Woolworths & Reading Cinema Planned for South City Square

Woolworths and Reading Entertainment have together signed 15-year leases at the $600 million South City Square.

Joint Venture partners Pellicano and Perri Projects are planning 13,000sqm of retail at South City Square, aiming to create a new retail and lifestyle destination for Woolloongabba.

The new anchor tenants are said to have chosen this site due to significant retail demand south of the river. According to Urbis, the Woolloongabba catchment is forecast to grow to well over 33,000 residents by 2036, which is a 50% increase from the current population.

Pellicano’s Development Operations Manager, Michael Kent, said the South City Square’s vision is to provide residents south of the river with a vibrant activity centre to meet the lifestyle needs of this rapidly growing population.

“The strong interest from high profile tenants, including nationally renowned Woolworths Group and the internationally recognised Reading Entertainment, has reaffirmed our belief that South City Square will be the centre of Woolloongabba’s transformation into a dynamic retail and lifestyle precinct,” said Kent.

“When creating the vision for South City Square, Pellicano and Perri Projects recognised the strong market demand. We sought to create a project that integrated premium retail and hospitality offerings with the quality residential offering, extensive civic uses and public space, to build this new concentrated activity centre for Brisbane.”

Woolworths’ Regional Property Manager, Phillip Peel, said the company was thrilled to secure one of the key retail tenancies in the South City Square development, as the growing population indicated clear demand for a full-line supermarket.

“Woolworths identified the opportunity at South City Square and worked with Pellicano to secure our longterm presence as part of this new retail destination,” said Peel.

“At Woolworths, we pride ourselves on delivering high quality produce at great value for local residents. We are delighted to be part of South City Square’s regeneration of this former industrial site and are excited that local residents will soon have access to one of Australia’s most modern supermarkets.”

The new Woolworths will be equipped with the Woolworths’ Click and Collect service – which allows customers to order online and pick up at a convenient time and location.

US-based cinema chain Reading Entertainment is planning to enter the Brisbane market with a ‘world class’ dine-in cinema experience.

The cinemas will range from smaller, boutique theatres to a large-screen format theatre, and will be situated within the development’s double-story commercial podium.

“Reading Entertainment is internationally known for its advanced entertainment offerings and we are looking forward to providing these services to Woolloongabba,” said Kent.

South City Square’s retail offering has been designed over multiple levels, with Woolworths situated on the lower ground.

This will be only the second time this state-of-the-art lower-ground model has been utilised in Brisbane and has allowed the developers to dedicate more open space on the ground plane to community amenity; encouraging use by the wider population and increasing the dwell time of future patrons.

“South City Square has taken on board design philosophies from some of the best projects around the world, with our research including study tours of precincts such as The Grove in Los Angeles,” said Kent.

“We have worked with a dynamic, integrated design team including hospitality and retail specialists, Six Degrees Architects, DBI Design, and Woods Bagot, to ensure we have every aspect perfected; from our larger retail offerings to our fine-grain food and beverage.”

South City Square will also house a gourmet market hall, fitness centre, and smaller cafes and restaurants.

These operators will be next on the list for Pellicano and Perri Projects having finalised the 15-year leases with Woolworths and Reading Entertainment.