Westfield Eastgardens

Westfield Eastgardens
Interior
Location Eastgardens, New South Wales
Coordinates 33°56′41″S 151°13′28″E / 33.94468056°S 151.2243639°E / -33.94468056; 151.2243639Coordinates: 33°56′41″S 151°13′28″E / 33.94468056°S 151.2243639°E / -33.94468056; 151.2243639
Address Cnr Bunnerong Road & Wentworth Avenue
Opening date 23 September 1987
Developer Westfield Group
Management Scentre Group
Owner Terrace Tower Group
No. of stores and services 303
No. of anchor tenants 10
Total retail floor area 84,627 m2 (910,917 sq ft)
No. of floors 3
Parking 3,263 spaces
Public transit access Yes
Website www.westfield.com.au/eastgardens

Westfield Eastgardens is an Australian shopping centre in the Sydney suburb of Eastgardens. The centre was the largest shopping centre in Australia when it opened in September 1987.[1] The centre is owned by the Terrace Tower Group but operated and managed on a long term agreement by the Scentre Group.[2][3] The centre's major tenants include three supermarkets, a department store, three discount department stores and a cinema.

History

Eastern entrance to Level 2, south-to-north bus stop
Office tower
Western entrance taken before David Jones' and Franklins's space was taken over by Myer and Aldi in 2008

Westfield Eastgardens was built on the site of the former Urban Transit Authority Pagewood bus depot. The depot closed in 1982 and was soon followed by the nearby Holden and WD & HO Wills factories. The closure of these two sites would result in job losses of around 1,000 people. In order to save jobs, the Government of New South Wales persuaded the Westfield Group 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 & Environment Court. Following this the Government passed legislation that disallowed an appeal to be made to the Land & Environment Court. Significant public debate followed about the right of the New South Wales Government to overrule the legal process.[1]

Westfield Eastgardens opened on 23 September 1987 and was the largest shopping centre in Australia for a short period until Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne 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, with a new supermarket, discount department store and brought the total amount of retailers to 290 with parking for 3,260 cars and the upgrade of Hoyts. When the redevelopment completed, Westfield Eastgardens was the first shopping centre in New South Wales to house three discount department stores, Kmart, Target and Big W.[5]

Myer

After 20 years as an anchor tenant, David Jones closed its store on 23 September 2007 due to its proximity to the company's Westfield Bondi Junction and Elizabeth Street/Market Street stores. Myer took over David Jones' space after an extensive refurbishment, opening on the 8 March 2008.[6]

Roof collapse

Eastgardens suffered significant damage when part of the car park collapsed at around 07:00 on 24 July 2012. Around 500 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 had 303 stores, 84,627 m² of floor space on two levels and 3,263 car spaces.[8] Major retailers are located on either end of the centre. Anchor tenants

Cinemas

Mini-majors

Access

The centre has a major bus interchange serviced by Sydney Buses, with routes to Sydney Airport, the City and Bondi Junction as well as a taxi rank, and also contains many car parking spots.

References

  1. 1 2 "parliament.nsw.gov.au". Save Orange Grove Bill. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
  2. ↑ Eastgardens Retail Terrance Tower Group
  3. ↑ "eastgardens.com.au". Eastgardens Shopping Centre. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
  4. ↑ "westfield.com/corporate". Westfield Group. Archived from the original on 15 September 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2006.
  5. ↑ "eps.net.au". Westfield on the move at Tuggerah, EastGardens. Archived from the original on 24 September 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
  6. ↑ "westfield.com". Myer to open at Westfield Eastgardens. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  7. ↑ "Evacuation at Westfield Eastgardens after Roof Collapse". Southern-Courier. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  8. ↑ Westfield Eastgardens Scentre Group

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