University Hill
Town Centre
The design philosophy of University Hill Town Centre is focused around capturing the ‘Genius Loci’ - spirit of the place. This was paramount in creating a convenience based shopping centre and discount factory outlet centre to create a ‘third place of living’ for residents.
LOCATION
Wurundjeri Country | Bundoora, VIC
CLIENT
MAB Corporation
YEAR
2008
SECTOR
retail, urban
STATUS
Complete
BUILDER
St. Hillier’s
AWARDS
- Property Council Australia Best Masterplanned Community 2011 Winner
- Urban Development Institute Best Masterplanned Development 2010
After studying retail and High Street developments across the USA and throughout Australia and understanding the finer grain of the street-based retail precincts, we fine-tuned our retail philosophies, design rationale and most of all, the community drivers to design a retail development that complemented MAB’s vision for the project.
The real heart and soul of the development is the sum of the people who call the precinct their own, multiplied by the ability for a new development to embed itself into the context and urban framework of the suburb over time.
The early years at University Hill had been challenging and with limited mid and high density living in the walkable perimeter, along with a tenancy mix that needed to mature, it meant that there were several retail evolutions with some strong thinking around the repositioning of tenants to suit the precinct mix and what the community needed to embrace the centre and take ownership.
The peripheral commercial and medium/high density residential zones that surround the Town Centre clearly add mountains of additional people into the retail precinct, but it works both ways and the balance at University Hill is now very solid and now attracts multiple commercial opportunities and the extension of the university fraternity that surrounds the suburb.
Raphael Poggi - Development Manager, MAB
PROJECT FEEDBACK
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