improving signage, visibility and access, as well as revamping the layout and presentation … re-leasing and reconfiguration of retail tenancies.”
He said the centre fitted the company’s criteria for buying land that “needed a bit of work”.
“We don’t just buy properties because they are out of fashion, but for their underlying fundamentals and future growth potential, and this is certainly the case with City West Plaza, given its size and prominent positioning.
“The centre currently covers only 41 per cent of the total site area, which also provides the potential for future development.”
He said the company had inspected several Brimbank locations before buying the plaza.
Harvey Norman occupies about 30 per cent of the centre and accounts for about 41 per cent of its total gross income.
