| Location | Warrawong, New South Wales, Australia |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1960 |
| Management | The Westfield Group |
| Owner | The Westfield Group |
| No. of stores and services | 140 [1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3[1] |
| Total retail floor area | 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft)[1] |
| Parking | 2,167 spaces[1] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | westfield.com/warrawong |
| Information from Westfield and the City of Wollongong[1][2] | |
Westfield Warrawong is a major shopping centre located in Warrawong, a suburb of Wollongong. With a retail floor area of 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft), it is currently the largest shopping centre in the Illawarra region.
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Westfield Warrawong was not always part of the Westfield Portfolio. Originally opened in 1960 as Lake Market Shopping Centre, it was acquired by the Westfield Group in 1985.[1]
The centre has a current catchment area of 246,680 persons, and retail spending in the catchment area estimated at A$2.3 billion (2005).[1] Annual turnover at the centre for 2005 was $190.4 million with 5.4 million visitors per year.[1] In a 2004 survey conducted by the local city council, it found that the majority of visitors to the centre were attracted by its discount department stores.[3]
Upon acquisition by The Westfield Group, the centre was extensively redeveloped and relaunched as Westfield Warrawong in 1988.[1] Further extensions were conducted in 1996, adding a 6,000 m2 (64,583 sq ft) Big W to the centre.[1][4]
Previously, A Big W department store had been an occupant of the centre from 1965, however due to a change in retailling strategy by parent company Woolworths Limited, the then two level store was sold to David Jones Limited on April 19, 1971 and converted to a David Jones store which in turn was closed sometime in the mid 80's By 2011, the centre had grown to 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft) with 140 retailers.[5]
In 1999, the centre received significant global coverage of its efforts to deal with shoplifting and anti-social behaivour.[6][7] In an effort to discourage local youth using the centre as a gathering place, the management used the centre's public address system to play older style music, including songs including Bing Crosby's 1938 song My Heart is Taking Lessons.[6][7]
On 21 September 2004, a man sitting beside a tree outside the centre was the victim of a vehicle accident.[8] The man died after being hit by an out of control hatchback as he stood next to a tree outside the centre.[8]
In March 2005, local bus company Premier Illawarra gave serious consideration to suspending one of its Thursday evening services from the centre due to months of increased vandalism and anti-social behaivour.[9] Despite the efforts of bus inspectors and transit police, very little had been achieved to curb the problems.[9]
The centre is serviced by a public bus service operated by Premier Illawarra.
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Major retailers operating within the shopping centre include;[1]
Major food retailers within the centre include;[10]
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