Return Of The Neighbourhoood

Frasers Property Australia is building communities worth leaving the house for

The town centre used to be a place where neighbours would gather, discuss the news of the day, and form a cohesive community. Urban sprawl and ecommerce have changed that dynamic, but Frasers Property Australia is bringing that sense of community back — with a 21st century twist. Frasers Property’s super-neighbourhood centres provide a venue for local retailers to be part of their communities and for residents to have a place to gather, dine, and be entertained.

“After considerable research, we pioneered the concept of the super-neighbourhood centre, generally defined as a centre 10,000 to 30,000 square metres in size, anchored by a supermarket, and with a mix of retailers specifically tailored to the local catchment, with an entertainment and food and beverage focus,” Executive General Manager for Retail, Peri Macdonald, told VENTURE. “In other words, the convenience of a local neighbourhood centre on a larger scale.

“Our centres support our residential communities and our knowledge of what our residential customers want — and indeed who they are — enables us to tailor centres that meet their needs, so they can feel a degree of ownership in their local centre.”

A shining example of the approach is Burwood Brickworks in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Frasers Property purchased the site in 2015 and restored the area to its former glory.

“We saw it as an opportunity to take a disused, middle-ring site with a rich history in an area undergoing gentrification, and do something different and ground-breaking there,” Macdonald said. “It also suited our diversified model and mixed-use capability, to leave a positive legacy in the local community.