Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre Logo |
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| Location | Forest Hill, Victoria, Australia |
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| Opening date | 30 June 1964 |
| Developer | Pacific Shopping Centres |
| Management | Colonial First State Global Asset Management |
| Owner | Colonial First State Global Asset Management |
| No. of stores and services | 204 (prior to level 3 redevelopment) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 major 10 minor |
| Total retail floor area | 64,935 m2 (698,950 sq ft) (prior to level 3 redevelopment) |
| Parking | ~3400 |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Website | www.foresthillchaseshopping.com.au |
Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre is a major regional shopping centre located in the eastern suburb of Forest Hill in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Owned and managed by Colonial First State Retail Property Trust, the centre is among the oldest in Victoria, opening on 30 June 1964 as an outdoor strip shopping centre, before being developed over the years into its current three level indoor form. Currently, Forest Hill Chase contains 204 stores and 3388 free car parking spaces. The centre has two supermarkets, two discount department stores and one traditional department store spread across 3 levels. The architecture is distinguished by a roof of polycarbonate construction with a barrel vault design.
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In December 2004, Melbourne businessman Maurice Alter sold the Forest Hill Chase shopping centre to listed retail property trust CFS Gandel, managed by Colonial First State Property, for $214.5 million.
The sale was close to being the largest national (Australian) retail property deal of the year and which included property management rights and the potential for redevelopment.
At the time of purchase, Colonial First State Property fund manager Bevan Towning ruled out any immediate major redevelopment plans, saying the intention was to change the centre's retailing mix by introducing the same national brands it had at its other shopping centres, Chadstone and Northland. They also wanted to revitalize the centre and give it a "New look."
The 64,935 square metre Forest Hill Chase was the first shopping centre built in Victoria by Mr Alter's group, Pacific Shopping Centres, with George Herscu, in 1964.
In the biggest redevelopment of the centre since 1989, levels one and two of the centre were completely refurbished in 2007 while the third level was expanded and refurbished during the second half of 2010. Major milestones of the redevelopment program, which started in December 2006, are as follows:
Major food retailers within the centre include a McDonald's, a KFC, a Wendy's outlet, a Nando's restaurant and a Donut King. A Hungry Jack's is also located exteriorly as a stand-alone restaurant on Canterbury Road.
The standard trading hours for most shops is 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday-Wednesday, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Thursday-Friday, 9:00am to 5:00 pm on Saturday and 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Sunday. The supermarkets however are open from early morning till midnight. Major anchor stores normally have extended standard trading hours. Level three is open till 1.00am the next day from Sunday to Thursday and until 3.00am the next day on Friday and Saturday.
Forest Hill Chase provides free un-timed parking for approximately 3400 vehicles and is serviced by 4 bus routes and taxis.
Adjoining the centre are several multideck carparks. A three deck car park is located off Canterbury Road while a four deck car park is located off Pacific Way to the east of the centre, adjacent to Coles, Target and Hoyts. 300 car parks are located on the level three deck of this car park, providing rooftop parking for level three access. Another two deck car park is located off Pacific Way to the south of the centre which services Myer, Safeway and Big W. Basement parking directly beneath the centre can be accessed from Glebe Street or Mahoneys Road. Three open-air car parks exist around Kmart Tyre and Auto, the Big W Garden Shop and adjacent to the Pacific Way/Mahoneys Road roundabout.
Forest Hill Chase is directly serviced by SmartBus route 703 services operating on the deviation as well as 3 regular bus routes (735, 736, 765), with bus stops located outside at the southern side of the centre at the entrance to the market area of the centre. Taxis can also be accessed from this area.
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