Sunshine Plaza is a large regional shopping centre located in

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, and is the largest shopping centre on the Sunshine Coast. Anchor tenants included in the centre are Coles, Woolworths,

Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products ...

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

Big W Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employee ...

, H&M, David Jones, and a 12-screen Birch Carroll & Coyle

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

. The centre is currently managed by

Lendlease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was estab ...

History

Previously operating under a different structure, the centre began trading in 1980 as ''The Sands Shopping Centre''. The

Lend Lease Corporation Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was estab ...

purchased the centre in 1990 and began redevelopment of the site. The new centre began trading in 1994 under the new name ''Sunshine Plaza''. It contains approximately 62,000 square metres of floor space; increased by recent expansions in the early 2000s. The latest expansion (completed in 2002) included the addition of a Woolworths supermarket, a new leisure and restaurant precinct, and the expansion of the Birch Carroll & Coyle cinema complex. In early 1999 it was announced that the

Westfield Group 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 ...

would take a 25 percent stake in Sunshine plaza feet with clearance from the

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trad ...

. The

General Property Trust The GPT Group is a Real Estate Investment Trust (also known as an Australian Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Sec ...

wanted to sell its stake, but joint owners

(through APPF Retail) had argued that they had exercised their pre-emptive rights over the centre, which gave them the rights to buy any part that GPT wants to sell before anyone else could buy it. In mid-2010, it was announced that David Jones was planning to open a two level store, after a development application was submitted to the Sunshine Coast Council in August.

Redevelopment

In September 2016, the $400 million makeover commenced. The proposed plan continued west along Cornmeal Creek and included introducing retailing giant, David Jones into a two-storey site. On top of this there would be a further 1,400 car spaces, 100 more speciality retail and restaurant spaces and an expansion of the Myer department store. It was scheduled for completion by the end of 2018.

Grand Opening of Redevelopment

In March 2019, the $440 million redevelopment opened to the public, including a one-level David Jones store, a two-level H&M, and a new concept

store. The redevelopment increased the total number of stores from 276 to 345, and increased the total number of parking spaces to nearly 5,000.

High Ropes course

A High Ropes attraction was expected to be built by mid 2019, and be possibly the world's largest ropes course on poles. It opened in November 2020.

Tenants

Sunshine Plaza contains 107,000 sqm of total floor space, and has 345 stores post redevelopment. Major retailers are Coles, Woolworths,

, David Jones, H&M,

JB Hi-Fi JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics and home appliances retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria. The company has 316 store ...

, MECCA, Sephora, and

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

. The plaza also has a 12-screen Birch Carroll & Coyle cinema.

References

External links

Sunshine Coast Expansion Plans
{{Shopping centres in Queensland Maroochydore Shopping centres on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Shopping malls established in 1994 1994 establishments in Australia