Work has started on the $142 million expansion of Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre, a project that has been nearly a decade in the making.

The redevelopment, in Sydney’s inner west, which AMP Capital is managing on behalf of owner UniSuper, will expand the retail centre, using the site of a disused industrial warehouse.

That property at 13-55 Edinburgh Street, Marrickville, occupies about 8800 square metres of land adjacent to the existing mall.

Construction of the new section of the centre, which began in late January, will bring the entire property from 22,000 square metres to 33,000 square metres when it is completed in late 2020.

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The $143m project is set to be finished in 2020.

With the first plans lodged in 2010, the project has come a long way since then, with community concerns around the need for a centre expansion and the economic impacts it would have on the local Marrickville Road and Illawarra Road shopping strips.

Approval was granted in March 2012.

The bigger mall will also house 44 additional retailers including Coles, as well as a fresh food precinct.

A new dining area will feature cafes and restaurants.

Existing retail, which includes anchor tenants Woolworths, Aldi, Kmart and 109 specialty stores, as well as food-and-beverage amenities will also be revamped.

Most of of the existing warehouse façade will be retained, while the old and new parts of the centre will be connected by a pedestrian bridge over the council-owned Smidmore Street, as well as a street-level crossing.

The redevelopment will add 455 car parking spaces to centre’s existing 1018.

As most of the construction will be undertaken outside the existing centre, the mall will continue to operate with “minimal disruption”, according to AMP Capital.

AMP Capital’s global head of real estate Carmel Hourigan said the partnership with UniSuper would “deliver our shared vision of the future of retail through a sustainable development that reflects the inner west’s vibrant community”.

The developer expects the project will create 200 construction jobs and more than 600 local employment opportunities when the new centre is completed.

UniSuper’s head of property and infrastructure Kent Robbins said the expanded mall had been designed with a “community focus”.

“UniSuper is delighted to begin the next stage of the Marrickville Metro development, which will not only expand the size of the Metro to meet the demands of the growing inner west community, but also ensure it reflects the essence of the inner west,” he said.

The retail project was designed by architects Hames Sharley and will be built by ADCO Constructions.

Opened in 1987, the Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre was developed from a major woollen mills factory run by the Vicars family. Remnants of the Old Vickers Mill façade can be seen along the Victoria Road frontage of the complex.

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