Narooma Plaza manager Mark Anderson knew the town needed a larger retail centre, but did not anticipate it would take 15 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday, November 13, the new Woolworths store will open - a milestone for Mr Anderson.
In 1994, his father Bill and uncle Hans Baer purchased the plaza. Mr Anderson took the reins of the family business with plans to redesign the outdated shopping centre.
"We knew the town warranted a larger supermarket," he said.
Mr Anderson has been working on the redevelopment plans for 15 years.
He said the first design, which included a Target Country, fell through during the 2008 financial crisis.
"Because banks pulled all the funding, we had to go back to the drawing board," he said.
"It turns out that was no longer economically viable for us, and we had to come up with a new scheme all together."
Mr Anderson said it wasn't until retailer Aldi showed interest in 2015, that the project would get a second chance.
The plans now involve two supermarkets and specialty stores.
"There will be no more construction for a while, it should allow growth for many years," Mr Anderson said.
The construction cost for the redevelopment is approximately $16.5 million. Mr Anderson said the car park was the biggest improvement he looked forward to.
Mr Anderson said stage two of the development was about to begin. It involves knocking down the old Woolworths building and the construction of the Aldi store, plus three specialty shops.