kenmore village shopping centre Archives

Kenmore Village Shopping Centre Welcomes Shoppers with a Modern Makeover

Kenmore Village Shopping Centre has officially reopened, after more than a year of redevelopment, revealing a line-up new retail outlets, enhanced accessibility, upgraded amenities, and a refreshing, new aesthetic that still manages to preserve the Centre’s familiar charm.

Read: New Look For Kenmore Village Shopping Centre If Redevelopment Plans Push Through

The grand reopening was celebrated in true Carnival style, complete with stilt walkers, a hula hooper, and a magician to entertain visitors.

Photo credit: Kenmore Village Shopping Centre/Facebook

Photo credit: Kenmore Village Shopping Centre/Facebook

As part of the celebrations, Kenmore mum Bianca Harvey took home the major prize—a brand-new Haval Jolion SUV, adding an extra layer of excitement to the event. Cr Greg Adermann also attended the festivities, showing support for the revamped shopping destination.

A Modern Makeover with Familiar Charm

Visitors to the Centre will immediately notice the improved facilities, including easy-access parking, designated disability spaces, a new taxi rank, and upgraded toilet amenities.

Key upgrades include new car parks, covered walkways to the northern and western entries, and a completely refreshed interior.

One of the most significant changes to the Centre has been the demolition of the two-storey north mall, which allowed for the construction of a new ground-floor retail entrance and additional car parking spaces. The redevelopment aimed to blend modern features with the Centre’s original character, ensuring it remains a beloved community hub.

The all-new amenities area now boasts a well-equipped parent’s room, featuring adult and child toilets, a baby change bench, and private feeding booths. These additions reflect the Centre’s commitment to providing a comfortable and convenient experience for all visitors.

The extensive renovations focused on enhancing accessibility, convenience, and aesthetics while preserving the familiar charm of the Centre.

Read: Kenmore Community Bands Together to Deliver Hampers to Families in Need

The reopening also marks the arrival of new retail outlets, expanding the Centre’s offerings and bringing fresh shopping opportunities to the local community. More stores are set to open in the coming months, further enhancing the Centre’s appeal.

The refreshed space is now ready to welcome shoppers and families, offering a blend of convenience, entertainment, and an inviting shopping experience.

Published 27-February-2025

Pizza Hut Kenmore Closes For Good

Pizza Hut Kenmore has shut its doors permanently, after the franchise owners reportedly failed to renew their lease at a popular shopping centre.

Read: Grill’d Kenmore Opens, Launches ‘Local Matters’ Program for Kenmore Community Groups

A section of Kenmore Village Shopping Centre along Moggill Road, is going to be changed, though it wasn’t announced if the site will be leased by another establishment for the mean time or if it will already be closed in preparation for the centre’s major transformation.

Meanwhile, the owners of Pizza Hut Kenmore are looking for a similarly-sized venue to continue trading in Brisbane, and have considered Taringa based on reports.

“The staff are friendly and helpful. Go above and beyond. The pizzas I get are how they should be. Chicken wings with honey mustard are the best. Ordered from this place a few times already, they never disappointed me. Thanks guys,” shared one of the place’s former patrons.

Like most Pizza Hut outlets across the country, Pizza Hut Kenmore was famous for their range of crusts, which include the Original Pan, Traditional, Thin n Crispy, Cheesy Stuffed Crust, and Gluten Free bases.

They have weathered the pandemic, by offering contactless pickup and contactless delivery throughout Kenmore and surrounding suburbs.

Pizza Hut was introduced to Australia in 1970. At present, there are only a couple of hundred outlets remaining across the country. Last June, the only remaining dine-in Pizza Hut in South Australia also closed, after almost four decades of operation.

Kenmore Village Redevelopment

Earlier this year, Jen Retail Properties, the owners of the shopping centre, was granted approval for a development application to revitalise the northern section and Level 1 offices of the mall.

The existing buildings will be replaced with a new ground-floor, retail shopping centre entrance and ancillary car parking spaces.

Read: New Look For Kenmore Village Shopping Centre If Redevelopment Plans Push Through

“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.

It would be the biggest upgrade yet for Kenmore Village Shopping Centre, since opening their doors in 1969.

New Look For Kenmore Village Shopping Centre If Redevelopment Plans Push Through

Photo credit: https://kenmorevillage.com.au/

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.

Read: New Furry Friends, Better Attractions Coming To Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

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.

Artist’s impression (Photo credit: https://developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au/)

“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.

Proposed site plan (Photo credit: https://developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au/)

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

Artist’s impression of the north carpark view (Photo credit: https://kenmorevillage.com.au/)

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.

It’s Free! Fun Programs and Activities For Kids At Kenmore Village Shopping Centre

Photo credit: kenmorevillage.com.au

Thinking of free activities to help your kids beat the boredom during the school holidays? One of your best bets is signing them up for workshops. If you’re in Kenmore or nearby, you might want to enrol your little ones in the School Holiday Winter Wonderland Craft Workshops at Kenmore Village Shopping Centre.

Each session will only last 30 minutes per day, but would be enough to do fun and educational activities, such as making lanterns and building a snow dome. Activities are suitable for children aged 3 years and older.

Here are the list of the workshops, which will be held starting Monday 28 June until Friday 2 July 2021, from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm daily:

Monday – 28/06	Create Marshmallow Snowmen
Tuesday – 29/06	Craft Beaded Snowflakes
Wednesday – 30/06	Build a Snow Dome
Thursday – 01/07	Create Winter Suncatchers
Friday – 02/07	Craft Snowmen Lanterns

Those who are interested in joining should book through Eventbrite. Do note that to secure a booking, tickets must be obtained to reserve your slot. Simply the correct event day selection first, then the correct session for the chosen day.

Kenmore Christmas Giving Tree Sends Holiday Cheer to Elderly

Kenmore Village Shopping Centre is sending Christmas cheer to elderly folks who would not have any gift to open this season of giving.

Through efforts of the Rotary Club of Kenmore and Helloworld Travel Kenmore, the Christmas Giving Tree lets shoppers at the shopping centre spread a bit of happiness to those living in age homes.

Currently, there are still tickets left, so anyone wanting to express their generosity can head over to the Christmas Giving Tree located in front of Helloworld Kenmore. Choose a suggestion from the remaining labelled gift tags hanging from the tree and return the gift to the people at Helloworld Travel.

Aside from the Christmas Giving Tree at Helloworld Travel, Kenmore Village Shopping Centre is also partnering with Kenmore Rotary Club to receive donations from shoppers through its Christmas Hamper Collection Box. The gift hampers will be given this Christmas season to people in need.

Visit the collection box at Centre Court to see the full list of suggested items to donate.

Kenmore Village Encourages Everyone to be Extra Kind on Strive To Be Kind Day

The death of Allison Baden-Clay has shone more light on domestic violence and has helped to empower thousands of people to help fight it. More like a wake-up call that domestic violence is very rampant nowadays, a foundation was built in honour of Mrs Clay.

Be a Ball of Sunshine

Photo credit: Strive to Be Kind / Facebook

On 28 July, the Kenmore Village Shopping Centre is taking part to help the foundation. The shopping centre will celebrate Strive to Be Kind Day of the Allison Baden-Clay Foundation and they are encouraging everyone to wear bright yellow. The stores will also “turn yellow” for that day. Everybody is encouraged to make a donation to help rebuild the lives of victims of crime.

Allison’s Story

Photo credit: Allison Baden-Clay Foundation

Allison was close to perfect — she was smart and beautiful. She was Miss Brisbane in 1993. She caught the eye of Gerard Baden-Clay, the great grandson of Scouts founder Lord Baden-Powell. Smitten by him, they got married and had three kids. Everything looked perfect until her death, where the secrets started unraveling. It turned out that her seemingly perfect life was just a facade.

Apparently, her husband was violent and abusive. Allison tried so hard to fix her marriage but failed. On 20 April 2012, Allison went missing and the police came to their home in Brookfield. Gerard spoke to the police with scratches on his cheeks, which he said to be shaving cuts. The search for Allison continued and it was one of the biggest missing person searches Brisbane had.

During the search, the support was overflowing. The community was helping. Ten days later, Allison’s body was found under the Kholo Creek Bridge at Anstead. And everything just came crashing down. Gerard was charged and his affairs and a million-dollar insurance benefit were unearthed. In July 2014, Gerard was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife.

The Allison Baden-Clay Foundation

The foundation hopes that this story will help reach others who need help. Most of the domestic violence victims remain quiet, terrified of their abuser. This foundation aims to put a stop to that.

Strive to Be Kind Day started in 2012. This day makes the whole community come together and show a little more kindness. The concept has gained enormous support from businesses and shopping centers including Kenmore Village. Schools also show support as well as the Ipswich City Council.

The funds that they will raise through this event will help them fund their programs that educate and empower people in people, schools, community, and workplaces about respectful relationships, how to recognise and deal with unhealthy relationships and understanding domestic violence in all its forms.

Brighten up someone’s day on the 28th of July. It will go a long way.

Kenmore Village Holds Dungeons and Dragons Game Twice a Month

At Kenmore Village, every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month, the Kenmore Village Shopping Centre welcomes Dungeons & Dragons players from all over the suburb to play.

Dungeons & Dragons

This fantasy tabletop role-playing game was launched in 1974 and remains as the market leader for RPGs. In 2004, the game was named the best-known and best-telling RPG game. It has won multiple awards. The game is normally played indoors with the players seated around a table. Each player controls a single character in a fictional setting. Each member has their own area of specialty and during the game, players direct the actions of their characters as well as its interactions with other characters in the fame.

Usually, several meetings are needed to complete a single quest. Campaigns take even longer to finish. The game play in Kenmore Village is set up like a campaign, which takes longer compared to a single quest because it deals with a series of related gaming adventures.

The Dungeon Master of the DM is the one who determines the results of the game depending on the overall storyline and the party’s choices.

The Game Play at Kenmore

In Kenmore, fans of the board game spend hours at play on tables and chairs set up in the mall. Despite the traffic in the shopping centre, the players remain wrapped up in their own world once they start playing. What do they get out of it? Bragging rights and priceless interaction with fellow players.

Dungeon Master Danny Stevens has been playing the game for more than 40 years now. He started in 1974 and he he’s been organising these events at the shopping centre in Kenmore. So far, there have been five gaming sessions and player participation has started to grow. Recently, Mr Stevens has had to turn some people away to prevent overcrowding. He regularly updates his blog for their ongoing table campaign for Dungeons and Dragons.

Brisbane has a number of D&D groups scattered all over the suburbs. These groups meet at least once every two weeks at a certain area to play. Here is the current list of the D&D groups in Brisbane.

Head on down to the Kenmore Village Shopping Centre on D & D Days and score some face-time with fellow players, if this seems to be right up your alley. You can also check out this Facebook page for schedules and updates.