Westfield Kotara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Westfield Shoppingtown Kotara is a shopping centre that is located in the suburb of Kotara in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It was opened in 1965 as Kotara Fair. The shopping centre was bought by The Westfield Group in 2003.^[1] The Westfield Group is the largest retail property group in the world and owns 121 shopping centres in four countries.^[2] Today the centre’s major tenants include Coles, Kmart, Woolworths, David Jones and a Toys "R" Us . The centre is locally referred to as Garden City reflecting its former title.^[1]

1 History
2 Access
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Major Stores

Kotara Fair was opened on 6 October 1965 and was owned by Woolworths.^[3] The centre was anchored by a Woolworths Supermarket and a Big W department store. In addition to this, there were 27 specialty stores. The centre was purchased by David Jones in 1971 and was subsequently redeveloped. The expansion was completed in October 1974 when it was renamed Garden City and added David Jones and Norman Ross department stores as well a further 24 specialty stores. Further redevelopment in 1977 occurred when Norman Ross closed and 13 specialty stores were added.^[4]

In 1980 Garden City was bought by AMP and another expansion created the largest shopping centre in the Hunter region. The expansion added a Coles Supermarket, Kmart and Best & Less as well as bringing the total amount of retailers to 120. In 1995 Toys "R" Us opened and was followed in 1998 by the addition of 14 specialty stores.^[4]

In 2003 following the purchase of Garden City by Westfield, the centre was renamed Westfield Kotara. It is currently undergoing an expansion that will significantly increase its size. It will feature a total of 250 retailers including a new Target discount department store. The redevelopment commenced in May 2006 and is scheduled to be completed in November 2007.^[4]

[edit] Access

Westfield Kotara is located on the corner of Northcott Drive and Park Avenue. The centre has a significant amount of parking. Kotara railway station is located approximately 1 km away. Bus services frequently operate to various destinations in the region and are operated by State Transit.^[5]