In June 2022, Vicinity Centres took centre stage with an all-encompassing Development Showcase, presented to over 100 investors and live streamed to a further 300 across the world. The vision? Morphing traditional retail spaces into vibrant, mixed-use hotspots, boosting community interaction and fuelling growth for longevity.

The showcase laid bare some important insights that informed the development pipeline and investments:

1. Voice of the customer

   Reclaiming their spot as the original social platform, folks want destinations that serve up a mish-mash of retail therapy, foodie delights, and entertainment galore as urban sprawl creates the development of 15 minute cities and the aftermath of COVID cementing the value of proximity and convenience for modern living.

2. Sustainabilty

   The green gameplan? Building smart, low-carbon assets and beefing up climate resilience across the board. Not just appealing to the investor community, this move supports the research findings and thought leadership on positioning “health as the new wealth” and social currency of Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha seeking biophyllic, green, clean, and calm environments.

3. Competitive advantage

   With a whopping $23.4 billion in assets and over 340 million customer footfalls yearly and owning ample land to develop on, Vicinity Centres is in a sweet spot to exploit its size and know-how to spur value through strategic developments.

Outcomes

The Development Showcase did a solid job of spelling out Vicinity Centres' roadmap to investors, generating capital investment and placing a premium on crafting sustainable, mixed-use destinations. Green lights for major projects like the Box Hill Central masterplan, and the curtain-raiser at The Social Quarter at Chadstone, bear testament to the company's resolve to walk the talk in addition to generating positive earned media with leading financial and industry media.

Vicinity Centres' 2022 Development Showcase put the spotlight on the company's game plan to reboot retail spaces, with a focus on mixed-use developments, sustainability, and community-centric projects.