Westfield Chermside, colloquially known as 'Chermside' or 'Chermy',[3] is a regional shopping centre[4] located in the Brisbane northern suburb of Chermside. It is the second largest regional shopping centre in Australia by both number of stores and gross leasable area, behind Chadstone Shopping Centre, and is operated by Scentre Group.[5] The centre contains the Chermside bus station, a major hub for buses north of Brisbane.
Westfield Chermside's trade area population is 439,600. It is one of the largest markets for shopping centres in Queensland and Australia. Its 15.5million customer visits per annum[2] make it Australia's second busiest Westfield shopping centre. The centre is located on the corner of Gympie Road and Hamilton Road.
Chermside Centre has many cafés and speciality stores on its first and second levels, with restaurants spread across all four levels.
Opening
A bus station was integrated into the centre from its opening and trams stopped nearby
Allan and Stark's Chermside Drive-in Shopping Centre[6] (Now Westfield Chermside) was opened on 31 May 1957 by the then Premier of Queensland Vince Gair.[7][8] The Brisbane Telegraph reported that more than 15,000 people visited the centre on the opening day - 20 police were on hand for crowd control.[6] According to The Courier-Mail, the opening had "all the trappings of a Hollywood premiere - prominent personalities, brass bands, popping flashbulbs ... and crowds".[6]
The shopping complex cost £600,000 and was set on 28 acres (11.33ha).[9] It was marketed as the first suburban-style, post-war shopping precinct[8] in the Southern Hemisphere[10] with a modern design.[7] Allan and Stark promised a shopping experience that would be "both fun and a thrill".[6] Premier Gair said "Every suburb should have its own shopping centre," [6]
It initially contained an Allan & Stark department store,[6] a Brisbane Cash & Carry (BCC) supermarket, [6][11] 24 speciality stores including a florist, a milk and doughnut bar, a fruit and vegetable shop, a newsagent, a butcher's shop, a beauty salon, an optometrist, and a chemist.[6] The centre also had its own children's nursery.[6] There was parking for 650 cars.[7] Porters were available to carry purchased items to shoppers’ cars.[7] The terminus of Tram route 72 to Enoggera via Brisbane CBD was located opposite the Centre.[12]
History
The Brisbane Cash and Carry, along with 31 other 32 BCC stores in Queensland, was taken over by Woolworths in 1958 resulting in that chain entering the Queensland grocery market.[11] The Myer Emporium Ltd purchased Allan & Stark in 1959 and the Chermside store was renamed immediately.[13][14]
In 1965, the centre was air-conditioned and a restaurant was constructed.
In 1969, the tram line closed.
The original building that housed Myer was razed and a larger three level replacement building was opened in June 1977. Several renovations were completed in 1985, 1986 and 1987 adding another 29 stores and an underground car park to the centre. A business mall was constructed in February 1992.
In 1999, work began on a major redevelopment of the centre which was to nearly double its floor space. The redevelopment resulted in most of the existing structure being demolished, save for the Myer store and some pieces of adjoining mall, to make way for the larger complex. Stage one opened on 9 August, 1999, which contained a Coles Supermarket and a new bus interchange. In 2000, the second stage of the redevelopment opened, containing a Kmart, Bi-Lo (which existed until March 2008), Target and a 900-seat food court. A new Birch Carroll & Coyle cinema complex also opened, which it was claimed resulted in customers moving away from the cinemas at Westfield Toombul (Now Toombul Shopping Centre).[15]
In 2005, construction began on another expansion, which officially opened on 19 October 2006 and contained 2,300 more car parks, and over 100 new specialty stores. In August 2007, the two level David Jones store was officially opened and is located in the same expansion. The following year saw the opening of another department store on the site of the former Bi-Lo supermarket, however smaller, which is the first Harris Scarfe store in Brisbane. In late 2009, an Apple Store opened in the centre.
In 2011, Westfield Chermside introduced a new 'Park Assist' system to help shoppers find available car parks quicker. At the same time the centre also introduced a pay parking scheme designed to stop commuters parking vehicles at the centre. Parking under three hours remains free and entry after 6 pm will be free as well.[16]
The centre has been blamed for the downturn in trade in surrounding shopping centres, especially Toombul Shopping Centre.[17] In the case of Toombul, the ex-Westfield centre's trade has been affected during the 21st century, David Jones, and many other stores have closed down at Toombul.[15][18]
In 2015, Scentre Group announced the Westfield Chermside Redevelopment, which will add up to 95 new retailers, a gallery mall, new dining and entertainment precincts and major expansion to the second floor. Construction was started in January 2015 and the new area was opened to shoppers on 6 April 2017. The new development included international fast fashion stores like H&M (Closed 2022), and Zara (Closed 2021).[19]
The Westfield Chermside Redevelopment, which was known as "The New Westfield Chermside" opened in early 2017. This expansion was addition of a second level of stores above the Myer to David Jones fashion mall, and introduced international brands including H&M, Sephora, Uniqlo and Zara. JB HiFi, Rebel & Optus also moved from their existing stores to new locations in the redevelopment.
On 22 June 2017, the final stage of the redevelopment was officially opened. This included a new restaurant precinct with more than 20 cafes and restaurants, creating Westfield's largest dining precinct.[19] In addition, an incubator store alley and a lifestyle precinct with a bowling alley, laser tag, a new gymnasium, and a child minding centre were opened.
Chermside is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The suburb is situated 9.8 kilometres (6.1 mi) by road north of the Brisbane CBD. It is home to a large Westfield shopping centre. In the 2021 census, Chermside had a population of 11,426 people.
Westfield Southland is a shopping centre in the suburb of Cheltenham in Melbourne. Southland has a floor area of 129,180m², making it one of the biggest shopping centres in Australia by size. There are approximately 400 retailers in Southland, including Myer, David Jones and Harris Scarfe. According to the Melbourne 2030 Metropolitan Strategy, Southland is recognised as one of 26 Principal Activity Centres. The centre is also one of the most profitable shopping centres in Australia, with an annual turnover of $857.9-million recorded in 2016.
Westfield Fountain Gate is a super-regional shopping centre located in Narre Warren in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is the second largest shopping centre in Australia by both floor area and number of anchor tenants. However, it is the largest shopping centre in Australia with all 3 discount department stores, Big W, Target and Kmart.
Westfield Miranda is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Miranda in Sutherland Shire of Sydney.
Westfield Knox is a shopping centre, outdoor entertainment and professional services complex in the outer eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, in the Australian state of Victoria. The centre opened on 9 November 1977 with 88 stores and 2300 parking spaces.
Strathpine Centre is an urban shopping centre located in Strathpine, a suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia.
Westfield Carousel is an Australian shopping centre in the Perth suburb of Cannington. It is located approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Perth's central business district on the Albany Highway and approximately 600 metres (2,000 ft) from Cannington railway station. Following a redevelopment in 2018, Westfield Carousel became the largest shopping centre in Western Australia.
Westfield Doncaster is a shopping centre 50% owned by Scentre Group, 25% owned by ISPT, and 25% owned by Asia Property Fund located in Doncaster, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of July 2014, the Westfield Group became two companies Scentre Group and Westfield Corporation. The Westfield Group portion is now owned by Scentre Group. It is located on the corner of Williamsons Road and Doncaster Road in the Doncaster Hill precinct, an ongoing planning initiative by the local Manningham council. It is located 20 minutes east of the CBD and is one of the biggest shopping centres in Victoria.
Westfield Booragoon is a major regional shopping centre in the city of Perth, Western Australia. Westfield Booragoon is located at the corner of Marmion Street and Riseley Street in the southern suburb of Booragoon. 50% of the shopping complex is owned by Dexus with the remaining 50% owned by Scentre Group which owns and operates its properties under the Westfield name from which the company is derived.
Westfield Whitford City, formerly Whitford City Shopping Centre, is a major shopping centre located in Hillarys, east of St. Mark's Anglican Community School in Perth, Western Australia. Built in 1977 on the former Red Cattle Ridge site at Marmion Avenue approximately 18 kilometres north of the Perth central business district, the centre is owned by the Scentre Group.
Westfield Burwood is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Burwood in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Westfield Warringah Mall is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre in the suburb of Brookvale in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney.
Toombul Shopping Centre was an enclosed suburban shopping centre located in the locality of Toombul which is part of Nundah, a suburb of the City of Brisbane in the state of Queensland, Australia. The centre was anchored by Target and Kmart discount department stores, a Coles supermarket, an Aldi Food Store, an eight-screen Event Cinema, and more than 140 specialty stores, including Daiso.
Westfield Carindale, colloquially known as 'Carindale', is a large shopping centre in Queensland located in the suburb of Carindale, east of Brisbane. The centre is one of the largest shopping centres in Australia. The centre contains over 450 specialty stores and almost 6,000 car parking spaces. Other features include a food court, a Brisbane City Council Library, and a state of the art luxury Glasshouse Dining Precinct.
Cairns Central Shopping Centre is in Cairns City, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. It is Cairns' biggest shopping centre. The centre was opened in late 1997 and is the second multi-story shopping centre in northern Queensland. The shopping centre is built over the Cairns railway station, which is incorporated with the centre. Pedestrian access to the station is through the car park on the bottom floor, or a pedestrian walkway on the second floor. Construction of the shopping centre was delayed temporarily due to damage suffered from Tropical Cyclone Justin in early 1997.
Indooroopilly Shopping Centre is a major regional shopping centre in the western suburb of Indooroopilly in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It hosts over 300 specialty stores over 4 floors and is the largest shopping centre in the western suburbs of Brisbane, by gross lettable area, and contains the only Myer and David Jones store in that region.
Westfield Sydney is a large, upmarket shopping centre in the Sydney central business district. It is located underneath the Sydney Tower and is located on Pitt Street Mall, adjacent to the MidCity, Glasshouse and near The Strand Arcade.
Westfield Eastgardens is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Eastgardens in the South-Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
Westfield Mt Gravatt is one of Brisbane's major shopping centres, located in the suburb of Upper Mount Gravatt in Queensland, Australia. The centre carries the affectionate slang name of Garbo and is operated by Westfield. Previously the centre was operated by AMP Limited before the takeover in 2003. The shopping centre currently has 470 specialty stores, cafes, restaurants and other services and food vendors.
Westfield Plenty Valley is a shopping centre in the suburb of South Morang, Victoria, Australia. Until its expansion in 2008, it was known as Plenty Valley Town Centre and hosted one major store, and approximately 22 specialty stores.
↑ Message to suppliers of The Myer Emporium Ltd. after the takeover of Allan & Stark Ltd, 1/01/1959 - 31/12/1959, COMY10619. Myer Emporium Ltd. general company information and miscellaneous files; also, Myer Museum files, 1850-1998, MS13468/53, Australian Manuscripts Collection, State Library Victoria, ColesMyer Box 1361
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