Castle Towers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Castle Towers, located in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Castle Hill, is owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation, the owner of other major Australian shopping centres including Westpoint Blacktown and Indooroopilly Shopping Centres.

It has a net leasable area of approximately 105,000 square metres and is one of only six shopping centres in the Sydney metropolitan area to contain two full-line department stores, the others being Westfield Bondi Junction, Westfield Parramatta, Warringah Mall, Westfield Hornsby and Westfield Miranda. Castle Towers fits into the middle of the spectrum with respect to socio-demographic retail spending area - Bondi Junction being unmatched at the top, and Westfield Parramatta falling into the bottom quartile.

The centre was originally developed in the early 1980s as a small district shopping centre with approximately 50 stores, then extended in 1991-1992 to house 160 stores, and further again between 1998 and 2001 to reach its current size. Because of this substantial increase in size, the roads around it are no longer suitable for the volume of traffic they receive which frequently results in complete gridlock.

Major stores at the centre include:

The centre has two food courts and a cafeteria precinct. It also has an area dedicated to dine-in restaurants and evening entertainment called "The Piazza." Most events hosted by Castle Towers involve singers, a recent example being example appearances by Australian Idols (when the show was popular), and take place inside the centre itself.

[edit] Redevelopment

A recent Development Application (DA) to Baulkham Hills Shire Council will see (if apporoved) the centre jump in size to 175,000 square metres of leaseable area, making it the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere (Parramatta Westfield is currently the largest). The reconstruction will see the relocation of the cinemas, the food court and the addition of another discount department store and supermarket. The redevelopment will take place on the Southern tip of the centre site, and expand westwards, crossing Pennant Street and opening up towards Kentwell Avenue, and expand around the Castle Grand library and apartment building. The plans would include bridges, tunnels and crossings through Pennant Street.

The key to the reconstruction is the closing of Castle Street between Pennant Street and Old Northern Road. Closing Castle Street will allow greater pedestrian access and will provide a key link between the two current shopping precincts. The development will surround the herritage listed Castle Hill Primary School building (built in the 1890s) and the old Police Station. The QIC will use the area around the buildings and name that precinct of the shopping centre "Herritage Square". Suggested uses for the herritage listed buildings are cafes, Historical museums, and specialty stores.

The redevelopment will be incorporated into the Council's Castle Hill Town Centre Plan, which includes the partial closure of Old Northern Road, and diverting the main traffic flow along a reconstructed Terminus Street behind Castle Mall. This will allow the Castle Hill Town Centre to be more pedestrian friendly. It will also provide greater access for public transport (buses and taxis) along Old Northern Road, with links open to the future North-West Rail Link, which will include a train station in Castle Hill.

[edit] External links