Construction of the massive new Bunnings store at the back of the Geraldton Homemaker Centre appears to be progressing rapidly, but the opening date is still about a year away.
The hardware and DIY giant is moving a stone’s throw further down North West Coastal Highway from its long-term home in Wonthella, where it has been since 2001.
Works at the new site have seen the development spring up rather quickly. However, there is still much to do and quite a bit of time left to wait.
Bunnings regional manager David Di Marco said the new Geraldton store was expected to be completed by mid-2027.
With a 16,300sqm footprint, the fully enclosed new store will be much bigger than the existing one, which has 10,900sqm of covered space and 4300sqm of open yard space.
The new store will create an extra 70 operational jobs, on top of the existing 120 staff members who will move across to the new store when it opens.
“We look forward to bringing customers an even wider range of products at our lowest prices when the new store opens,” Mr DiMarco said.
The new store will include 335 car parking spaces — 39 more than at the existing Bunnings.
The new Bunnings development is part of a $30 million expansion of the Geraldton Homemaker Centre.
The City of Greater Geraldton approved the development application in April last year, with Harvey Norman and Bunnings being the two main new tenants.
Under the proposal, the centre will be transformed from a “U-shaped building” into “two separate parallel buildings”, which will expand behind the existing premises and eastward towards Place Road, totalling 38,471sqm of floor space.
The revamped centre is also set to include four other proposed tenancies for “bulky goods showrooms”.
Under the plan, an existing 3705sqm of the homemaker centre is being demolished, while 12,681sqm is being retained.
Construction involves concrete tilt-up panels, which allows for a rapid build progression.
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