Case Study – Bankstown Central
Mainbrace has a long history with Bankstown Central in Sydney’s south-west. In 2017, our retail construction company undertook a comprehensive refurbishment of the centre’s food court and adjacent amenities, and further amenities upgrades were completed in 2019.
In 2022, the revitalised fresh food precinct was unveiled and additional retailers joined the centre to service the local community.
An exciting project for our sustainable builders
Following the completion of the 2022 project, Bankstown Central’s fresh food precinct The Grand Market now includes a new Coles supermarket and a variety of food retailers offering fresh produce, grocery and specialty products.
This $40 million Design & Construct project also involved:
- The relocation of the bus interchange
- Construction of a new on-grade car park for convenient access to The Grand Market
- New Services Australia branch
- New Uniqlo store
- Flagship Footlocker store
- Flagship Glue store.
Planned as a 66-week program, work commenced in November 2021 and The Grand Market officially opened in November 2022. Mainbrace had to meet and overcome various challenges which we did by implementing innovative construction methodologies to ensure the original schedule was adhered to. On-site works are due to wrap up in March 2023.
The challenges of construction in a live environment
The Bankstown Central project required us to work in a live environment which was particularly challenging.
The scope of demolition works at the outset was large, and we needed to apply some intricate structural methodologies to facilitate our work while causing minimal disruption and maximising safety for retailers and customers.
One of these challenges was the installation of the travelators within the confines of the existing structure. Another was public access: to enable the delivery of the new car park the existing bus interchange had to be relocated. Through strong communication and positive collaboration between Transport NSW, the owner, tenants, contractors, and other stakeholders, Mainbrace created a new interchange to ensure easy and safe access for the public.
Escalating challenges
Throughout the project, Mainbrace had to be versatile, innovative and adaptable. The impact of the ongoing global pandemic on international supply chains, as well as the repercussions of the war in Ukraine are well documented and this project was not immune to the consequences of these events.
Various materials delays had to be accounted for and overcome, and we had to rise to the challenges of fluid circumstances to meet the schedule.
Vertical transportation travelators particularly caused the team a headache, with significant delivery delays. Our team went back to the drawing board and completely reimagined and revamped the construction methodology to enable the travelator installations to occur toward the end of the program, much later than initially scoped.
Through collaboration and the ability to adapt to change, Mainbrace ensured the initial program schedule was met on time and within budget.
A valued client
Feedback from Bankstown Central has been very positive. Mainbrace received grateful emails from both the centre manager and development manager for our approach to and delivery of this retail construction project.