Westfield Warrawong
| Location | Warrawong, New South Wales, Australia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°29′10″S 150°53′22″E / 34.4861°S 150.8894°E |
| Opening date | 1960 |
| Management | Scentre Group [1] |
| Owner | Scentre Group |
| No. of stores and services | 140[2] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3[2] |
| Total retail floor area | 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft)[2] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 2,167 spaces[2] |
| Website | westfield.com/warrawong |
| Information from Westfield and the City of Wollongong[2][3] | |
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 second largest shopping centre in the Illawarra region.
History and development
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.[2]
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).[2] Annual turnover at the centre for 2005 was $190.4 million with 5.4 million visitors per year.[2] 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.[4]
Redevelopments
Upon acquisition by The Westfield Group, the centre was extensively redeveloped and relaunched as Westfield Warrawong in 1988.[2] Further extensions were conducted in 1996, adding a 6,000 m2 (64,583 sq ft) Big W to the centre.[2][5]
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 '80s. By 2011, the centre had grown to 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft) with 140 retailers.[6]
Events
In 1999, the centre received significant global coverage of its efforts to deal with shoplifting and anti-social behaivour.[7][8] 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 Bing Crosby's 1938 song "My Heart Is Taking Lessons".[7][8]
On 21 September 2004, a man sitting beside a tree outside the centre was the victim of a vehicle accident.[9] The man died after being hit by an out of control hatchback as he stood next to a tree outside the centre.[9]
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.[10] Despite the efforts of bus inspectors and transit police, very little had been achieved to curb the problems.[10]
Transport
The centre is serviced by a public bus service operated by Premier Illawarra.
Stores
Major retailers
Major retailers operating within the shopping centre include;[2]
- Coles supermarket
- Target discount department store (opening late 2012)
- Big W discount department store
- Aldi supermarket (opening late 2012)
- Homeart retail store
- Best & Less discount clothing store
- Hoyts cinema
Major food restaurants
Major food retailers within the centre include;[11]
Former retailers and restaurants
- McDonald's Express (closed early 2012)
- Kmart (closed June 2012)
- Woolworths (closed August 2012)
Further reading
- Wollongong Council (1957). Lakemarket, Port Kembla : proposal for South Coast regional shopping centre. Wollongong Council. (43 pages)
- Retail Surveys Pty Ltd (1985). Report to the City Council : proposed Warrawong retail expansion. Sydney: Retail Surveys Pty Ltd.
- Wellings, Smith and Byrnes (planning consultancy) (1985). Warrawong district centre study. (includes maps and plans)
- Unknown (1963). Warrawong Regional Shopping Centre : At the crossroads of the coast. Sydney: Welkin Press.
References
- ↑ Condon, Turi (20 June 2014). "Westfield restructure a success: Lowy". The Australian Business Review. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Property Portfolio - Westfield Warrawong
- ↑ "Warrawong - history". City of Wollongong. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ↑ "Crown Street Mall - Rates Survey 2004 and 2002 with analysis". Iris Research for City of Wollongong. December 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ↑ Craig, Eric (2 September 1996). "Retales". Inside Retailing.
- ↑ Jobson's Year Book. Dun & Bradstreet Marketing Pty Ltd. OCLC 37164161.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Bing keeps troublemakers at bay". British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 July 1999.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Crosby drives teens from Aussie mall". CNN. 8 July 1999.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Tragic end to rest by wrong tree at wrong time". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 September 2004.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Vandalism may end night bus service". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 March 2005.
- ↑ "Dining - Westfield Warrawong". The Westfield Group. Archived from the original on 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
External links
- Westfield Warrawong is at coordinates 34°29′10″S 150°53′22″E / 34.4861°S 150.8894°ECoordinates: 34°29′10″S 150°53′22″E / 34.4861°S 150.8894°E
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