Feedback from both customers and tenants has been “overwhelmingly positive” during the first month’s trading at South Village, Kirrawee, centre management says.
However, there have also been complaints about wind blowing through the very open malls, and options are being explored
The centre opened on November 14, with some elements being progressively introduced.
Lone Star Rib House and Plus Fitness gym will open on Wednesday, December 12.
The health and fitness precinct, on the corner of Princes Highway and Oak Road, will become fully operational early next year with the addition of a yoga and pilates studio and dentist.
Mirvac Retail portfolio manager Ben Conlon said management was “really pleased” with the response.
“The immediate reaction from the community has been strong, and customers are overwhelmingly positive,” he said.
“Some of the comments are, ‘we like the look of the centre’ and ‘we have been looking forward to having more dining options’.
“I think people have been pleasantly surprised.
“This has been a pretty high profile site, and its been under construction for a period, and I think people didn’t have a feeling for what was going to be here.
“If customers are happy, that generally translates into happy retailers.
“The feedback from all retailers is they are at or above their expectations.”
Mr Conlon said there had been no significant issues, “but we have received feedback about wind through the centre and that is something we are investigating”.
“The southern end of the centre is open and the doors at the north-western end are perforated, so still effectively open”, he said.
“We are mindful the centre was designed to be very open and connect with the outside, and we have had a lot of positive feedback about that.
“But, we are also assessing the wind situation to see how it plays out and to look at what options we might be able to implement.”
Mr Conlon said the inside-outside feeling would be fully realised when the 9000 square metre park was completed by the middle of 2019.
He said the 1500 square metre area inside the centre allocated to Sutherland Shire Council as community space would also to be opened at the same time.
The council has yet to decide whether it will use the area as a community centre or proceed with an earlier decision to convert it in to more shops and use the rental income for other council needs.
Mr Conlon said access to the centre was working well with entries from Princes Highway, Flora Street and Village Way, off Oak Road.
Residents are due to move into the adjoining apartments in mid-December.