Nick Dalton, Wednesday, May 9, 2012 © The Cairns Post

RESIDENTS south of Cairns will get their own dining precinct as part of the $50 million redevelopment of Mt Sheridan Plaza shopping centre.

Upgrade: There will be a fast-food and restaurant area at Mt Sheridan Plaza. Cairns Post

The Green Group has released details of the “The Boulevard”, a new fast-food and restaurant dining “destination”.

Owner-developer Shaun Green said the precinct would be part of the centre’s redevelopment and had been designed to meet the needs of the market.

“At present, south Cairns suffers from a lack of dedicated dining areas,” he said.

“If customers want a variety of dining/takeaway options they really need to visit the city.

“This is crazy given the huge population of the surrounding area and its high residential growth rate.”

Mr Green said The Boulevard would complement existing dining outlets at The Rock Tavern, Red Rooster and Hungry Jacks.

He said the precinct had external access to cater for late-night diners. There would be seven outlets, including an a la carte restaurant, Chinese, Indian, pizza and pasta, Mr Green said.

The precinct would offer alfresco dining with protection from the weather.

Mr Green said The Boulevard would be located opposite the tavern and near the other existing food retailers.

The shopping centre expansion has passed the half-way stage and will include a new Kmart store, full-line Woolworths and a 300-seat food court.

It is due to open in August.