Westfield Woden Plaza (also known as Westfield Woden) is a large
shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known colle ...
located in the
Woden Town Centre
Woden Town Centre is the main commercial centre of the district of Woden Valley in Canberra, Australia. It is located in the Canberra suburb of Phillip, Australian Capital Territory, Phillip. The town centre has a variety of shops and amenities, ...
of
Phillip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
of
Canberra,
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...
. The centre comprises four anchor tenants -
David Jones,
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 ...
,
Coles and
Woolworths - and more than 250 other retail, leisure, and dining outlets.
History
Woden Plaza was initially constructed in stages during the late 1960s and early 1970s, opening as a direct competitor to the
Canberra Centre
Canberra Centre is a large shopping centre located in the northern section of the Canberra City Centre, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, being the second largest centre in the Australian Capital Territory, behind Westfield Belconn ...
, situated in the City Centre less than 15 minutes away. To begin with, the centre's only components were what now houses the Big W and David Jones areas, but, during the 1980s, expanded to include a medium-sized food court.
In 1996, the Centre underwent a major redevelopment, adding on a new wing to the building called "The Fresh Food Market" (currently housing Coles and Woolworths) as well as a new
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas and Val Morgan. Hoyts operates more than 450 cinema screens and 55,000 seats, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Hospita ...
8-screen cinema complex. It would also see
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 ...
purchase the first, second, and third storeys of the
Bonner House building, situated across from the back of the centre, and connect the areas together with a pedestrian bridge.
The centre was once again revitalised during 2018, where a further expansion opened a new dining district on Bradley Street. This project, created as a joint venture with
Perron Group, introduced six new eateries in an indoor-outdoor setting, also modernising the facades of Bonner House.
Ownership under The Westfield Group
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; ...
purchased a 50% stake in the complex during 2005, with the remaining 50% still belonging to
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 ...
.
As of July 2014, this shopping centre is now under
Scentre Group
Scentre Group Limited is a shopping centre company with retail destinations operating under the Westfield brand in Australia and New Zealand. The corporation undertakes ownership, development, design, construction, funds/asset management, proper ...
management.
References
External links
Westfield Woden
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Westfield Group
Shopping centres in the Australian Capital Territory
Shopping malls established in 1972
1972 establishments in Australia