Mascot shopping village set for major overhaul

A new residential development has launched in Mascot and is set to be a breath of fresh air for the suburb’s dated shopping strip.

The Exchange at 904 Botany Rd, will feature 32 apartments made up of a mix of two and three-bedroom residences, each with storage and secure parking.

Built by H Built Constructions and designed by Environa Studio, the project will also have retail on the ground level, an inclusion Environa Studio’s Tone Wheeler says was an important element of the development.

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“It’s on a prominent corner and Mascot itself is a traditional shopping village but it was never properly considered as a shopping village,” Wheeler says.

“Now that more people live there, it’s even more important that there are a variety of shops and activity on the street.”

Wheeler says the firm’s first goal is to replace the “plain” telephone exchange building on the site with six retail spaces.

The apartments themselves have been designed with outdoor entertaining in mind, each having either two courtyards or balconies and views of the street scape or of the complex’s central courtyard.

“All the apartments in the building are back from the street and every single one of them looks either east or north, they all have beautiful light and a beautiful view of either the trees outside or the courtyard,” Wheeler says.

The project will offer buyers 32 apartments with a mix of layouts.

The apartments will feature tiled living areas and carpeted bedrooms. The kitchens will have stone bench tops and stainless-steel appliances, while the bathrooms will have custom-designed vanities and frameless glass shower screens.

Prices for the two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments are $790,000 to $800,000, while the two-bed, two-bath apartments are priced between $835,000 and $960,000. Three-bedroom units range from $990,000-$1.4 million.

Ray White Projects’ Craig Moore says the development has been aimed predominantly at owner-occupiers.

He said buyers were attracted to the project’s boutique size and low strata levies, which range from $739 to $866 per quarter for the two-bedroom residences.

Already 10 apartments have sold.

“The reason we’ve had such a high level of interest is because we have already started construction,” Moore says.

“They have already tapped out on the excavation of the basement level.”

Completion of The Exchange is expected in August 2019.

This article from the Southern Courier first appeared as “The Exchange in Mascot is set to revitalise the shopping village”.