Kenmore Village Shopping Centre, a local Kenmore landmark for over 50 years, would undergo its biggest upgrade yet for years, if a development application is approved.
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Plans
Plans (A005856055) lodged by Jen Retail Properties Ltd to the Brisbane City Council revealed that the applicant is seeking to demolish the two-storey north mall to facilitate the construction of a new ground-floor, retail shopping centre entrance and ancillary car parking spaces.
The at-grade ancillary car parking spaces will replace the north mall whilst a new floor area will be created underneath Council’s library. The new floor area will also be occupied by some of the existing north mall tenants.
“The planned redevelopment will provide a vibrant new look and modern feel for the oldest section of the Centre, the northern mall,” announced Kenmore Village Shopping Centre on its website.
Designs rendered by Buchan Architecture showed that the aesthetic elements of the new design complements the look and feel of the older remaining part of the Centre. The owners wish to preserve the familiarity and character of the centre that their loyal customers love.
Also part of the proposal is new driveway access to Spearwood Place, for access to a small portion of traffic.
“A new driveway access is proposed to Spearwood Place, located at the north-west corner of the site, to improve emergency access and to provide a “relief valve” to divert a small portion of traffic away from the driveways at Moggill Road (a State-controlled Road) and Brookfield Road during periods of road congestion,” Sinclair Planning stated in an assessment report for the applicant.
Locals’ Concerns
Most locals support the centre’s redevelopment. However, there are a few who were concerned about certain aspects of the proposal, including the additional driveway access via Spearwood Place.
“Through-traffic to the shopping centre creates a new rat-run by-passing the roundabout is a concern to many of us in the neighbourhood. The character of our traffic-calmed area with significant wildlife and many families with young children will be significantly impacted. The residential character of our streets will be lost,” a resident has written in a submission to Council.
Regarding the matter, the assessment report for the proposed development states that “the Spearwood Place access is warranted as it will provide a broader community benefit as a result of improvements to the traffic network and safe and direct emergency vehicle access, without introducing unacceptable amenity impacts for residents of the street.”
For more details about the proposed Kenmore Village redevelopment, see DA-A005856055.
