Stage one of the town centre will generate between 300 and 400 construction jobs, and on completion, will create about 200 permanent and casual positions throughout the IGA supermarket and surrounding businesses.

Construction has started on the town centre’s first stage after earthworks kicked off in July at the junction of Chancellors Drive and John Oxley Drive.

Stage one will deliver 5600 square metres of retail space, with a supermarket, chemist, medical, convenience and restaurant offerings, surrounded by landscaped areas.

The town centre is called Sovereign Place.

Developer Lewis Land Group was joined by mayor Peta Pinson and town centre retailers as the first sod was turned on October 4.

Lewis Land Group chief executive officer Chris Calvert said it was a very proud day for the Lewis Land Group and the Sovereign Hills project with a focus on growing a community very much from the ground up.

He said Sovereign Hills was Port Macquarie’s fastest growing community with room for up to 8400 people, and in a decade from now, about one in seven Port Macquarie locals would live there.

“The town centre is the next vital and critical stage of this growth program,” Mr Calvert said.

The more than 25,000 square metre town centre will be developed over several stages.

“The total cost across the whole project is going to be in excess of $100 million, so it’s a very significant project for our group, but more importantly, for the Port Macquarie region,” he said.

Mr Calvert said the town centre was one of the biggest under construction in regional NSW.

A Hastings Co-op IGA supermarket will be a feature of the stage one retail hub.

Hastings Co-op Board chairman David Johnson said the town centre would be a great addition to the Sovereign Hills community.

He said the supermarket would be an expansion of Hastings Co-op’s business operations and footprint in the Hastings Valley.

“I think it’s always great being part of a new vibrant community,” Mr Johnson said.

Mayor Peta Pinson thanked the Lewis Land Group for the confidence shown in the region because, she said, it was not just building a residential area, it was building a community.

“I’m very excited about this, as the mayor, to see the confidence in our region from developers like yourself and this isn’t a one-off,” Cr Pinson said at the October 4 event.

“This is a $100 million development happening here.”

Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams described the town centre as an exciting new development for Port Macquarie and the growing community of Sovereign Hills.

“Having a brand new shopping centre to accommodate the needs of the thousands of new residents is fantastic,” she said.

The successful building tender will be announced within the coming weeks.

Stage one of the town centre is expected to open for business in late 2019.

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