Jobs boom for Bathurst with four new retailers under construction

A development application was lodged in mid-2021 for a 7-Eleven service station and three food/drink premises, with McDonald's and Subway named as two of the three retailers.

Construction is now under way at the site at 98 Corporation Avenue after Bathurst Regional Council approved the plans in July, 2022.

Spectrum Retail Group is the developer behind the new convenience retail offering and is excited to see work happening at the site.

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Development director Youil Adam, who confirmed Red Rooster would be the third fast food outlet at the site, said the retailers are anticipated to be open by the end of the 2022-23 financial year.

"We have a contractor at the moment that is undertaking the early works package, which is demolition and the civil works of the site, effectively preparing the building for Mainbrace, who will be our principal contractor, to then commence construction of the buildings. So, it's effectively a two-staged development package," he said.

"It was a very substantial building on the site and there was a lot of hardstand and concrete and that sort of stuff, so we're recycling a fair bit of the concrete to be reused on the site and recovering a lot of the steel and that sort of thing.

"Effectively that should be finished around mid to late November and then the actual proper building works should start back-to-back effectively with the cessation of that contract, and then we'll hopefully look at opening the development ideally before the end of the financial year. That will be the plan."

Mr Adam was also able to shed light on how the development came to be, explaining it was McDonald's that approached Spectrum for assistance in establishing a third outlet in the Bathurst area.

The site was too big for McDonald's alone, so Spectrum agreed to sell a portion of the site to McDonald's and found other retailers that could band together to make for one expansive commercial development.

Mr Adam said the retailers would complement, not compete with, each other.

"When we put these developments together we want to make sure everybody works, there's no cannibalisation of their sales and, ultimately, they trust us to deliver these things," he said.

"... You look at these sorts of developments and you wouldn't really have a better tenancy mix than what we've got there. Everyone really complements each other and there's something for everyone in that sort of mix.

"If you want Subway and sandwiches you can go and dine at Subway, if you want obviously early morning breakfast you've got McDonald's there, as well as lunch and dinner. They all really complement each other. We're really proud of the development."

He said the retailers had shown a lot of confidence in both the Bathurst market and the Robin Hill site itself, as all of them would be opening either their second or third premises in the city.

It is hoped that the Corporation Avenue site, which also has frontage to Bradwardine Road and the Mitchell Highway, will be well patronised by locals and people passing through Bathurst.

"It's a very convenient location for people, because the central area where McDonald's and KFC presently are, it's quite congested and it's also on the opposite side of the road, so if you're coming from Sydney [the Robin Hill site] will be quite a convenient stop for people heading towards Orange or Dubbo and beyond," Mr Adam said.

A development of this scale is also expected to boost employment opportunities in Bathurst.

Mr Adam said there could be "a couple of hundred jobs" attached to the development through the four retailers.

"McDonald's employs, in varying capacities, in excess of 100 people on the site, so the amount of jobs that would be provided for the local community of this area on an ongoing basis you would think would be about a couple of hundred with Red Rooster, with Subway, with 7-Eleven and obviously with McDonald's, so it's a good boost for the local economy of that area as well, which is something we are really, really proud about," he said.

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