Warrawong Plaza

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Warrawong Plaza
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
LocationWarrawong, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates34°29′10″S 150°53′20″E / 34.4861°S 150.889°E / -34.4861; 150.889Coordinates: 34°29′10″S 150°53′20″E / 34.4861°S 150.889°E / -34.4861; 150.889
Opening date1960
ManagementJLL
Owner151 Property, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group
No. of stores and services140[1]
No. of anchor tenants6
Total retail floor area57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft)[1]
No. of floors2
Parking2,167 spaces[1]
Websitewarrawongplaza.com.au

Warrawong Plaza (formerly Westfield Warrawong) is a major shopping centre located in Warrawong, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. With a retail floor area of 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft), it is currently the third largest shopping centre in the Illawarra region.

History and development[]

Warrawong Plaza originally opened in 1960 as Lake Market Shopping Centre.[citation needed]

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).[1][2]

Redevelopments[]

Upon acquisition by The Westfield Group in 1985, the centre was extensively redeveloped and relaunched as Westfield Warrawong in 1988.[1] Further extensions were conducted in 1996, adding a 6,000 m2 (64,583 sq ft) Big W to the centre.[1][3]

Previously, a Big W department store had been an occupant of the centre from 1965, however due to a change in retailing strategy by parent company Woolworths Limited, the then-two-level store was sold to David Jones Limited on 19 April 1971 and converted to a David Jones store which in turn was closed in January 1986. By 2011, the centre had grown to 57,582 m2 (619,807 sq ft) with 140 retailers.[4]

Acquisition by The Blackstone Group[]

In August 2015, Scentre Group announced it had sold Westfield Warrawong to 151 Property, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group along with three other centres as part of sell-off of "non-strategic" assets for a total of $783 Million. At the same time it was announced that Jones Lang LaSalle would be responsible for the management of the centre.[5]

On 11 September 2015, the new management unveiled the new name, Warrawong Plaza, and branding going forward.

Events[]

In 1999, the centre received significant global coverage of its efforts to deal with shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.[6][7] 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".[6][7]

On 21 September 2004, a man sitting beside a tree outside the centre was the victim of a vehicle accident.[8] The man died after being hit by an out of control sedan as he sat next to a tree outside the centre.[8]

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 behaviour in surrounding streets around the centre.[9] Despite the efforts of bus inspectors and transit police, very little had been achieved to curb the problems.[9]

Transport[]

The centre is serviced by a public bus service operated by Premier Illawarra.

Shopping/Facilities[]

Major retailers of Warrawong Plaza include Coles, Aldi, Target, Big W, Hoyts, TK Maxx, JB Hi-Fi, Rebel, Best and Less and Lincraft.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Property Portfolio – Westfield Warrawong
  2. ^ "Warrawong – history". City of Wollongong. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  3. ^ Craig, Eric (2 September 1996). "Retales". Inside Retailing.
  4. ^ Jobson's Year Book. Dun & Bradstreet Marketing Pty Ltd. OCLC 37164161.
  5. ^ "Warrawong, Figtree shopping centres sold to global firm". 2 September 2015.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Bing keeps troublemakers at bay". BBC. 8 July 1999.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Crosby drives teens from Aussie mall". CNN. 8 July 1999. Archived from the original on 17 September 2006.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Tragic end to rest by wrong tree at wrong time". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 September 2004.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Vandalism may end night bus service". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 March 2005.

External links[]

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