[COM] Armada Arndale (Redevelopment) | $200m

[pushbutton]

Interesting. Where did you see this? Perhaps Federation Centres isn't doing so well then despite the rebrand from Centro.

If / when it's sold, I suppose we can probably expect yet another change of name / branding for the centre.

I've known it as Westfield Arndale, Centro Arndale, and now Arndale Central (with federation logo). I know before any of those it was Arndale Kilkenny, part of the British chain of shopping centres called "Arndale".

Being familiar with some of these centres in Britain, I always found it a bit odd seeing it called "Westfield Arndale" or "Centro Arndale". It was a bit like calling a drink "Coke Pepsi"!

Well if it is to happen, I hope it gets sold to a company that has the funds and the vision to further improve and expand it. The recent development has certainly made it a lot better than it was, but that's still not saying much!

Only trouble is that it's so close to Westfield West Lakes that another big centre isn't really needed in Kilkenny. Rather than expanding it by much more, they could focus investment on just making it nicer (there's still some work to do even after the recent refurb) and something to make it a bit unique and special so it has a genuine point of difference over Westfield West Lakes (although it already has a lack of controlled parking going for it so that's a start).

I'm sure the top floor of Harris Scarfe could be put to use too, and preferably not as more retail but as somewhere for people to enjoy.

If the cinemas could be better integrated into the centre (as I'm sure they could) and the mall between Coles and Harris Scarfe refurbished to match the rest of it, that would again be worthwhile.

It will be interesting to see. I just hope it doesn't sell to some small, unknown investor who can't afford to do much with it.

[rev]

http://rca.colliers.com.au/property-ret ... -501143051

[pushbutton]

http://rca.colliers.com.au/property-ret ... -501143051

Thanks. To be honest, I was very surprised that Centro didn't put it up for sale when they were offloading some of their other centres at the height of their problems. I'm almost equally surprised though that it's gone on the market now, so soon after significant money has been spent to improve it.

Anyway as I said, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Trouble is, I can't think of any other major shopping centre operators in Australia who would be likely to be interested in it.

[pushbutton]

I have a keen interest in shopping centre management, so after finding out on here about Arndale Central being up for sale, I have started doing a bit of research and quickly discovered that Centro Surfers Paradise is in the process of rebranding as Paradise Centre.

The surprise for me in this is that it the new branding does NOT include the Federation Centres logo. Apparently it was sold in 2013 to a financial services group called Challenger. However it's been managed by Centro / Federation Centres since it was sold, but now it's presumably not going to be anymore, judging by the new logo. Not ideal in my view as Challenger are not specialists in managing shopping centres. I'm actually quite surprised Westfield didn't either buy it or at least take over managing it. Could have been a great location for a Westfield.

Paradise Centre.JPG (12.54 KiB) Viewed 8404 times

Federation has also already sold 50% of Colonnades some time ago.

All seems to point towards Federation having big problems. Perhaps they should have kept the Centro brand after all?

[rev]

http://rca.colliers.com.au/property-ret ... -501143051

Thanks. To be honest, I was very surprised that Centro didn't put it up for sale when they were offloading some of their other centres at the height of their problems. I'm almost equally surprised though that it's gone on the market now, so soon after significant money has been spent to improve it.

Anyway as I said, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Trouble is, I can't think of any other major shopping centre operators in Australia who would be likely to be interested in it.

No idea why it's being sold, perhaps they planned to redevelop it and sell it all along? Didn't we have a Centro/Federation employee posting on here at one stage updating us on progress? I wonder if he/she can shed any light on it being on the market.

I hope whoever buys it has plans to redevelop it further and expand it.

[eslampar]

I live in the area. I will most likely be doing my shopping at the new Churchill Road Centre. Maybe the owners are worried about future vacancy rates because of this new competition...

[pushbutton]

I live in the area. I will most likely be doing my shopping at the new Churchill Road Centre. Maybe the owners are worried about future vacancy rates because of this new competition...

Good point. It's not far away from Arndale, which already has Westfield West Lakes just down the road.

Churchcill Centre is obviously a very different type of shopping centre, and I've yet to see it (but will tomorrow when the new Coles SuperCentre opens).

[Howie]

Thread revival! New owners Armada are proceeding after many years with stage 2 and 3 of development and it currently planning a 4th, with a total investment of $200m.

I can't seem to find plans for the original Centro proposal.

[rev]

Thread revival! New owners Armada are proceeding after many years with stage 2 and 3 of development and it currently planning a 4th, with a total investment of $200m.

I can't seem to find plans for the original Centro proposal.

$200 million you say? So either we should see a significant expansion given it's size, or we should expect an almost gold plated refurbishment(given how shit it is), or a mediocre sized expansion?

They need to link the cinema complex with the main center, re-open the second level and expand said second level over south eastern carpark towards the Torrens/Regency intersection.

Really though one of the most important things they urgently need to address is the entrances to the center.
They are atrocious.

I wonder if they'll botch it up like Centro.

[[Shuz]]

I agree its a very poorly laid out design.

Good improvements would be to improve street level activation along the Hanson Road, First Avenue and Torrens Road frontages. The loss of carparking on these sides should be made up for with a multi storey carpark on Gray Street and Access Road.

The bus interchange configuration is a bit clunky at present and would be better improved if a new interchange was built paralell along the Torrens Road side, similar to how Westfield Marion is configured with Sturt Road.

Looking forward to seeing what Stage 2, 3 and 4 entails.

[Howie]

I found the original centro masterplan and overlaid what is the current state of arndale (highlighted in green).

arndale.png (381.99 KiB) Viewed 6906 times

Looks like they are probably building the area to the right at the moment (close to the cinemas).

Harris scarfe recently moved to another section of the mall, so I believe they might be extending out to the torrens road side where the majority of Harris Scarfe used to be.

Edit: If anyone has any free time to trawl the Charles Sturt website, there will likely be plans available there:
http://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/DAP_Agenda_&_Minutes
(I spent about 20 minutes and could not find it, and their search tool doesn't work too well).

Edit: Found the following DA notes:

252/1801/16 25/07/2016 Alterations and internal layout changes to Harris Scarfes to create ALDI supermarket and relocation of loading dock and removal of a regulated tree Staged Development: Stage 1 - Demolition Stage 2: Alterations to Harris Scarfe Tenancy, Stage 3 - Remainder of works including alterations and internal layout changes to Harris Scarfes to create ALDI supermarket and relocation of loading dock and removal of a regulated tree Arndale Shopping Cen 460-470 Torrens Road KILKENNY SA 5009 Consent Cat 1 No Notice Approved Hardy Milazz

[Brucetiki]

Harris Scarfe's location is only temporary at the moment while they redevelop (and shrink) their existing space (the temporary location includes a fair chunk of their existing space). Given how notoriously slow Harris Scarfe are at developing sites, it'll probably take 18-24 months for them to develop their new space. Aldi will then take the space once Harris Scarfe move back.

[Brucetiki]

Thread revival! New owners Armada are proceeding after many years with stage 2 and 3 of development and it currently planning a 4th, with a total investment of $200m.

I can't seem to find plans for the original Centro proposal.

$200 million you say? So either we should see a significant expansion given it's size, or we should expect an almost gold plated refurbishment(given how shit it is), or a mediocre sized expansion?

They need to link the cinema complex with the main center, re-open the second level and expand said second level over south eastern carpark towards the Torrens/Regency intersection.

Really though one of the most important things they urgently need to address is the entrances to the center.
They are atrocious.

I wonder if they'll botch it up like Centro.

Wasn't the second level pretty much John Martins and nothing else (which was quickly shut off by Harris Scarfe when they moved in).

Be interesting to see if they can connect that space directly to the mall - possible if they extend out to the cinemas.

[rev]

Thread revival! New owners Armada are proceeding after many years with stage 2 and 3 of development and it currently planning a 4th, with a total investment of $200m.

I can't seem to find plans for the original Centro proposal.

$200 million you say? So either we should see a significant expansion given it's size, or we should expect an almost gold plated refurbishment(given how shit it is), or a mediocre sized expansion?

They need to link the cinema complex with the main center, re-open the second level and expand said second level over south eastern carpark towards the Torrens/Regency intersection.

Really though one of the most important things they urgently need to address is the entrances to the center.
They are atrocious.

I wonder if they'll botch it up like Centro.

Wasn't the second level pretty much John Martins and nothing else (which was quickly shut off by Harris Scarfe when they moved in).

Be interesting to see if they can connect that space directly to the mall - possible if they extend out to the cinemas.

Yep, both ground and second level were John Martins. Was at a time just a good a going to West Lakes, as a kid.
There's a lot of potential if they want to spend the money on redeveloping Arndale.
The second level can be reopened, and extended out towards Red Rooster over the car park, which would create more under cover car parking which is always in demand at Arndale during hot summer days or wet winter days. They could create a new entrance for the roof top parking into the second level.
Connect the cinema complex with the main center. There should be a food court with cafes and eateries that links directly to the cinemas.
And the actual main entrances need to be improved dramatically and made to look inviting. All those little exits, like the one next to Coles near the bus interchange, they need to be removed and kept only a emergency exits. It's convenient I know to park there and walk straight in, but a shopping center should be thought of as a casino as much as possible, you know, actually get people to come in, and keep them in there as long as possible so they spend money. That's why you wont see windows in a casino for you to enjoy the view of what's outside. That's why there are limited entries/exits, almost far flung from the main gambling floors.

I don't know what Armada's capabilities are financially, but they should be pushing to turn Arndale into a major center. They are a business aren't they? Their competition in the local region is Westfield.
Take them on.

[how good is he]

See www.armadafunds.com.au and you will see all the things they own...Hollywood Plaza, Enfield, Dandenong etc