Macquarie Centre

The Metro North West Line connects Macquarie University station directly next to Macquarie Centre with trains running from Tallawong to Chatswood.

Macquarie Centre has bus connections to the Sydney CBD as well as local surrounding suburbs. It is served by State Transit, Transit Systems, 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.

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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] Macquarie Ice Rink was used for the 1991 World short track speed skating Championships.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][9] 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 Sydney suburban shopping centre. It is expected to reach $6 billion in spending by 2021, and can support trade for 337,770 people.[10]

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.[11][12]

As part of Stage 2 planning being approved, it was announced on 16 January 2019 that Macquarie Ice Rink would close on 31 January 2020 for demolition to make way for the new retail and residential towers.[13]

In February 2019, AMP Capital Shopping Centres, which owns Macquarie Centre, announced it had decided to preserve the ice rink.[14] This was largely due to the large public outcry regarding the removal of the iconic rink.

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.

• On 5 June 2007 a 40-year-old women was stabbed and a man had 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 3 July 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 16 April 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 17 May 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]