Westfield Eastgardens
/_/(1)_Westfield_Eastgardens_(f).JPG) Westfield Eastgardens, interior | |
| Owner | Terrace Tower Group |
|---|---|
| No. of stores and services | 292[1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 8[1] |
| Total retail floor area | 83,982 m2 (903,975 sq ft)[1] |
| Parking | 3,263 spaces[1] |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Website | westfield.com/eastgardens |
Westfield Eastgardens is a shopping centre that is located in the suburb of Eastgardens in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The centre was the largest shopping centre in Australia when it opened in September 1987.[2] The centre is owned by the Terrace Tower Group but operated and managed on a long term agreement by the Westfield Group.[3] The centre's major tenants include three supermarkets, a department store, three discount department stores and a cinema.
History
Westfield Eastgardens is built on the site of a former pagewood bus depot factory. The factory closed in 1982 and was soon followed by the nearby W. D. & H. O. Wills factory. The closure of these two sites would result in job losses of around 1000 people. In order to save jobs, the Government of New South Wales persuaded Westfield to develop the site. The Government rezoned the site and added crown land in order to convince Westfield. In July 1982 three other commercial landlords whose own trade would be affected by the new shopping centre made a challenge to the Land and Environment Court. Following this the Government passed legislation that disallowed an appeal to be made to the Land and Environment Court. Significant public debate followed about the right of the New South Wales Government to overrule the legal process.[2]
The shopping centre was opened on 23 September 1987 and was the largest shopping centre in Australia for a short period until Chadstone Shopping Centre in Malvern East in Melbourne, Victoria was redeveloped. When the centre opened it had two supermarkets, a department store, two discount department stores, a 6-screen Hoyts cinema as well as 180 other retailers.[4] The centre was redeveloped in 2002. This added a new supermarket, discount department store and brought the total amount of retailers to 290 with parking for 3260 cars and the upgrade of Hoyts. When the redevelopment completed, Westfield Eastgardens was the first shopping centre in NSW to house three discount department stores, Kmart, Target and Big W.[5]
Myer
David Jones Limited announced in May 2007 that it would not renew its lease for its Eastgardens store within the Westfield Eastgardens centre due to its proximity to the company's Westfield Bondi Junction and Elizabeth Street/Market Street stores. Myer announced shortly after that it would take David Jones' space after an extensive refurbishment. The David Jones closed on 23 September 2007 with the new Myer store opening on 8 March 2008.[6] David Jones Eastgardens closed on the 20th anniversary of it and Eastgardens' opening, 23 September 1987.
Roof collapse
Eastgardens suffered significant damage when part of the car park collapsed at around 7am AEST on Tuesday 24 July 2012. Around five hundred people were evacuated from the building when a second-level steel beam that supported the car park roof broke. The entire shopping centre was closed off after a survey found the collapse may have caused structural damage in other areas of the building. The dislodgement of the beam caused a partial roof collapse near the food court entrance on the second level, bringing down a plant room, air conditioning units, a cool room, toilet facilities, exhaust fans and an electrical switchboard. Police set up an exclusion zone around the centre and redirected road traffic. The building was closed pending further investigation. The building reopened the following day for retail trade, although some areas in the food court remained closed. Repairs were underway to restore the collapsed sections of the building. [7]
Facilities
Westfield Eastgardens has 83982 m² of floor space on two levels and currently contains 275 stores. Major retailers are located on either end of the centre, including:
- Myer department store
- Coles supermarket
- Kmart discount department store
- Target discount department store
- Woolworths supermarket
- Big W discount department store
- Supa IGA supermarket
- Hoyts cinema
Access
The centre has a major bus interchange serviced by Sydney Buses, with routes to The Airport, City and Bondi Junction as well as a taxi rank, and also contains many car parking spots.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Westfield Eastgardens Portfolio
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "parliament.nsw.gov.au". Save Orange Grove Bill. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- ↑ "eastgardens.com.au". Eastgardens Shopping Centre. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- ↑ "westfield.com/corporate". Westfield Group. Archived from the original on 15 September 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2006.
- ↑ "eps.net.au". Westfield on the move at Tuggerah, EastGardens. Archived from the original on 24 September 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- ↑ "westfield.com". Myer to open at Westfield Eastgardens. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ↑ "Evacuation at Westfield Eastgardens after Roof Collapse". Southern-Courier. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
External links
- Westfield Eastgardens is at coordinates 33°56′41″S 151°13′28″E / 33.94468056°S 151.2243639°ECoordinates: 33°56′41″S 151°13′28″E / 33.94468056°S 151.2243639°E
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