Westfield Miranda has multi-level car parks with 4,891 spaces.
History
Former office tower, 25 July 2010 (demolished mid-2013)
Miranda Fair was officially opened on 16 March 1964 by then Premier of New South Wales Bob Heffron in front of 1600 guests. A highlight of the opening ceremony was the arrival of a helicopter to deliver newspapers. A special fireworks display was put on for the locals on that evening.[2]
The 3.25 million pound ($93.5 million in today's dollars) centre was designed by Tomkins, Shaw & Evans Architects and was built on the former site of Fowler's brick pit.[3][4][5] Miranda Fair was developed by Myer and Farmers and was the largest fully enclosed shopping centre in NSW. The centre held that title until Roselands opened a year later.[6]
Miranda Fair featured a Farmer & Co department store on three levels, Woolworths supermarket and 18 speciality stores. It also had a child minding centre, playground and parking for 1100 cars. Miranda Library moved into the shopping centre in that year.[7]
In 1969 Westfield Corporation purchased Miranda Fair from Myer for $10 million. Following this purchase Westfield lodged plans with Sutherland Council to expand the centre. The expanded centre was proposed to double the centre in size and would extend to Kingsway. Farmers would expand their existing store, a new supermarket, hardware store and discount department store were also part of the proposal.[8]
The expansion plans were approved in November 1969 by the council. As part of this approval, Wandella Road would be upgraded from the Kingsway to President Avenue. This also included the construction of a road bridge over the Cronulla railway line. The final approval was given in early 1970.[9]
In September 1971, the expansion was completed and Miranda Fair was renamed to Westfield Shoppingtown Miranda. This expansion made Westfield Miranda the first regional shopping centre in Sydney to have two department stores – Farmers and Grace Bros. Grace Bros traded on four levels.[10] Woolworths expanded to become a Woolworths Family Centre which was a hypermarket consisting of Big W and Woolworths in the one store. Nock & Kirby was also added to the centre.[11] At this time, a Hill's Weeping Fig was planted.[12]
Westfield Miranda opened a new office tower in March 1972 as part of the expansion. The five storey office tower was facing the Kingsway and featured a large eight-pointed, slowly revolving star on its rooftop. Part of the heritage of the centre, and somewhat of a local landmark, the star was lit at night and unique to any Westfield shopping centre.[13]
The success of Westfield Miranda and the increasing population of the Sutherland Shire in the 1970s led to Westfield to begin planning another expansion for the centre. In 1976 Farmers was rebranded as Myer. The expansion plans were lodged to the council however it was rejected. The plans were to extend the centre over the railway line and into Karimbla Road. In 1983 Myer purchased Grace Bros and made the decision to withdraw from New South Wales due to poor sales and the focus on growing the Grace Bros brand across the state. As Grace Bros was already a tenant in the centre, Myer decided to vacate its space. This allowed Westfield to subdivide the space and expand the centre. In mid 1983 Harvey Norman opened its store in the top floor of the Myer space which operated until 1995 when it relocated to the newly built Caringbah Super Centre.
This redevelopment caused controversy as Westfield gained approval to build the three-level car park next to Miranda Public School, with a road bridge over Wandella Road. This led to protests by parents and teachers of Miranda Public School to stop the car park extension, however it was unsuccessful. This expansion also created a land swap which resulted in the construction of a new council library and other community facilities on Wandella Road.[14]
The first stage of expansion was completed on 17 April 1984 and included the relocation of Woolworths from level 2 into level 3 in the old Myer space. Stage 2 opened on 28 August 1984 and included BBC Hardware, Best & Less and Franklins and an international food court. Stage 3 opened on 25 March 1985 and featured a new Big W store on the old space of Woolworths space on level 2. The total number of shops in the centre had doubled to 160.[15]
Miranda Library moved to its new premises on Wandella Road outside Westfield Miranda in 1985.[7]
In 1990 Westfield planned another expansion of the centre after two decades purchasing sites in the block bounded by the Kingsway, Kiora Road, Urunga Parade and Jackson Avenue. On that site shops, offices, Miranda Police Station and the Miranda Congregational Church. For this expansion to proceed, Westfield purchased sites within Miranda to relocate the police station and Miranda Congregational Church. In 1991 Westfield commenced construction of the expansion. This was completed in stages with the full opening on 1 October 1992 and gave the centre 108,316 square metres (1,165,900 square feet) of retail space. The new stores that opened in the expansion included David Jones and Target. A new food court, restaurants and entertainment precinct opened. The food court featured 20 outlets including fast food restaurants such as McDonald's, Hungry Jack's, Subway and KFC. The entertainment precinct featured an eight screen Greater Union cinema complex on the basement level and a Tilt amusement arcade centre on level one next to the food court. The restaurant precinct was located on the ground level with an entrance to the cinema. By the late 1990s Tilt closed down and was replaced by Aldi and The Reject Shop.[16]
Outside of former main entrance area, looking east. December 2006 (demolished mid-2013)
Since these expansions, other shopping centres have been built and expanded, including Westfield Parramatta and Westfield Bondi Junction which then made Westfield Miranda the fourth largest Westfield shopping centre in Sydney. In December 2005 Westfield Miranda was valued at $481.6 million, up from $444.7 million in December 2004.[17]
Redevelopment of former main entrance, looking west. December 2013. Tree on right is same tree in photo of entrance pre-demolitionWestern end replacing office tower and surrounds, as of 30 September 2014
In early 2009, Sutherland Council approved plans to further upgrade the complex, which included demolition of the office tower and adding 100 additional speciality shops at a cost of $435 million. Myer lost its ground floor for a larger 'full-line' Woolworths supermarket.[18] The entrance has moved closer to the Kingsway and the centre expanded by approximately 19,000 square metres to 127,000 square metres of gross lettable area. Demolition of the areas around the office tower began in July 2013.[19] The star which sat on top of the tower was knocked off in late July 2013 as the office tower it sat upon was demolished. This caused anger amongst locals who wanted the star saved and incorporated into the new development.[20][21][18] However the fig tree located outside the centre on Kingsway was saved and incorporated into the development, with a team of landscape architects and arborists managing the health and habit of the tree.[12] This development did feature a new facade above the centre which is made up of grey wall which is designed to resemble fish scales in homage to "the Sutherland Shire's beach culture".[22]
The first stage of the redevelopment consisting of the first floor opened on Thursday 16 October 2014.[23] About 80 more shops and restaurants opened on Thursday 20 November 2014 while the official opening took place on Thursday, 27 November, with four days of celebrations.[24][25][26][27] A new multi-screen Event Cinemas complex on level 4 opened on 2 April 2015.[28]
On 28 May 2015 Zara opened its fifth Sydney store in the centre outside Myer on level 3.[29] Uniqlo opened on 6 June 2015 next to Zara.[30]Apple opened its 22nd Australian store in the centre on 27 July 2015.[31]
During the renovations when the new parking system came in, people who lived near Miranda Fair noted that shoppers and employees of Miranda Fair were increasingly parking in the streets to avoid paying the fees for parking in Miranda Fair.[32] In February 2015, Westfield Miranda planned to reintroduce free parking for people with disability stickers in response to feedback that parking was difficult to find.[33] In December 2015, Westfield Miranda extended its opening hours until midnight.[34] In December 2016, to cope with Christmas demand, parking at Port Hacking High School was arranged for shoppers at Westfield Miranda.[35]
On 8 April 2016 Sky Zone opened its second Sydney location on the former cinema space.[36] The PLAYTIME arcade opened around that time on the former restaurant space which was rebranded to Timezone in November 2018.[37] On 10 November 2019 Sky Zone closed its doors. It did not give a reason. In a statement released the decision was "due to external circumstances out of our team's control".
Since the closure of Sky Zone, Scentre Group is currently working together with Funlab to explore options for a new entertainment concept in Westfield Miranda.[38]
On 23 March 2017, a woman fell from the roof of the centre and died around 8:20am. Police were investigating the causes behind the fall as there were no suspicious circumstances and a report was prepared for the Coroner. Part of the centre was closed while roadblocks were set up causing major delays in both directions as emergency services responded.[41]
On 9 April 2020, a woman went on a racial tirade yelling out abuse to Telstra workers. This incident occurred around 11am and the woman has since been charged.[42]
Related Research Articles
Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; and Westfield Corporation, which continued to own and operate the American and European centre portfolio.
Miranda is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is known as a commercial centre for the southern suburbs. Miranda is 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the Sutherland Shire.
David Jones Pty Ltd, trading as David Jones, is an Australian luxury department store, the store was owned from 2014 to 2023 by the South African retail group Woolworths South Africa. In December 2022, David Jones was sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners for around $100m.
Macquarie Centre is a shopping centre in the suburb of Macquarie Park in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney and is located opposite the main campus of Macquarie University.
Grace Bros was an Australian department store chain, founded in 1885. It was bought by Myer in 1983. There were 25 stores across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory plus a few in Victoria, until they were re-branded under the Myer name in 2004. Well known media personality Deborah Hutton was the face of Grace Bros for 10 years between 1984 and 1994 and employed slogans such as "Sure to get it at Grace Bros", "We are all the things you are", "We care about you" and "imagine more" to the tune of American singer Ultra Nate's "Free". Other slogans during Coles Myer ownership include "That's Grace Bros for you" (1991-1994), "Great prices and more at your Grace Bros store", "where else" (1999-2002), "Grace Bros is..." (2002) and the long-running Myer slogan still in use to this day, "My Store Grace Bros".
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 floor area. However, it is the largest shopping centre in Australia with all 3 discount department stores, Big W, Target and Kmart.
Kirrawee is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kirrawee is located 25 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. Kirrawee lies between Sutherland, to the west, and Gymea and Grays Point, to the east. Kirrawee's southern border is formed by The Royal National Park, while Kareela and Jannali form the northern border.
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.
Westfield Doncaster is a shopping centre 50% owned by Scentre Group and 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.
Bankstown Central is a shopping centre in the suburb of Bankstown in South Western Sydney.
Westfield Tuggerah is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Tuggerah on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is the second largest shopping centre on the Central Coast after Erina Fair.
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.
Westfield Chermside, colloquially known as 'Chermside' or 'Chermy', is a regional shopping centre located in the Brisbane northern suburb of Chermside. It is the second largest regional shopping centre in Australia by number of stores, behind Chadstone Shopping Centre, and is operated by Scentre Group. The centre contains the Chermside bus station, a major hub for buses north of Brisbane.
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.
Roselands Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in the suburb of Roselands in South Western Sydney.
Top Ryde City is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre owned by The Blackstone Group. It is located in the suburb of Ryde in Northern Sydney.
Hurstville Central is a shopping centre in the suburb of Hurstville in the St George area of Sydney and is located above Hurstville railway station and features a Coles supermarket and around 39 speciality stores.
Rockdale Plaza is a shopping centre located in the suburb of Rockdale in the St George area of Sydney.
Westfield Hurstville is a shopping centre in the suburb of Hurstville in the St George area of Sydney, Australia.
↑ "Big stores for 'Fair'". The Canberra Times. Vol.45, no.12, 721. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 October 1970. p.15. Retrieved 29 March 2017– via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Westfield star to go in redevelopment". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Fairfax Regional Media. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013. 'Westfield knows it has been popular with the local community and is working on opportunities to incorporate its symbolism into the new centre.'
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
