28 March 2008

Supermarkets the Next Apartment Boom

The hundreds of single storey supermarkets that are dotted throughout Australia's suburbs with large car parks could become the next target for Australia's apartment developments.

David Hallett

Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, today said the release of a Draft Structure Plan for Kew Junction in the eastern suburbs municipality of Boroondara in Victoria which suggested the opportunity for comprehensive redevelopment of the Safeway supermarket including residential use at the upper storeys could be a national trendsetter. General Manager of Archicentre, David Hallett said, whilst every site will have a different environment, common features of supermarkets include single storey construction, large areas of car parks which could be built over and locations in high activity areas with access to public transport. "Apartments being built over supermarkets and other retail premises would also inject a financial boost to the commercial areas surrounding the supermarket and retail premises." Mr Hallett said that the shortage of land in suburbs close to cites in transport corridors, the high cost of land and an ageing population wanting to scale down the size of their homes, are all providing a catalyst for developers and planners to look at new ways of finding extra space within suburbs.

"Another major example of this style of planning is taking place in the Camberwell strip shopping centre, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, where a new building featuring underground car parking, a supermarket, offices and a residential component on the upper storey levels, has now been under development for over eighteen months.

"In the next decade we expect to see many strip shopping centres in suburban areas become combined with residential facilities in many areas between three to five storeys with set backs from the original facades."

Mr Hallett said that the challenge for architects and town planning departments will be to blend the projects into the existing fabric of the neighbourhood precinct.

Archicentre is experiencing an increase in the number of commercial property owners seeking advice as to whether or not their buildings could support other forms of development, such as apartments, to increase their yields and their income from their sites.

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Media Enquiries:
David Hallett General Manager Archicentre (03) 9819 4577 Mobile: 0439 439 115
Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications (03) 9818 5700 Mobile: 0417 329 201