Northern Illawarra shoppers have come up with a wishlist of new stores they’d like to see inside Corrimal mall after it was sold to billionaire developer Paul Lederer.
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The new owner, who bought the shopping centre from Stockland, advised customers to “watch this space” and said his company was planning on “investing in you and your community”.
It came as welcome news for Mercury readers, who expressed high hopes for a better shopping experience and flooded Facebook with their ideas for a revamped mall.
Here are the top 5 ideas …
1 A department store: “Kmart baby!! Straya!!” Symantha Jones wrote on the Mercury’s Facebook post – and she wasn’t alone with the suggestion. Dozens of readers agreed that what Corrimal needs most is a Kmart, the closest of which is in Figtree. Others indicated they would be just as happy with a Target, Big W or Best and Less.
Some queried whether a department store would actually fit on the site. “Build on car park next door with underground parking,” was one solution put forward by Alesha Richards.
2 Food and drink: A handful of readers wanted to see healthy options like a fresh fruit and vegetable shop, gourmet deli, Boost Juice or organic food cafe, while others had a hankering for fast food and dessert. Jay Hall put his hand up for a Max Brenner, to which Amanda Gripton responded, “Hell NO, SAN Churros.”
3 Fashion and apparel: A popular pick for a revamped mall was a good family shoe shop. Other ideas included menswear, as well as the retail brands Jeanswest, Sussan, Sportsgirl and Bras N Things. However, Nena Hewitt suggested a department store would include all of these items. “Hey a Kmart would cover all that is missing like menswear, shoes handbags, makeup, kids wear,etc and home decor stuff,” she posted on Facebook.
4 Other retailers: Ideas for potential new shops that were tossed around included the Reject Shop, Lush Cosmetics, an Apple computer store, homewares and kitchen gear, a good bookstore – and even a cinema.
5 A festive Christmas: Reader Kelly Davison had a simple request in the lead up to the festive season. “Coming up to Christmas I'd love to see a nice Santa Photo space/surrounds - it hasn't always turned out nice in the past at Corrimal.”
What shoppers don’t want
- “Definitely not a nail salon and there are enough coffee shops and women's clothing stores,” Alice Weber wrote.
- Despite the centre being renamed Lederer Corrimal, Rob Toppazzini wasn’t budging. “They can re-name it what they want. It’s still Corrimal Court to me! Lol:”
