All the pieces falling into place for The Gateway to thrive and deliver

The business precinct in Kelso has been gaining momentum, with the number of businesses on offer expected to double by the end of 2023.

Development director Bob Walsh said it will deliver significant economic benefits to Bathurst and the Central West.

"When all the buildings are ultimately built ... there will be about 100,000 square metres of building there. That will provide onsite employment for literally thousands of people," he said.

"The end value of all those buildings - it won't be us owning them all, it will be all spread over different ownerships - they will add up to about $300 million.

"It's the biggest development certainly anywhere in the Central West and there will be thousands of jobs created during the construction period and there will be thousands of jobs created once it is all occupied and retailers recruit staff and so forth."

The Gateway has already begun to deliver those jobs with the four existing businesses.

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Mr Walsh said those businesses are performing well to his knowledge and, in his opinion, are attracting further development in Kelso.

"We've had some very positive feedback from Oporto in particular. KFC has only just opened, so we haven't really had a lot of feedback on that yet, but the servo was busy. So far it has all been positive," he said.

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"And, even opposite us, The Gateway has effectively attracted a lot of other operators. Caltex, or Ampol, is well under development and that would include a Carl's Jr drive-through burger restaurant, and also Highgrove Bathrooms has bought a site next to them, so The Gateway has acted as another attraction to have those retailers opposite us.

"It's become what it is intended to be, a real hub for the homemaker sector."

READ MORE: Kelso Carl's Jr outlet anticipated to open in mid-2022

Importantly, these businesses are all located near the city's newest subdivisions in Kelso.

"It's complementary to the extent that obviously we are providing facilities that will benefit the residents moving in, but developmentally it is more of a benefit to us that all that new population growth in the Kelso area will access it through Ashworth Drive, which comes to the Great Western Highway roundabout, which then directly goes into The Gateway," Mr Walsh said.

"One of the major reasons that we chose this particular site and its location was to be able to access that Kelso population growth area."

By the end of 2023, those residents will also have access to Anaconda, Harris Scarfe Home and Beacon Lighting, while the existing Harvey Norman store will move from its current Kelso location to The Gateway.

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