Macquarie Centre

Macquarie Centre
Macquarie Centre Main Entrance
Location Macquarie Park, New South Wales
Coordinates 33°46′37″S 151°07′14″E / 33.7768102°S 151.12046250000003°E / -33.7768102; 151.12046250000003Coordinates: 33°46′37″S 151°07′14″E / 33.7768102°S 151.12046250000003°E / -33.7768102; 151.12046250000003
Opening date 1981
Management AMP Capital Shopping Centres
Owner AMP Capital
No. of stores and services 390
No. of anchor tenants 8
Total retail floor area 135,083 m2 (1,454,021 sq ft)
No. of floors 4
Parking 4,900
Public transit access Macquarie University railway station
Website macquariecentre.com.au
Macquarie Centre main carpark entrance on Waterloo Road
Clock Fountain
The older level 2 JB Hi-Fi store in Macquarie Centre. JB Hi-Fi has since relocated to level 4.

Macquarie Centre is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Macquarie Park in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney and is located opposite the main campus of Macquarie University.[1]

Transport

The Epping to Chatswood rail link connects Macquarie University station directly next to Macquarie Centre. From 30 September, 2018, the Epping to Chatswood rail link will close for seven months to accommodate the final stage of construction of the Sydney Metro and will be replaced by buses with more than 110 services every hour.[2][3]

Macquarie Centre has bus connections to the Sydney CBD as well as local surrounding suburbs. It is served by State Transit, Metrobus, Transdev NSW and Hillsbus. The majority of its bus services are located in Herring Road in front of the shopping centre's main entrance.

Macquarie Centre also has multi level car parks with 4,900 spaces.

History

In the 1960s Grace Bros. planned to build a shopping centre. Rival department store David Jones had plans to build their own shopping centre known as Garden City at Epping Road, Macquarie Park on what was industrial land. David Jones had difficulty seeking approval with the plans rejected by Ryde Council and they were forced to lodge their plans with the State Planning Authority. Garden City was designed by Donald Crone, one of the leading architects who had designed the Sydney Tower. The plans included 80 speciality stores, an office tower and a distribution centre which would replace the one at Alexandria. In November 1969, the State Government approved the Grace Bros proposal while David Jones proposal on zoning grounds was rejected.[4]

The Grace Bros. centre eventually opened as Macquarie Centre in 1981 on a 9.4 hectare site adjoining the university and was developed by Grace Bros.[5] Macquarie Centre was anchored by Grace Bros, Big W, Woolworths, Target and Greater Union. Franklins Big Fresh was added to the centre in 1992 and was renamed to Franklins in 2001 and operated until its closure in 2012.

In 2000 the 'Escape' and 'Loft' areas were opened, which included a major facelift in 1999 to the centre's entrances, extra parking and new retail stores. These included Borders (second store in Australia), BaySwiss, Dick Smith Powerhouse, Freedom and Wheel & Barrow. The Loft was designed as a home wares precinct.[6] This development also included new food outlets and an expansion of the Greater Union cinema complex, from 8 to 16 cinemas. Greater Union was renamed to Event Cinemas in 2009.

Macquarie Ice Rink is an ice rink and opened in 1981 and is home to Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs ice hockey teams. The ice rink is used for ice skating, ice dance, speed skating and ice hockey. It is the only facility in Sydney to provide a full size Olympic rink (60m x 30m) with seating for approximately 2000 people.[7] Macquarie Ice Rink was used for the 1991 World short track speed skating Championships.[8]

Since 5 January 2009, Macquarie Centre has implemented paid parking systems. Many of the retail shops and firms of Macquarie Centre have undergone extensions and/or renovations since early 2007.

In 2010, Fitness First opened on the space vacated by Freedom and JB Hi-Fi moved from the location on level 2 to the space vacated by Borders on level 4.

AMP Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund No. 2 wholly owns the centre after an ownership agreement was reached with former co-owner Westfield Management Limited in 2012.[9]

Recent development

In late 2012, AMP Capital Shopping Centres began work on the $440 million redevelopment. Stage 1 of the redevelopment was completed in 17 July 2014 with the opening of Coles, Aldi and the fresh food market.[10][11] Stage 2 of the redevelopment was completed in October 2014, adding an entire new wing to the existing centre.

Stage 2 consisted of:

  • A full line David Jones
  • A new 2 level mall linking the new David Jones with the existing centre and Myer
  • Approximately 130 new retail stores (including Sydney's first H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and Sephora)
  • Additional 1,050 car spaces

As a result, Macquarie Centre is now the largest shopping centre in New South Wales, is expected to reach $6 billion in spending by 2021, and can support trade for 337,770 people.[12]

Future

Plans for the $1 billion redevelopment which included towers have been given approval. The plans would include 1000 new apartments in four tower blocks, 5000sqm of dedicated community space, including a library and public creative hub. The towers will range in height from 26–33 storeys, and adding another 2175 car parking spaces. A new station plaza between Macquarie University station and the centre is also part of the plan. The development will unfold in stages over several years and future applications will be developed. This mixed use development has been approved on 15 November 2016.[13][14]

Tenants

Macquarie Centre has 135,083m² of floor space. The major retailers, which are located at either end of the centre, include David Jones, Myer, H&M, Zara, Uniqlo, Cotton On, Sephora, Target, Big W, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Rebel Sport, JB Hi-Fi, Fitness First, Timezone, Strike Bowling Bar, Macquarie Ice Rink and Event Cinemas.

Incidents

  • On June 5, 2007, a 40 year old women has been stabbed and a man has self-inflicted knife wounds after a domestic incident at the centre carpark. The man was later arrested after he allegedly drove at a police officer and crashed into a parked car as he attempted to leave the scene.[15]
  • Between February and June 2017, 16 vehicles, including luxury cars, had an acid-like substance poured on them. The attack was believed to be racially motivated and a man has been charged.[16]
  • On July 3, 2017, a police officer was kicked in the face by a group of youths causing him to fall and hit his head. Police were called to the scene after 10pm after a group of youths assaulted two security guards nearby. The 16 year old youth was later charged.[17]
  • On April 16, 2018, a 13 year old boy was bitten in the cheek during an attempted robbery at the centre at around 11:40am. He was walking with a friend when they were approached by two men, who threatened the boy and tried to steal his sneakers.[18]
  • On May 17, 2018, a brawl erupted in the ice rink which involved the chairman of CBR Brave who started arguing with players from Sydney Bears. The Chairman poured beer down on one of the players before a member of the crowd threw a bin at him sparking an all in shoving match between the fans.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Macquarie Centre". AMP Capital. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Cormack, Lucy (2018-04-07). "Date set for closure of Epping to Chatswood rail line". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  3. ↑ Evans, Michael (2018-09-16). "'Everybody is aware' says Constance two weeks ahead of Sydney rail shutdown". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  4. ↑ Amuso, Fabian (13 October 2014). "Fab Sydney Flashbacks: 1969: David Jones & Garden City, North Ryde". Fab Sydney Flashbacks. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "North Ryde | The Dictionary of Sydney". dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "McGrath Retail Innovations". mcgrathretail.com. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  7. ↑ "About The Rink". Macquarie Ice Rink. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  8. ↑ Smart, G. & Bradbury, S., Steven Bradbury: Last Man Standing, ISBN 0-9757287-8-4, 2005.
  9. ↑ Cummins, Carolyn (25 October 2012). "Westfield, AMP sign mall ownership revamp". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Macquarie Park's $440m revamp ready to roll". Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "Macquarie Centre to create 1200 jobs". Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  12. ↑ Duke, Jennifer. "Sydney's largest suburban shopping centre, AMP Capital's Macquarie Centre, now open". propertyobserver.com.au. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  13. ↑ "$1bn expansion gets green light". 15 November 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Cummins, Carolyn (29 November 2016). "AMP Capital looks to expand mixed use projects". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Stabbing at shopping centre". The Daily Telegraph. 6 June 2007.
  16. ↑ "Acid attacks on cars could be racist, Sydney police say". ABC News. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  17. ↑ "Charges after rookie cop allegedly attacked". The Daily Telegraph. 4 July 2017.
  18. ↑ "Police release CCTV of men after boy bitten on face at Macquarie Park". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  19. ↑ "Bins and booze thrown as fight breaks out at Australian ice hockey game". ABC News. 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
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