Phoenix Shopping Centre owners flag intentions to upgrade

PHOENIX Shopping Centre could be in for a major upgrade, but it looks at least two years away.

Speaking at the City of Cockburn’s meeting on Thursday night, representatives for centre owners Rockworth Capital Partners revealed they were working on a master plan for the site.

Associate for planning firm TPG and spokesman for Rockworth Mike Davies said the master plan “could take between 18 months and two years to finalise”.

While the draft is in its infancy and details are scarce, councillors were given an early glimpse on Thursday.

Mr Davis said that early look, and a $7 million redevelopment of the former Centrelink site to accommodate Aldi and other specialty stores, was proof Rockworth was serious about delivering “a great outcome for Spearwood”.

Rockworth attended the meeting to call on the City to delay adopting a concept plan for Rockingham Road.

The plan, which is focused on the stretch of road between Coleville Crescent and Phoenix Road, involves reducing the road to two lanes, adding in bike paths, replacing traffic lights with roundabouts and generally giving the area a spruce up.

Altered entry and exit points into the shopping centre are a feature of the plan.

Rockworth wanted the City to delay adopting the plan until March so it could get its own concepts to a stage where it could collaborate with the council on the proposed upgrades and brief councillors on its own vision for the shopping precinct.

Mr Davis said “sacrificial works” proposed by council to improve the general appearance of the area in the short term would cost the company $600,000 to undertake before being removed in the near future to make way for the master plan development works.

Cockburn councillors honoured that request, voting to pass councillor Kevin Allen’s alternative recommendation to defer adopting the plan until March.

The City has also asked the shopping centre owner to brief the City on its plans for upgrades prior to making that decision.“We need to be looking at a long term strategy, not a short-term fix,” he said.

“We need to be doing this once and doing it correctly.

“Rushing the project will not achieve the best solution.”