Evolution of St Leonards: Mall 88, a new retail precinct, opens

Artists impression of new Coles at St Leonards. NSW Real Estate.

In a first of its kind for St Leonards, a new four-storey retail precinct has landed, offering locals a rejuvenated space for shopping, dining and other lifestyle services.

Mall 88 on Christie St is a contemporary lifestyle hub with an open-air plaza, a collection of cafes, alfresco restaurants and a laneway eat street.

Above the commercial centre there are more than 650 residential apartments plus an office tower.

Sitting along the Pacific Highway, the modern mall is part of a $1.3bn development and expansion of St Leonards and will be the centrepiece of the recently completed 88 by JQZ.

The highly anticipated complex is also the suburb’s first retail precinct to incorporate a civic plaza and a public library.

“Answering growing demand for a high-quality lifestyle retail offering in the area, with a unique experience for the local community and workday customers, Mall 88 is destined to become an essential community pillar,” said Julia Batterley, Colliers’ managing director of real estate management.

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The new Coles in St Leonards is already open.

Opposite St Leonards train station, the mall is anchored by a Coles supermarket, Vintage Cellars, a medical centre, Asian supermarket and a mix of specialty stores plus more than 350 undercover car spaces.

Coles, Vintage Cellars and Barberfield Hair are already open, with the medical centre and Asian supermarket set to open next month. The library is scheduled to open at the end of this month, with the civic plaza to follow in May or June.

The reimagined retail spot was central to JQZ’s plans to develop a new “live, work and play” quarter, addressing what was seen as a gap in the north shore market, according to Mall 88 COO Bryan Zhang.

“With the convenience of a newly built supermarket, a modern library, a medical centre, other wellbeing offers, plus a cosmopolitan dining experience, this precinct has been designed to cater to the weekend, work and after-work market,” he said.

126 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, has a price guide of $20m via Colliers.

The centre’s arrival coincides with the impending sale of 126 Pacific Highway, also in St Leonards.

With the precinct undergoing a significant transformation, in line with the development of the Crows Nest Metro Station and the affiliated St Leonards and Crows Nest 2036 plan, the 2065sq m property has been listed with price expectations of $20m through Colliers directors Tom Appleby, Joseph Lin and Steam Leung.

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