Westfield Newmarket is a

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 collec ...

in Newmarket, a central suburb of

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. The centre initially opened in the 1980s; in early 2018, the centre closed for a major re-build and expansion; it re-opened in August 2019 after an 18 month closure. The centre is located at 277 Broadway and, since expansion, 309 Broadway; it was often referred to simply as ''277'' prior to refurbishment.

Overview

Before refurbishment in 2018 and 2019, the centre featured a

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

and about 60 specialty stores. In 2005, it had retail sales of NZ$120 million. It contained the New Zealand head offices of 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; ...

. In a 2008 rating of New Zealand shopping centres by a retail expert group, Westfield Newmarket received three out of four stars, based on the criteria of amount of shopping area, economic performance, amenity and appeal as well as future growth prospects. Praised were its positions as one of the best-performing centres in the country, though the reviewers noted that parking could be "a nightmare".

Refurbishment and Expansion

In 2009, it became public that Westfield intended to construct a $250 million new shopping centre on the southern side of Mortimer Pass. This centre would be linked to the existing 277 Broadway mall site by a two-level airbridge over Mortimer Pass. In February 2018, the centre closed for a major extension project. The re-opening of the centre commenced in August 2019, with a first stage of 40 stores, the rest opening by the end of 2019. An air bridge over Mortimer Pass between the 309 and 277 Broadway buildings was opened in October 2019. In November 2019, the centre was criticised for deceptive and misleading parking practices. The extension roughly double the size of the centre, and quadrupled the number of retailers. The 200 shop expansion at 309 Broadway had been planned for some time, and a general expansion of the 277 Broadway site had been prepared for even before Westfield acquired the centre from Auckland One, who demolished a 1980s office tower building to make way for the expansion. The work was however allegedly delayed because of reluctance by the Village SKYCITY Cinemas chain to move into the new centre from its existing location further north. The redeveloped and refurbished $790 million mall will eventually contain 230 shops and 2,800 car parks. It was scheduled to open in phases, with the first stage opening between July and September 2019.

References

External links

Westfield Newmarket homepage
{{Shopping centres in New Zealand Shopping centres in the Auckland Region Newmarket

Overview

Refurbishment and Expansion

See also

References

External links