Construction has started on a $29 million Woolworths shopping centre at Lauderdale, with the supermarket saying the project will create more than 300 jobs.
Woolworths turned the first sod on the South Arm Road site on Hobart’s eastern shore this week, on a vacant block that has sat empty for years.
The centre will include a full-line supermarket and 13 specialty shops, along with more than 220 car parks, an eight-bay pick-up area, more than 600 solar panels and eight electric vehicle charging stations.
Woolworths says the development will create more than 260 ongoing jobs once it opens, as well as another 75 during construction.
The project has been more than a decade in the making. A similar supermarket was approved for the former plant nursery site in 2013 but was never built.
The Clarence City Council unanimously approved the current plans in May.
Before the approval, public submissions raised concerns about traffic, pedestrian safety and the impact on smaller local grocers, including TCM Market and Hill Street.
Woolworths later changed the design, moving the South Arm Road entrance about 10 metres further into the site and adding a raised pedestrian crossing across the driveway.
Woolworths Tasmania property development manager Nathan Dundovic said the centre would be “a place where locals can shop, meet and connect”.
“We are excited to see work underway on this project, which will provide the community with a new convenient option to complete their weekly grocery shop,” he said.
Clarence Mayor Brendan Blomeley, who attended the sod-turning ceremony, welcomed the development.
He said about 80% of the construction work was expected to go to local trades.
“This is an important milestone for Lauderdale and the surrounding community,” he said.
“As our suburbs grow, so too does the need for the services, facilities, employment opportunities and everyday conveniences that support a thriving community.”
Lauderdale is one of four new Woolworths supermarkets planned for Tasmania, alongside those in Burnie and Devonport.
The nearest major supermarket is a Coles at Glebe Hill Village, about six kilometres away.
The new store will trade from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week.
