Those old enough to remember when Pearson Street Mall was known as Charlestown Mall will recall that it was once a hive of activity.
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Back before Charlestown Square opened, in 1979, The Store co-op occupied what is now known as Hilltop Plaza and the mall was the focal point of retail activity in the town.
These days, the mall is more of a transient place, which people pass through on their way to another destination, or visit briefly to use services such as banking and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) office, which are based in the precinct.
It would be fair to say the mall has not kept pace with the times and is not an inviting place.
But all that is about to change.
Lake Macquarie City Council is revitalising the Pearson Street Mall and will transform it into dynamic hub that will double as a ‘test bed’ for innovative technologies designed to improve community connectivity and interaction.
The council plans to develop a smart precinct where we can invite the community to trial technologies such as ‘plug and play’ outdoor digital kiosks, virtual graffiti walls and live bus maps with real-time timetable updates.
People will be able to connect to wi fi, and smart sensors throughout the precinct will collect data that will enhance our city’s planning and service delivery by telling us more about how people use public spaces.
Council has committed $2 million to the revitalisation of this public space and last week we received additional funding from the Federal Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program to enhance the technology component of the mall upgrade.
The new area will be known as the Charlestown Innovation Precinct – or ChIP for short – and the transformation is set to unfold over the next 18 months.
Before work begins, we want to find out what the community would like to see in this new and inviting space.
To help imagine what it could look like in the future, Lake Macquarie City Council is staging ChIPfest, a free pop-up event filled with food trucks, technology, live music and more, on Thursday November 30, from 5pm-8.30pm.
I encourage people who live, work or play in the Charlestown area to come along, share your ideas, and find out more about our plans to reinvent Pearson Street Mall.
