A giant Campbelltown eyesore, the Brands on Sale complex along Queen Street, has been transformed into an al fresco art gallery.
On “exhibition’’ are works by five local primary school students who have won a competition run by Aland, the company behind a $400 million plan to redevelop the five acre site.
The Aland project proposes 558 residential apartments, an “eat street’’ style dining precinct, more than 9000sqm of retail and commercial space, over 4000sqm of public open space and a two level community building.
The children’s art works have been reproduced to a large scale on the hoarding which has been erected in front of the site along Queen Street.
The drawing competition, led by Aland development manager David Hamilton, invited local students from St Peters Anglican College, Campbelltown North Public School, Campbelltown Public School and Beverley Park School to prepare an artwork that showcases what they love about Campbelltown.
Prizes included a Visa gift card, $1000 for their school – and have the artwork included as part of the 120m hoarding that spans the entirety of the site.
Luna, Isaiah, Layla, Nawal and AJ were among the winners from more than 200 entries.
The Japanese Gardens at Campbelltown Art Centre, Campbelltown train station, Campbelltown’s Aboriginal culture, koalas and the lyre bird were featured in the winning entries.
Aland head of development Ryan Lane said that the Community Projects Initiative has inspired the developer to look for more opportunities to involve the community in its projects.
“Ordinarily, we would use Aland branding on our hoarding however through the introduction of the Community Projects Initiative we identified that this was a perfect opportunity to get the community’s input,’’ he said.
“It was fantastic to see the number of submissions come through for our first hoarding design competition.
“The students’ designs really liven up the frontage on Queen Street and we are pleased to have them on show for everyone who passes the site,” Mr Lane said.
The winning drawings were selected by local indigenous artist, Danielle Mate, who recently completed a public art installation for Campbelltown City Council in the Campbelltown CBD.
“The level and standard of entries was extremely high making it difficult to choose winners,’’ Ms Mate said.
“I felt that the artworks produced by Luna, Isaiah, Layla, Nawah and AJ were the most creative, colourful and had strong links to the location and community of Campbelltown.’’
The children were delighted with their prizes and to see their images enlarged and reproduced on the hoarding at the development on Queen Street which was officially unveiled by Mayor George Greiss last Friday
St Peters Anglican Grammar Luna Fordham, who won first place for the design competition, expressed her delight at the unveiling of the hoarding design.
“It feels surreal to see my artwork on the hoarding.
“Once I started the artwork in class I got absorbed into it and got extra time from the teacher to spend more time designing it. I really enjoyed creating the artwork,” Luna said.
Campbelltown City Council Mayor George Greiss praised the winning students’ talent and the project’s potential.
“There is a great depth of young artistic talent in Campbelltown so it’s fantastic to see some of the works that will be on display from students, showcasing their skill and passion for our community,” Mayor George Greiss said.
“I’m very excited to see this important project starting in the heart of the CBD precinct, delivering much needed housing supply and employment opportunities along Queen Street.
“This project will help to realise the goals of Council’s Reimagining Campbelltown City Centre Master Plan through a people-focused approach to design and development and great connections to plenty of open space,” Mayor Greiss said.
With plans currently being reviewed by Council, Aland’s development will dedicate more than 50 percent of the total site area to both public and private open space areas shared between rooftops, podiums and the ground floor plane.
There will be multiple play areas for children of all ages including interactive water, sand and nature play, climbing equipment, a native meadow and level lawns.
There will also be a bicycle loop path and community amphitheatre seating with a stage area.
Residents will have access to private rooftop spaces as well as shared co-working spaces, gymnasiums, multipurpose function rooms as well as health and wellness spaces.
The precinct is just less than a kilometre from Campbelltown train station, is well serviced by bus routes on Queen Street and only minutes’ drive to Campbelltown Mall and Macarthur Square shopping centre.
For further information on the development, please visit https://alandcampbelltown.com.au
