Stockland will celebrate the completion of its $330 million Shellharbour shopping centre redevelopment on May 18, coinciding with the official opening of the centre's new Myer store.
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Work on the redevelopment began in December 2010 and was initially expected to take three years.
Centre manager Brett Leonard said the centre was a long way ahead of schedule, with another 20 shops to open on Thursday and several others to open in the weeks leading up to the Myer grand opening on May 18.
"It will be a massive day of celebration - there will be plenty of sales and specials centre-wide," Mr Leonard said.
The manager of the new Myer store, Byron Holt, said a "soft opening" would take place on May 11 for shoppers keen to get their first look at it.
The new store would be hiring 70 people from the Shellharbour community, four of them indigenous, Mr Holt said. And 17 existing Myer employees would move to Shellharbour.
"We will really be focusing on the customer and service strategies," he said, adding that there were no plans to close the Wollongong store.
"We have established that the Shellharbour community and Wollongong community, although close by, are two different communities," Mr Holt said.
"We have a structure we planned towards. It is new for us, as we are heading into a community that has not had a Myer before.
"We will really focus on our Myer-exclusive brands and engaging with the Shellharbour community.
"There'll be an even split of the Myer range. We will still cater for homewares - we expect the kidswear market will be big for us.
"And there will be a lot of attention on fashion - ladies' fashion and cosmetics will be the hub of the store."
Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba said the investment by Stockland and Myer was a significant vote of confidence in Shellharbour city.
"The addition of Myer will solidify Shellharbour's foothold in the retail market and increase employment opportunities," she said.
