Harbourside was a shopping centre in

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. Origin ...

, Sydney. Built in 1988 as part of a larger urban redevelopment of the Darling Harbour area during the 1980s, it was located in close proximity to other notable buildings such as the

Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre was a convention, exhibition and entertainment complex in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Designed by Philip Cox, the complex opened in 1988 as part of an urban renewal and redevelopment of the Darling Harb ...

and the

Australian National Maritime Museum The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a Australian government, federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a nation ...

. In December 2022, the centre closed permanently preceding its demolition. The site will be redeveloped for a mixed-use tower and retail complex.

History

Harbourside opened on 4 May 1988 by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in which she formally opened the

redevelopment as part of the Australian Bicentennial celebrations.

Sydney Aquarium SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium (formerly Sydney Aquarium) is a public aquarium A public aquarium (plural: ''public aquaria'' or ''public Water Zoo'') is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens fo ...

was the first attraction to open and was soon followed by a host of museums, shops, restaurants, hotels and bars. Beville Group acquired the centre for $127 million in 2004. In 2005, Harbourside underwent a full refurbishment which unveiled a new and expanded food court, an entertainment level which is home to a 20-lane Kingpin Bowling Centre, M9 Laser Skirmish and Australia's first

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

flight simulator, Flight Experience. On 7 November 2013, Harbourside Shopping Centre was acquired by

Mirvac Mirvac is an Australian property group with operations across property investment, development, and retail services. This entity now broadens their clientele and shareholder return on investment by venturing across multiple development sectors, ...

for $522 million. As part of the $3 billion project underway Mirvac planned for a significant new retail shopping centre and commercial office tower," documents, lodged with the

Department of Planning & Environment The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) is a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It makes pl ...

as part of the Harbourside Shopping Centre development in 2015. In August 2016 Mirvac dropped plans for an office complex at Darling Harbour and instead looked to build a taller, skinnier apartment tower as part of its proposed $400 million redevelopment of the Harbourside Shopping Centre. In October 2020, Mirvac updated its plans for the new retail centre and apartments which will include a new public domain of over 8,200m². This redevelopment will include the demolition of the existing shopping centre and removal of existing pedestrian bridge over Darling Drive and old monorail station. The development will include a mixture of non-residential and residential uses, including a new shopping centre containing retail and restaurants, residential apartments and public open space. The centre closed on 9 December 2022 with demolition to follow in 2023.Iconic Harbourside shopping centre shuts for demolition after three decades
''Sydney Morning Herald'' 9 December 2022

Tenants

Harbourside had 20,566m² of floor space. The major attractions included Kingpin bowling alley (includes M9 Laser Skirmish), Australia's first retail Jet flight simulator, RaceCentre, 9D motion moving cinema and

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...

(Sydney's only store).

References

External links

* {{Shopping centres in New South Wales, state=collapsed Darling Harbour Defunct shopping malls Shopping centres in Sydney Shopping malls established in 1988 Shopping malls disestablished in 2022 1988 establishments in Australia 2022 disestablishments in Australia