Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now we know major upgrades to Casuarina Square, costing around
sixty million dollars, are now underway. The shopping center owners,
Sentinel Property Groups, sees the facelift is going to be
one of the largest since the complex opened back in
May nineteen seventy three. Now on the line to tell
us more is Sentinel Property Group CEO Warren Eberst.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning to you, Warren.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Good morning, Katie, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good to have you on the show.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Warren, tell me a little bit more about the first
phase of this work that's underway now.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Okay, Well, one of the early focuses on changing the
core of the dining precinct, which was never designed or
built for purpose. It's fine if we was down in Melbourne,
but it just doesn't work for the climate we have
in Darwin. It's not air conditioned, it's semi enclosed. It
(00:56):
has a dark roof that has a cobblestone. Floyd can't
push that shopping trolley on it. It's just just awful.
So we're fully enclosing that air conditioning it, doing a
set ceiling which will be white tiling the floor, getting
rid of rid of the cobblestone, so it will be
people won't recognize it. And we've got a few a
(01:18):
bit more entertainment food going there, so we're really looking
forward to that. That will be a game change.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
It will be good to see.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I mean, when you go into State, you see a
lot of shopping centers into State have a lot, you know,
like the idea of food halls and a bit more
entertainment in there and a few more dining options. But
as you've rightly touched on, you know, in closed, so
it's not hot, you're not affected by the weather.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
It does sound as though it's going to be a
good thing.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
What kind of you know, what kind of retailers or
what are we expecting in there.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, we can't be releasing too much, Katie, you know,
because I know ninety percent of the population of normous
trainers and your radio show exactly possibly more. So we've
got to be a bit careful what we say. We've
got a couple of tenants that we're locking in, but
we're certainly focused on the family dining entertainment. We want
(02:12):
to say that so that you can come along with
your family and mum and dad or dad and dad
or mum and mum, whatever it is. You can have
a meal and a drink somewhere and keep an eye
on their children, and their children can have a bit
of fun and entertainment. So we're really focused on the family.
It's a Casarina Square is such an important part of
the community up there, but once the shops closed, there's
(02:34):
really not much to do. So that's the intention is
to change that.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Now. I know it's not the only thing. There's going
to be some other changes. There's going to be the
Woolworths Director Boot Service. When are you expecting that to
get underway and how quickly could it be complete?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Well, it'll all be finished by what we expect Dune
next year. So we've already seen some changes in habits
out there with the change of government and some things
we've done that we've had a massive reduction in crime
incidents out there and over the last few and we've
closed the bws, so we've seen much more family shopping
(03:16):
at Wilworth and the average size of the basket or
how much they spend has increase substance because people are
feeling much more comfortable there now. It's currently a five
thousand meter supermarket, a really old tide design that really
you go there because you have to, not really because
you want to. So we're going to that'll be changed
into the latest and greatest three and a half thousand
(03:36):
square leter supermarket, and we're going to have a thousand
meter dark store, so or you click and collect and
that type of thing where now you wander around the supermarket,
you coals and woolies. You've got the staff there that
are picking things off the shelves, and I know they've
got a job to do, but they always seem to
be exactly where you want to get something where that
(03:57):
will be done in what they call the dark store.
And I understand from what I've read that they've already
moved a lot of their country shopping, so you know,
people who want a thousand dollars worth of graciers and
who were at some other supermarkets, wools have already moved
that into Intercasarina Square, So as I understand, it will
(04:19):
be the only click and collect in daw And. So
there's going to be significant changes. And also we've got
some other retailers are going straight. We're widening that will
Worth small. We've got a farmacy going straight opposite so
that we're able to do a wider variety of shopping
in that area.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Wlaarren.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
It is good news once complete, but what kind of
disruptions are we going to see in the meantime? Are
we expecting that, you know, different areas will be I'm
assuming closed off for a while here and there.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Without a bloody doubt, it'll be absolute pain in the bump, Katie.
I think that if you get work done at home,
how you get a new driver will put in it's
a pain, it is, Well, what can you do about it?
You know you can have no changes.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
But what I like that you're honest about it, mate,
because sometimes you know, we hear these you know, this
spin around whether it's going to be a disruption. So
I like that you're honest about it.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, it's a good line to you. You'd find out
you're such a good investigative journalist, Katie. No, it'll be
a pain. We're going to be down seven hundred cars.
But what we've done. Greg Campbell, who is our development director,
were expected to start on site a couple of months ago.
But what he did he actually got a lot of
work done off site, working with our consultants, so a
(05:37):
lot of a lot of the welding and fabrications being
done off site so that we have the minimal disruption
time wise on site. But when you're doing where you
have the underground car parks well Worth, that's going to
be escavated right out to Trail Road, and then we're
putting another deck of parking. So there's a lot of
(05:59):
work and a lot of disruptions, but it'll certainly be
worthwhile and a major change to the center. And we
wanted ease for people to push their trolley in and
out and all covered parking and safe, so's it'll be
worth waiting for.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So Warren, when do you anticipate all of the work
is going to be complete.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
We expect to be all complete by due next year.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay, well that's good news, and I know you know
it is like it is good to see that money
is being invested into the Northern territory. I think that
that's a great thing and into the shopping center. You
touched on this a moment ago, but how are things
going at the center in terms of crime and anti
social behavior?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Are you still seeing that downwards trend?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
We are, Katie. It's every month it trends down further.
While we had a massive reduction. After the new government
new laws came in. We found another seventy percent reduction
in crime in that Woolworth's precinct with the closing of BWS.
Right and what as I said earlier, we've seen a
(07:06):
substantial increase in the family shopping and the amount of
time that they spend in the Woolworth buying more things
because they're not getting hassled. They don't have the problem.
So it's we also have another major security strategy starting
in August. We're spending another one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars on some AI camera's got another thirty cameras coming in. Right,
(07:32):
and while we have three hundred and twenty cameras up
there now we have two full time people picking up
trouble makers. This new system will pick up a change
in body movement, so you know, all of a sudden
you've seen someone who you're angry with your start striding out.
These cameras pick up the change in body movement and
the change in facial expressions and with the idea of
(07:55):
stopping any before it actually happens, where with the current CCTV,
you see that problem, you're going to jump on it.
This new system that's costs one hundred and fifty thousand
will actually prevent any of those things.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Now, now look, how does.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
It prevent does it sort of does something go out
over the loudspeaker or something if you see someone walking aggressively,
or what happens if someone just forgets their shopping warren
and they they're striding back in to grab.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
It, Well, I don't think they're going to taste them, hope,
not not initially, not initially. Maybe for fun, I shouldn't
say that. No, Well, we've got we've got an enormous
amount of security people there and if they identify someone
(08:38):
something's happening, they'll go up to quite very quickly. Instead
of the situation is if you say, jeez, I've just
lost my kid with hell, well, then of course nothing's
going to happen. But if you're if you're chasing after someone,
there's someone else running away from you, and then clearly
that that's that's something that they need to need to
get onto. You know, we have spoken to some of
the biggest centers overseas that have used and you know,
(09:01):
there's been some tragic, tragic incidents down south recently and
we've been assured that if they had this type of
artificial intelligence, those things would not have happened. They would
have picked up those actions much quicker. Now. I expect,
nothing is perfect, but we have spending quite a lot
of money and we have spoken to people that have
(09:24):
used it and they found it to be an absolute
game changer for them. So, you know, we've seen the
massive reduction in crime. And I know we have spoken
a lot of our retailers and I don't know if
you've seen any advertisent advertisements that we've been running, you know,
was it your Casual Way and the ninety three year
old gentleman who and whenever I got there. We talked
(09:46):
to those people and they say that they have seen
enormous reduction in the crime and social behavior. It's not
just crime, but it's just people just being a nuisance
and yelling and screaming and just making some life.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Well, we want to be able to do our shopping
and not have to worry about that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Yeah, well, so we have made the changes that you
go on bloody fantastic now, Katie, before you go yeah, yep,
I didn't see you at the investing in the NT
conference last week which was absolutely sensor.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Sorry mate, I was working. I had to be on air.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, we've all had excuses, Katie. Yeah you could have
been there after mixed with some of the people. But
I'm here in cans that are developing norm of Australia
conference and I can tell you it's it's not a
patch on the one they had up in Darwy. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Oh good, good, good to hear. Well, Warrant always appreciate
your time.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Mate. We are going to have to leave it there.
We've got a chof off, got our next interview. Thank you,
thanks so much. I'm having to chat with this sounds good.
Now we know major upgrades to Casuarina Square, costing around
sixty million dollars, are now underway. The shopping center owners,
Sentinel Property Groups, sees the facelift is going to be
one of the largest since the complex opened back in
May nineteen seventy three. Now on the line to tell
us more is Sentinel Property Group CEO Warren Eberst.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning to you, Warren.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Good morning, Katie, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good to have you on the show.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Warren, tell me a little bit more about the first
phase of this work that's underway now.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Okay, Well, one of the early focuses on changing the
core of the dining precinct, which was never designed or
built for purpose. It's fine if we was down in Melbourne,
but it just doesn't work for the climate we have
in Darwin. It's not air conditioned, it's semi enclosed. It
(00:56):
has a dark roof that has a cobblestone. Floyd can't
push that shopping trolley on it. It's just just awful.
So we're fully enclosing that air conditioning it, doing a
set ceiling which will be white tiling the floor, getting
rid of rid of the cobblestone, so it will be
people won't recognize it. And we've got a few a
(01:18):
bit more entertainment food going there, so we're really looking
forward to that. That will be a game change.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
It will be good to see.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I mean, when you go into State, you see a
lot of shopping centers into State have a lot, you know,
like the idea of food halls and a bit more
entertainment in there and a few more dining options. But
as you've rightly touched on, you know, in closed, so
it's not hot, you're not affected by the weather.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
It does sound as though it's going to be a
good thing.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
What kind of you know, what kind of retailers or
what are we expecting in there.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Well, we can't be releasing too much, Katie, you know,
because I know ninety percent of the population of normous
trainers and your radio show exactly possibly more. So we've
got to be a bit careful what we say. We've
got a couple of tenants that we're locking in, but
we're certainly focused on the family dining entertainment. We want
(02:12):
to say that so that you can come along with
your family and mum and dad or dad and dad
or mum and mum, whatever it is. You can have
a meal and a drink somewhere and keep an eye
on their children, and their children can have a bit
of fun and entertainment. So we're really focused on the family.
It's a Casarina Square is such an important part of
the community up there, but once the shops closed, there's
(02:34):
really not much to do. So that's the intention is
to change that.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Now. I know it's not the only thing. There's going
to be some other changes. There's going to be the
Woolworths Director Boot Service. When are you expecting that to
get underway and how quickly could it be complete?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Well, it'll all be finished by what we expect Dune
next year. So we've already seen some changes in habits
out there with the change of government and some things
we've done that we've had a massive reduction in crime
incidents out there and over the last few and we've
closed the bws, so we've seen much more family shopping
(03:16):
at Wilworth and the average size of the basket or
how much they spend has increase substance because people are
feeling much more comfortable there now. It's currently a five
thousand meter supermarket, a really old tide design that really
you go there because you have to, not really because
you want to. So we're going to that'll be changed
into the latest and greatest three and a half thousand
(03:36):
square leter supermarket, and we're going to have a thousand
meter dark store, so or you click and collect and
that type of thing where now you wander around the supermarket,
you coals and woolies. You've got the staff there that
are picking things off the shelves, and I know they've
got a job to do, but they always seem to
be exactly where you want to get something where that
(03:57):
will be done in what they call the dark store.
And I understand from what I've read that they've already
moved a lot of their country shopping, so you know,
people who want a thousand dollars worth of graciers and
who were at some other supermarkets, wools have already moved
that into Intercasarina Square, So as I understand, it will
(04:19):
be the only click and collect in daw And. So
there's going to be significant changes. And also we've got
some other retailers are going straight. We're widening that will
Worth small. We've got a farmacy going straight opposite so
that we're able to do a wider variety of shopping
in that area.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Wlaarren.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
It is good news once complete, but what kind of
disruptions are we going to see in the meantime? Are
we expecting that, you know, different areas will be I'm
assuming closed off for a while here and there.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Without a bloody doubt, it'll be absolute pain in the bump, Katie.
I think that if you get work done at home,
how you get a new driver will put in it's
a pain, it is, Well, what can you do about it?
You know you can have no changes.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
But what I like that you're honest about it, mate,
because sometimes you know, we hear these you know, this
spin around whether it's going to be a disruption. So
I like that you're honest about it.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well, it's a good line to you. You'd find out
you're such a good investigative journalist, Katie. No, it'll be
a pain. We're going to be down seven hundred cars.
But what we've done. Greg Campbell, who is our development director,
were expected to start on site a couple of months ago.
But what he did he actually got a lot of
work done off site, working with our consultants, so a
(05:37):
lot of a lot of the welding and fabrications being
done off site so that we have the minimal disruption
time wise on site. But when you're doing where you
have the underground car parks well Worth, that's going to
be escavated right out to Trail Road, and then we're
putting another deck of parking. So there's a lot of
(05:59):
work and a lot of disruptions, but it'll certainly be
worthwhile and a major change to the center. And we
wanted ease for people to push their trolley in and
out and all covered parking and safe, so's it'll be
worth waiting for.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So Warren, when do you anticipate all of the work
is going to be complete.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
We expect to be all complete by due next year.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay, well that's good news, and I know you know
it is like it is good to see that money
is being invested into the Northern territory. I think that
that's a great thing and into the shopping center. You
touched on this a moment ago, but how are things
going at the center in terms of crime and anti
social behavior?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Are you still seeing that downwards trend?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
We are, Katie. It's every month it trends down further.
While we had a massive reduction. After the new government
new laws came in. We found another seventy percent reduction
in crime in that Woolworth's precinct with the closing of BWS.
Right and what as I said earlier, we've seen a
(07:06):
substantial increase in the family shopping and the amount of
time that they spend in the Woolworth buying more things
because they're not getting hassled. They don't have the problem.
So it's we also have another major security strategy starting
in August. We're spending another one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars on some AI camera's got another thirty cameras coming in. Right,
(07:32):
and while we have three hundred and twenty cameras up
there now we have two full time people picking up
trouble makers. This new system will pick up a change
in body movement, so you know, all of a sudden
you've seen someone who you're angry with your start striding out.
These cameras pick up the change in body movement and
the change in facial expressions and with the idea of
(07:55):
stopping any before it actually happens, where with the current CCTV,
you see that problem, you're going to jump on it.
This new system that's costs one hundred and fifty thousand
will actually prevent any of those things.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Now, now look, how does.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
It prevent does it sort of does something go out
over the loudspeaker or something if you see someone walking aggressively,
or what happens if someone just forgets their shopping warren
and they they're striding back in to grab.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
It, Well, I don't think they're going to taste them, hope,
not not initially, not initially. Maybe for fun, I shouldn't
say that. No, Well, we've got we've got an enormous
amount of security people there and if they identify someone
(08:38):
something's happening, they'll go up to quite very quickly. Instead
of the situation is if you say, jeez, I've just
lost my kid with hell, well, then of course nothing's
going to happen. But if you're if you're chasing after someone,
there's someone else running away from you, and then clearly
that that's that's something that they need to need to
get onto. You know, we have spoken to some of
the biggest centers overseas that have used and you know,
(09:01):
there's been some tragic, tragic incidents down south recently and
we've been assured that if they had this type of
artificial intelligence, those things would not have happened. They would
have picked up those actions much quicker. Now. I expect,
nothing is perfect, but we have spending quite a lot
of money and we have spoken to people that have
(09:24):
used it and they found it to be an absolute
game changer for them. So, you know, we've seen the
massive reduction in crime. And I know we have spoken
a lot of our retailers and I don't know if
you've seen any advertisent advertisements that we've been running, you know,
was it your Casual Way and the ninety three year
old gentleman who and whenever I got there. We talked
(09:46):
to those people and they say that they have seen
enormous reduction in the crime and social behavior. It's not
just crime, but it's just people just being a nuisance
and yelling and screaming and just making some life.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Well, we want to be able to do our shopping
and not have to worry about that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Yeah, well, so we have made the changes that you
go on bloody fantastic now, Katie, before you go yeah, yep,
I didn't see you at the investing in the NT
conference last week which was absolutely sensor.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Sorry mate, I was working. I had to be on air.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, we've all had excuses, Katie. Yeah you could have
been there after mixed with some of the people. But
I'm here in cans that are developing norm of Australia
conference and I can tell you it's it's not a
patch on the one they had up in Darwy. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Oh good, good, good to hear. Well, Warrant always appreciate
your time.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Mate. We are going to have to leave it there.
We've got a chof off, got our next interview. Thank you,
thanks so much. I'm having to chat with this sounds good.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com