Jamison Centre, Australian Capital Territory
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Jamison Centre is a shopping centre and designated group centre located in the Canberra suburb of Macquarie. It services the suburbs of Macquarie, Aranda, Bruce, Cook, Page and Weetangera. Popular places near the Centre include the West Belconnen Rugby Club, the Big Splash Waterpark, and the Dek Hotel.
Built in 1969, Jamison Centre was the first shopping development in the Belconnen district, preceding the Belconnen Town Centre by nearly a decade. It initially became a major commercial area, but soon began to suffer from the growth of the more central town centre, particularly when The Westfield Group built a major shopping centre there. While Jamison Centre still played a significant role in servicing the adjacent area, it has decreased in importance and became increasingly neglected.
The decline continued until 2000, when the Humphries government and the private owners of the centre commissioned a master plan to turn the area around. After community consultation, several major issues such as building elevation, access, safety and a lack of meeting places, were noted. The final plan, released in 2002, mapped out a number of methods of achieving this, including improving traffic flow and building new shops and restaurants facing the adjacent streets. With the approval of $8.2m of government funding, a major refurbishment is due to begin in January 2006 and finish by December that year. Though the government had provided assurances that the centre would remain open throughout the process, much of the Centre has already been vacant for some time.
Jamison Centre is serviced by six ACTION bus routes (40, 42, 49, 73, 74, and 705), all of which depart from the main Belconnen interchange. It is also easily accessible by road off Belconnen Way and Bindubi Street.
The outdoor Belconnen Trash'n'Treasure Market is held every Sunday morning in the Jamison Centre car park. This is one of Canberra's larger markets, and is operated by the Rotary Club of Belconnen with assistance from the Rotary Clubs of Ginninderra, Hall and Woden.
