Casuarina’s long-awaited town centre is taking shape with the first stage of works at the Tweed Coast housing estate recently completed.
The $14 million worth of works included road upgrades, such as roundabouts and traffic lights on the Coast Road, as well as a one-kilometre extension of Casuarina Way to connect Salt village, the Seaside development and central Casuarina Beach.
The $14 million first stage of works by Hutchinson Builders paves the way for the first retail and residential construction to begin on site in the next few months, including 38 homes and the retail hub.
The retail section, costed at around $400 million, will include a 2,500sqm Coles supermarket and specialty stores.
Work on the retail precinct is expected to start by November.
Town centre developer, property funds manager Clarence Property, hailed the end of the first stage civil works as a milestone.
Managing director Peter Fahey said the Casuarina community had been anticipating the retail centre for a long time.
‘And now that we have completed site works, the amenities that people have been waiting for, like the supermarket and child care centre, can finally be delivered,’ Mr Fahey said.
He said plans for stage two of the centre, to include more residential lots and a beachfront recreation centre, were now being reviewed.
‘We hope to start work on the second phase of the project in early 2015.’
The town centre was recently named Best Civil Engineering Project 2014 at the Master Builder Association (MBA) Northern Regional Building Industry Awards.
Mr Fahey said his company was working hand in hand with the original developer of Casuarina Beach, Consolidated Properties, which retains ownership of the town centre’s supermarket site and some residential sites, to ‘achieve the vision’ both had for the master-planned project.
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