Casuarina’s big deal
February 3, 2022
The sale of Casuarina Square to Sentinel Property Group signals a significant new era for the landmark shopping centre.
Sentinel paid approximately $400m for Casuarina Square, with settlement due February 28.
Sentinel executive chairman and chief investment officer Warren Ebert told the NT News that all existing centre staff will be retained and that work will begin almost immediately on the transformation.
Among the big changes planned for the short-term are the extensive refurbishment of Woolworths and the freeing up of about 54,000sq m for development by relocating the bus interchange.
The long-term plan is to develop Casuarina into a town centre, building on the existing retail function with residential developments such as student, seniors or worker accommodation.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic asset and a once in a generation opportunity,” Mr Ebert said. “You cannot build another Casuarina. You cannot get another 12ha in the centre of Darwin.
“This is an irreplaceable asset and there’s no other shopping centre in Australia that dominates the market like Casuarina does, and there never can be. “We can double the size of Casuarina under the current town plan and as we go on I’d expect we’d get approvals to turn it into a town centre.”
The Sentinel vision includes:
- Short to medium term accommodation for workers transitioning into Darwin
- Step-down facilities as alternative accommodation for recovering hospital patients
- Involvement with City of Darwin in developing community facilities
- Accommodation for nurses, police and other essential workers
- Engage with Indigenous groups about developing a potential workforce
- Enhance The Quarter
And shoppers won’t have long to wait for the improvements to begin with work on painting, cleaning and improving the carpark lighting to begin soon.