20th Century
1960s: opening
Warringah Mall opened on 4 April 1963 and was developed by Hammerson Group and was the second largest Australian shopping centre at the time with Chadstone Shopping Centre being the largest. [2] The centre was partially built on the site of 'Brookvale House', which was built by Sydney Alexander Malcolm in 1883 and was sold in 1961 to the Hooker Investment Corporation. Warringah Mall contained around 50 stores, including David Jones, Nock & Kirby, Franklins and Woolworths. [3] [4] Ten years later, the centre saw the opening of a new Grace Bros store which was upgraded from a homemakers store and 50 more speciality stores in 1973. The same year, a fire broke out in the original Woolworths store, killing two female workers.
On 13 December 1979 the Hoyts Twin Cinema complex opened with the screening of The Muppet Movie and Alien. [5] [6] [7]
1980s
Warringah Mall was featured in the movie BMX Bandits with two young BMX experts, P.J. (Angelo D'Angelo) and Goose (James Lugton), who meet Judy (Nicole Kidman), who was working as a trolley collector. In the mid-1980s, a Target store was opened along with 20 specialty stores. To commemorate the Australian Bicentenary, Warringah Shire Council commissioned local sculptor Victor Cusack [8] to create a central fountain for the mall. Entitled "Pacific Family", it was unveiled by Deputy Shire President Julie Sutton on 23 November 1988. [9]
The Hoyts Twin Cinemas closed on 10 July 1989 for refurbishment which included the addition of five new screens and was scheduled to reopen by Christmas 1989. However, due to delays in construction the new Hoyts seven-screen multiplex opened on the 13 January 1990 with the premiere attraction Postcards from the Edge. [10] [7]
1990s: redevelopment
Warringah Mall was included in the sale of Hammerson's Australian property portfolio to AMP Capital in 1994. [11] [12]
On 29 May 1996 it was revealed that AMP Society has proposed $139 million three stage redevelopments of Warringah Mall. It was designed by prominent US-based architects Altoon & Porter alongside local architects Roger J. Thrum & Associates. The redevelopment proposal was to be developed around the large centre court with the open layout retained. A new air-conditioned two-level mall anchored by a newly relocated Woolworths supermarket built on the existing mall to connect to the centre court was proposed. The redevelopment also included a discount department store, a second full-line supermarket and six mini-majors and a further 133 speciality stores would be added which would boost the total number of stores to 273. The redevelopment planned to bring the total floor area from 97,300m² to 125,800m². Work on the redevelopment was expected to begin in late 1996 with completion by the first half of 1999. [13]
In August 1996 Harvey Norman closed its store and relocated to its newly built 12,000m² superstore in Balgowlah. This is the same move that happened months earlier with the store at Westfield Miranda closed and relocated to the newly built Caringbah Super Centre in Taren Point. [14]
In November 1996 the $139 million three stage redevelopment was approved by Warringah Shire Council and the works began in early 1997.
The first stage of the redevelopment was completed in March 1998 and included the opening of a new air-conditioned two-level mall anchored by a Big W discount department store on level one, a new Woolworths supermarket and liquor store on the ground level and the total number of stores to 230. [15] [16]
Stage two of the redevelopment was officially opened in December 1999 and included 60 new speciality stores, a new Coles supermarket on the ground level, a 700-seat Arena Cove food court alongside McDonald's, Rebel Sport and Surf Dive ‘n' Ski on level one, a new entertainment precinct on level two which included expanded Hoyts cinema complex, Galaxy World arcade, Warringah Mall Library, a community centre, Arena Terrace and Peninsula Room and as well as a new multi-storey carpark on Old Pittwater Road. This redevelopment brought the total floor area from 97,300m² to 125,800m². [17]
21st Century
2000s
The final works of the $139 million redevelopment were completed in 2000. The old areas had a makeover which was to introduce a quality homewares precinct with the opening of Wheel & Barrow and Dick Smith Powerhouse. [18]
In June 2001 the Franklins supermarket was offered for sale and closed down before the end of that year. [19] In that same year German global discount supermarket Aldi launched in Australia and was planning to open in the space vacated by Franklins. However, due to disputes between rival supermarkets Coles and Woolworths it was rejected by AMP Capital. In 2003 Aldi opened its store outside the centre on the corner of Cross and Green Streets. [20]
In March 2003 Westfield Group purchased a 25 per cent shareholding, this was increased to 50 per cent in October 2012.
In early 2006 JB Hi-Fi opened its store on level one. [21] [22] [23]
2010s
AMP Capital and the Westfield Group swapped interests in seven centres, including Warringah Mall which became a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies. As part of the deal, centre management transferred from AMP to Westfield with the centre rebranded Westfield Warringah Mall. [24] In July 2014, as part of a restructure of the Westfield Group, it came under the control of the Scentre Group. [25]
2015–2016 Redevelopment
In January 2015, in preparation for the $310 million redevelopment up to ten stores were closed and relocated. [26] [27] Around that time Myer began its refurbishment, shrinking from three levels to two. [28] The store continued to trade during the refurbishment until February 2016 when it temporarily closed to allow for works to continue. [29]
Stage one of the $310 million redevelopment began in August 2015 with the closure and relocation of stores and hoardings were erected around the centre court area. During the redevelopment the outdoor carpark known as the Palm Tree carpark, which was closest to Woolworths and Big W alongside Cross Street has closed. The multi-level carpark known as the Starfish Carpark between Myer and Woolworths and Big W had partially closed with demolition works taking place. [30] [31] [32]
As part of the $310 million redevelopment, the stormwater drainage was upgraded to prevent flooding in preparation for the next one-in-100-year rain event. Since Warringah Mall was built over Brookvale Creek in 1963, the risk of flooding was high and that Brookvale Creek would overflow where it enters the drainage system and inundate the centre and nearby properties in Green and Cross streets. The stormwater upgrade includes the installation of twin box culverts under a number of the carparks from the multi-level carpark under construction on Cross Street to the outdoor carpark known as Crab Carpark on Condamine Street. The works also included the demolition of the former Sizzler restaurant building which previously housed a HCF and the former Pizza Hut restaurant building which housed an abandoned Godfather's Pizza restaurant and the outdoor carpark was expanded. [33]
Stage one of the $310 million redevelopment was completed in June 2016. Westfield Warringah Mall unveiled its 1200 spaces five-level car park and a new fresh food court which was opened by My Kitchen Rules 2015 winners Will and Steve on 30 June 2016. [34] [35]
Stage two of the redevelopment was completed by November 2016 with the grand opening on 17 November 2016. [36] The two-level Myer was officially opened by Australian model Jennifer Hawkins. [37]
This stage two development features two new mini majors a two-level H&M, Cotton On Mega and an Anaconda store, a new two-level parallel mall linking Myer and the existing centre (built over an existing carpark) and a new refurbished centre court with a new look "Pacific Family" fountain and a water feature and a surfboard-inspired sculpture known as "Whitewash" (made from 43 chrome surfboards) by Laura Enever outside Myer. [38] 70 new stores (including 50 fashion stores including H&M and Sephora) were added to the centre. [39] [40]
2019 redevelopment proposal
On 5 October 2018, plans for the $226 million redevelopment to add a new cinema, restaurants and parking were revealed. This proposal labelled as stage two of an upgrade to the centre will include a new relocated Hoyts Cinema on level 3 above the northwest restaurant precinct as part of a new dining and entertainment hub. An additional 35 food outlets including licensed premises, 15 specialty retailers, 10 small outlets and one major store will be part of the three-level centre. The existing food court on level 1 will be expanded to the south with addition of six food court outlets and the restaurant precinct on level two will feature views overlooking Brookvale Creek and the Warringah golf course. This development would add an additional 10,000sqm of extra retail space.
The redevelopment will add modifications to the existing Target store and a row of speciality stores from Green Street entrance to the Coles supermarket end on the ground level are also planned. The number of parking spaces will increase to a total of 5,093. [41] [42] This development follows the 2008 master plan of the centre. A 14-month timeline has been estimated for completion of the project. The plans for the centre had been decided in May and on 21 November 2019 it was revealed that there had been changes in the building heights. [43] The proposed building heights have been dropped by 4.8 metres and step the design away from its southern edge with Old Pittwater Road. [44]
On 3 May 2019, IKEA opened its first ever small format Planning Studio store on level one near JB Hi-Fi. The store is different to the company’s traditional large warehouse-style stores and instead offer a digital home planning studio which staff guiding you to plan your dream home. [45] [46]
2020s
In March 2021, work began on modifications to the existing Target store and a row of speciality stores from Green Street entrance to the Coles supermarket end on the ground level. On 15 May 2021 Target closed its store and was replaced by Kmart discount department store which opened on 3 June 2021. [47] On 30 June 2021, Country Growers fruit shop and the adjoining Red Lea Chickens outlet closed and work begun on the addition of travelators which will provide a new entrance to the Orange carpark, Hoyts, food court and the ground level between Coles and Kmart. The old Country Growers space was to be taken over by Harris Farm Markets, however it did not eventuate and the space remained vacant until 2024. [48]
In November 2022, David Jones reduced its floor space from three levels to two and the store was refurbished. The top floor of the store closed and a $20 million redevelopment was proposed. The proposal included one new tenancy on ground floor and two new tenancies above on level two including a co-working space and a gym. A new pedestrian bridge to the level two carpark was to be built and a new roof with skylights to be built over the row of shops between David Jones and Kmart. [49]
On 20 March 2024, TK Maxx opened its store on the ground level next to Kmart. [50] Four months later Farmers Fresh opened on the old space of Country Growers on 20 July 2024. [51]
Warringah Mall 
