Mall rejuvenation plans

Fresh Choice supermarket owner-operator Brent Chirnside hopes the planned redevelopment of the...
Fresh Choice supermarket owner-operator Brent Chirnside hopes the planned redevelopment of the Roslyn Village mall will revitalise the Roslyn shopping area. Photo by Jonathan Chilton-Towle

The tired Roslyn Village mall will receive a makeover and a shot in the arm if a planned upgrade tipped to bring new life to the Roslyn community goes ahead. Star reporter JONATHAN CHILTON-TOWLE investigates.

The Roslyn Village mall looks set to receive a major upgrade in a move community members hope will revitalise the Roslyn shopping area.

Fresh Choice supermarket owner-operator Brent Chirnside hoped the upgrade would rejuvenate the Roslyn shopping area but said it was still at the planning stage and many things needed to be ''ticked off'' before it could go ahead.

The mall was underutilised at present and many members of the community had told him they wanted something new done with it, Mr Chirnside said.

In the upgrade concept design, it is envisaged the central part of the mall now taken up with plant beds and a lawn will be made level and turned into a 50sq m outdoor dining area and a 60sq m playground featuring a house and slide and seesaw.

The courtyard area is surrounded by nine units for shops, of which only three now have tenants.

Mr Chirnside was in talks with potential new tenants for the six other units and hoped one of these would be a cafe or restaurant able to make use of an outside dining area.

The area will also be upgraded with new paving, benches and planting areas for native plants.

New steps will be installed to create a connection between the mall and the Fresh Choice supermarket.

At present, mall customers had no direct link to the supermarket and had to walk out on to the footpath to get there, which was less than ideal, Mr Chirnside said. He believed creating a direct link to the mall would attract supermarket customers to the mall and vice versa.

The existing buildings are to be repainted and some of the overhanging verandas may be removed from the building to allow more light into the central courtyard.

The upgrade could be varied depending on the needs of tenants.

Mr Chirnside hoped the work would be completed before Christmas this year. He did not yet have estimates on how much the project would cost.

Roslyn business people and residents spoken to about the planned development were generally supportive of it.

Resident Wyn Barbezat believed the upgrade would bring in more people and business.

''I think it's brilliant. It can only be good for the village ... It's a good space and it should be revitalised,'' she said.

Dawn Ibbotson, who also lives in the area, believed Roslyn needed to be rejuvenated.

She had lived there since 1994 and said the mall had been a lot busier in those days with all the shops full. A lot of the shops in the mall had closed after the New World supermarket closed, she said.

''It's sad to see how much we've lost,'' she said. ''It's a delightful suburb.''

Rhubarb owner Helen Wright said anything that would bring people to the area was great as the mall had been looking ''a bit dismal'' since many of the tenants had moved out.

''It will be good to see the place active again,'' she said.

Flower Shop Roslyn manager Jude Trim thought the development would be good for the area as it would bring in more people and provide more facilities for the locals.

The mall opened in 1977.

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement