What a week it’s been for confidence in Maitland’s economy.
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On Monday the Mercury reported a 3 per cent drop in the region’s unemployment rate, which brought it down to about 7 per cent – the lowest level in more than a year.
Then on Tuesday, news broke that all of the vacant shopfronts in Central Maitland’s redeveloped Levee precinct had been leased and demand was so high that there was already a waiting list for premises on the strip between Bourke and Elgin streets.
The hat-trick of good news was complete on Wednesday when Stockland confirmed long-held rumours that David Jones would be part of the $377 million redevelopment of the Green Hills shopping centre and that work on the revamp would begin in January.
More than 200 new shops, including South African company Harris Scarfe, a new concept JB Hi-Fi Home outlet and a reconfigured Target, will open in the new-look facility when it’s finished in 2018.
The community got its first look at art that depicted the redesign of the shopping centre and the pictures are impressive, to say the least.
The mayor of Maitland, Cr Peter Blackmore, rightly says that there’s a place for The Levee and the new-look Green Hills shopping centre in this region.
While there may be some level of competition, each precinct will offer a different experience and facilities.
After months of negativity that included department store giant Myer pulling out of a proposed lease at Green Hills, extensive delays to construction at The Levee and an astronomical unemployment rate, it’s a relief that Maitland finally looks to be headed toward an economic purple patch.
