As Oreana continues its leadership in the delivery of retail centres across Melbourne’s growth corridors, we are now investing in a brand new role focussed on elevating the retail experience and ultimately help tenants open in a timely manner.

Kate Casserly joins Oreana as our first Retail Design and Delivery Manager, responsible for overseeing the overall design and functionality of Oreana centres and its tenants and improving delivery and tenant opening timeframes.

Starting her career as an architect, Kate has extensive experience in this space, having worked across major retail groups including Colonial First State (now Vicinity Centres), QIC and Region Group, leading national teams to coordinate, design and deliver refurbishments, new tenancy projects and much more.

Among many of Kate’s notable achievements and projects includes the delivery of 180 tenancies opening in one day for Emporium Melbourne – a monumental feat!

Kate explains her role bridges the gap between creative and commercial by supporting tenants to translate their brand into local retail environments, creating centres that become destinations in their communities and thriving commercial hubs.

“From a design perspective, what I do is ultimately informed by the customer. We want to create shopping centres embraced by the community and we do that by designing centres and working with tenants to create spaces that bring their brand to life and meet customer needs,” she says.

“It is an art to translate a tenant’s brand into built form, and we’re often working with operators who haven’t opened a physical space before.

“It is incredibly rewarding to bring brands to life in this way and ensure they open on time – not just for their commercial success but also because these centres are usually early community hubs that bring residents in new suburbs together.”

Also focused on placemaking, Kate works across Oreana’s portfolio of retail centres in planning, under construction and in operation to optimise the customer experience.

“You really need to be able to work at a fast pace and be able to meticulously problem solve in my game. Understanding timelines, budgets and being able to read architectural drawings is also key,” she says.

“It is a fantastic job because retail is dynamic and always changing. It keeps things fresh.”

Oreana develops retail centres across Melbourne ranging in size from boutique neighbourhood shopping hubs to larger format centres underpinned by major supermarkets and dozens of retailers.