[CT] Tuggeranong Mall, a private enterprise

[Sir Pompously]

Saw this article in the Canberra Times online today:

Tuggeranong mall, a private enterprise

A larger Erindale centre had been considered as an alternative, but in 1985 the Hawke government decided to push ahead with the development of the Tuggeranong town centre.
Free from past socialist approaches, the Labor cabinet decided the new Tuggeranong shopping mall would be privately constructed.
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Cabinet also decided to proceed with the privatisation of the Belconnen Mall, which had been first planned by the Fraser government.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the National Capital Development Commission had considered an alternative to the Tuggeranong Centre: an 18,000-square-metre retail and commercial centre able to serve a population of 50,000.
But in 1985, Tuggeranong had a population of 45,000, which was increasing by 10 per cent each year. It was expected to reach 90,000 by 1994.
''... the rapid turnaround in growth in the last three years, and the need to quickly resume large-scale land development in Tuggeranong, made it imperative that the original town centre proposal should go ahead,'' a cabinet memo said.


Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/tuggeranong-mall-a-private-enterprise-20130101-2c4d9.html#ixzz2GoEw3Kvb

[smitho]

Most of the buildings which are used for retailing at the Erindale Centre were originally built with the intention of becoming a large regional education centre. But with the big slowdown in Tuggeranong's growth after The Fraser Government was elected in 1975, the building complex was far too large just to be used for educational purposes.

So the Commonwealth sold off big chunks of the Erindale complex to retailing interests; the bits that were kept by the Government became Erindale College.

If you look closely, you can see that the retail buildings have very similar external design features to those used by Erindale College and the Erindale Library.