Career Stories: Monique Underwood

Meet Monique Underwood, Assistant Development Manager, Chatswood Chase

Monique Underwood had always dreamed of working on developments, and throughout her studies developed a passion for property and building principles. When she graduated from uni, she found many development roles expected a construction background. Rather than give up on her goal, Monique took on adjacent roles to build her skills before securing her Assistant Development Manager role at Vicinity. Hear more about Monique's journey and her reflections on working on the $625 million Chatswood Chase transformation.

Tell us about your role

I’m Assistant Development Manager at Chatswood Chase, supporting the Development Managers and Project Directors across Lower Ground, Main Works and associated projects. I can’t express what an incredible experience it is working on the Chatswood transformation. The excitement that comes with seeing years of work come to fruition and the space becoming customer-ready is unbeatable.

How did you get into development?

Ever since I started my degree (Bachelor of Business majoring in Property Management) I knew I wanted to get into development. Throughout my studies, a highlight was learning building principles and development management which sparked my passion for a career in development. When I graduated, I found a lot of development roles required a construction background, so ended up taking an admin role as a Casual Mall Leasing Coordinator with AMP after uni, then progressed into an executive role, then leasing role before getting my foot in the development world. 

How did the skills you developed in Leasing set you up for your current role?

My time in leasing and liaising with retailers, especially Mum and Dad operators taught me a lot about building relationships and managing different stakeholder expectations.

How exciting was it working on the Chatswood transformation and do you have a highlight?

The true highlight is always the week leading into a launch. Centre Management teams from NSW and interstate basically set up camp onsite, pitching in wherever needed – wheeling bins, clearing rubbish, painting, troubleshooting. It didn’t matter what the task was, everyone was pitching in. It was surreal, manic and wildly exciting, but above all, it was a genuine team effort. We were all in it together, and that’s what made it work!

What’s the most exciting thing about the luxury opening?

This stage is the level 1 luxury precinct, bringing tier one luxury to the lower north shore community. Our local trade area love to shop luxury and previously had to head into the city for that, so this stage is all about levelling up and being really clear about our offering. From Dior, Louis Vuitton and Hermes to Rolex, Tiffany & Co and Cartier, we’re bringing the world’s best luxury brands to Chatswood, with some truly incredible fit outs.

To complement, there’s also level 3 which is a completely new build with offers including a wellness sanctuary in Mist Day Spa, Medical Centre and Kids Play. This development really elevates Chatswood into a destination curated for our customers.

A transformation like this isn’t just about development, can you share a bit about the cross-functional collaboration? 

Delivering a project of this scale all comes back to collaboration, and through the project I’ve worked closely with leasing, legal, design and centre management, as well as externals including construction delivery partners, retailers and the local council.  Each part of the project, I’ve worked closely with different teams, for example working on strengthening our internal income strategy meant partnering with Leasing to identify and deliver new revenue-generating opportunities through the creation of additional tenancy sites and optimisation of the master leasing plan.

What’s the best thing about working on the Chatswood Chase development?

What I enjoy most about my role is partnering cross-functionally with various departments. The people on this project genuinely make the day-to-day enjoyable, always bringing humour and lightness to the process, while we deliver tangible outcomes and leave a lasting legacy within a community.

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