Westfield Belconnen
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viewed from Benjamin Way
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| Location | Benjamin Way, Belconnen |
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| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Owner | Scentre Group |
| No. of stores and services | 287 |
| Total retail floor area | 94,718 m²[1] |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Website | westfield.com.au/belconnen |
Westfield Belconnen, also known colloquially as "Belconnen Mall", is managed by Scentre Group and located in the Canberra suburb of Belconnen, Australia. The shopping centre is one of the largest in Canberra, featuring around 270 specialty stores. [2]
Westfield Belconnen is serviced by ACTION buses. The Westfield bus station is on the corner of Lathlain Street and Cohen Street with direct access into the centre. Westfield Belconnen provides commuters with an indoor bus lounge with free WiFi provided by Westfield. 4 large carparks (Red, Blue, Yellow and Green) are accessible via Benjamin Way, Emu Bank, Lathlain Street, Joynton Smith Drive and Cohen Street.
Major Stores
- Target
- Myer
- Kmart
- Woolworths
- Coles
- Aldi
- Toys "R" Us
- Dick Smith Electronics
- JB Hi-Fi
- Dan Murphy's
- Dymocks
- Hot Dollar
- Best & Less
- The Reject Shop
- Priceline
- Rebel Sport
- Bupa
- Hoyts
- iPlay
- EB Games
- Skyzone
- Lincraft
- 200+ speciality stores
History
December 1975 - The bulk earthworks on the site for the Belconnen Mall were commenced.
September 1976 - Construction of the $24 million Belconnen Mall commenced for the Canberra Commercial Development Authority.
August 1977 - The final concrete was poured in stage-1 of the Belconnen Mall construction.
February 1978 - First day of trading following the completion of stage-1 construction and the initial fit out of the Belconnen Mall. The Mall was designed by Cameron, Chisholm & Nicol and built by the joint venture partnership of T. H. O’Connor Pty. Ltd. and Costain Australia Limited for the Canberra Commercial Development Authority and was irreverently referred to as “Pead’s Palace”.
July 1978 - Stage-2 of the Belconnen Mall; featuring the “Centre Stage area”, a spiral staircase, a 23-person glass lift and an additional 60 traders was opened.
October 1978 - With the final stage of the initial Belconnen Mall construction completed, the centre was officially opened by the Minister for the Capital Territory, Robert Paul (Bob) Ellicott. The Belconnen Mall was branded as "The Big One" as at the time it was the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere, complete with the second largest Myer Department Store in the world. Belconnen Mall boasts Canberra's first Travelators (in lieu of escalators), Canberra's first multi-storey car parks and is a favourable design of the decade.
1980 - An integral link in the elevated pedestrian network between the bus interchange and Belconnen Mall, the Belconnen Churches Centre on the corner of Benjamin Way and Joynton Smith Drive was completed.
August 1981 - Athol Williams of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association met, in the original Belconnen Mall Childcare Centre, with employees of the retail establishments in the Mall to discuss the divisive issue of retail trading hours.
December 1985 - An agreement was reached between the Commonwealth Government, the Canberra Commercial Development Authority and a prospective purchaser for the sale of the Belconnen Mall.
February - March 1986 - The Minister for Territories, Gordon Glen Denton Scholes, by notice in the Commonwealth gazette of this date, abolished the Canberra Commercial Development Authority (operators of the Belconnen Mall).
The Commonwealth Government completed the 87 million dollar sale, agreered to in December 1985, of the Belconnen Mall to the joint venture partnership of the Commonwealth Superannuation Fund Investment Trust and the Westfield Trust (Westfield Property Group).
1989 - Refurbishment of Westfield Shoppingtown (the former Belconnen Mall) commenced.
May 1995 - The Westfield Shoppingtown (formerly the Belconnen Mall) commenced construction of a $14 million entertainment complex including a ten-screen cinema complex, interactive indoor games site (Intencity), variety stores and restaurants.
2009 - Construction begins on the replacement of the mall's original Travelators.
2009 - Expansion of the mall has begun.
2010 - Westfield expansion of Fresh Food opens along with the Yellow car park
31 March 2011 - Unveiling of the "Beautiful new Belconnen" - major refurbishments in the existing centre and opening of new stores including a Target.
References
Further reading and references
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