Westfield Sydney is a large, upmarket
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 the
Sydney central business district. It is located underneath the
Sydney Tower
Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in Sydney, Australia, and the second-tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere. It has also been known as ''Centrepoint Tower'', ''AMP Tower'', and colloquially as'' Flower Tower'', ''Glower To ...
and is located on
Pitt Street Mall
Pitt Street Mall is the pedestrianised section of Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian state of New South Wales. Running for approximately 200 metres between Market Street and King Street, it is one block lon ...
, adjacent to the
MidCity
MidCity is a shopping centre in the Sydney central business district. It is located on Pitt Street Mall, adjacent to Westfield Sydney, The Strand Arcade and is diagonally opposite Glasshouse. MidCity has over 24 stores across Fashion, Beauty, F ...
,
Glasshouse and near
The Strand Arcade
The Strand Arcade is a heritage-listed Victorian architecture, Victorian-style retail Arcade (architecture), arcade located at 195-197 Pitt Street, Sydney, Pitt Street in the heart of the Sydney central business district, between Pitt Street Ma ...
.
History
Westfield Sydney is built on land that were originally occupied by
Imperial Arcade, Centrepoint Shopping Centre (later Westfield Centrepoint), Skygarden and Sydney Central Plaza.
The oldest of these was
Imperial Arcade originally opened in 1891 and was closed and demolished in 1961. It was designed by prominent Sydney architect
Thomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe (20 July 1829 – 14 January 1899) was a British-born architect, builder and goldminer who became one of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era. He was also a politician, who was the first Mayor of Manly.
Early life ...
. The new Imperial Arcade was developed on the site by property developers Stocks and Holdings Ltd (now
Stockland
Stockland Corporation Limited is a diversified Australian property development company. It has business in shopping centres, housing estates, industrial estates and retirement villages.
History
Stockland was founded in 1952 by Albert Scheinbe ...
), the company's first Sydney city centre redevelopment project. It was opened on 18 October 1965 by the
Premier of New South Wales,
Robert Askin
Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but ...
. It consisted of four shopping levels with office space above. Imperial Arcade featured the Sydney's flagship
Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...
bookstore. It was purchased by 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 2004 for $90 million.
Centrepoint Shopping Centre opened in 1972 with 52 stores. The centre was refurbished in 1984 and further upgraded in 1996 and 2000. Centrepoint was purchased by the Westfield Group in December 2001 and later renamed to Westfield Centrepoint and housed over 140 stores. Westfield Centrepoint provided skybridge connections to two of Australia's major department stores,
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 ...
and
David Jones. There was also a connection to Imperial Arcade.
Skygarden shopping centre, built behind two heritage listed buildings and located below the Skygarden Tower office building, opened in 1988. The centre featured seven levels of retail and restaurants as well as a food court known as the Skydining zone beneath a glazed roof. It was purchased by the Westfield Group in 2004.
Sydney Central Plaza opened in 1998 after a refurbishment of the flagship
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 ...
department store and features 87 stores on the two lower levels of the Myer store. It was later purchased by the Westfield Group in 2003. Sydney Central Plaza is located inside the old Farmer and Co department store building which was built in 1874. Farmer and Co was purchased by Myer in 1961 and the store was rebranded to Myer in 1976. In 1983 Grace Bros. purchased Myer and the store was rebranded to Grace Bros. before reverting to Myer in 2004. Sydney Central Plaza provided a skybridge connection to Westfield Centrepoint and also has connections to
MidCity
MidCity is a shopping centre in the Sydney central business district. It is located on Pitt Street Mall, adjacent to Westfield Sydney, The Strand Arcade and is diagonally opposite Glasshouse. MidCity has over 24 stores across Fashion, Beauty, F ...
and
Queen Victoria Building.
On 4 July 2009, Westfield Group commenced construction on the redevelopment. Approximately $930 million was invested in redeveloping Westfield Centrepoint, Skygarden, Imperial Arcade and Sydney Central Plaza.
Westfield Centrepoint, Skygarden and Imperial Arcade were merged and redeveloped to become Westfield Sydney. Imperial Arcade was demolished and Skygarden and Westfield Centrepoint were refurbished. Across Pitt Street Mall, Sydney Central Plaza was rebranded as an extension of Westfield Sydney.
Stage 1 of the development opened in October 2010 with approximately 130 specialty stores. The centre fronts
Pitt Street Mall
Pitt Street Mall is the pedestrianised section of Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian state of New South Wales. Running for approximately 200 metres between Market Street and King Street, it is one block lon ...
, one of the world's most expensive shopping streets by rent;
Castlereagh Street
Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only.
Description
Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...
, arguably Australia's most exclusive luxury shopping street; and
Market Street.
Stage 2 opened a further 120 stores between November 2010 and late-2011. The opening of a 25-storey commercial tower at 85 Castlereagh Street marked the completion of the total project in early 2012.
Future
On 8 August 2016 South African Woolworths sold the
David Jones menswear and food store building in Market Street to
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 ...
and
Cbus Property for $360 million. The David Jones building is connected to Westfield Sydney through a skybridge. Plans for the two buyers were that Scentre Group will redevelop the retail floors to adjoin its Westfield Sydney, while Cbus will develop the air rights into apartments. David Jones was to occupy the building until late 2019 under a lease agreement which provided a 4.5 per cent per annum rental return on the acquisition price.
On 12 February 2020 David Jones closed its store on Market Street and plans for the building includes a curved 22-storey residential tower featuring 101 apartments and six levels of serviced office space around 11,500m². The retail development managed by Scentre Group will include five levels of retail space focusing on luxury and food. The office space will have its own entrance but be connected to the shopping centre with a central atrium to create a vertical flow of light.
Construction on both the retail, office and apartments commenced in December 2020. Completion of the retail and commercial components is expected to occur in late 2022, while the residential tower is expected to be complete in the second half of 2023.
Tenants
Westfield Sydney has 91,699m² of floor space. The major attraction of Westfield Sydney is
Sydney Tower
Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in Sydney, Australia, and the second-tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere. It has also been known as ''Centrepoint Tower'', ''AMP Tower'', and colloquially as'' Flower Tower'', ''Glower To ...
which includes the Sydney Tower Eye observation deck, SKYWALK, Infinity at Sydney Tower, Bar 83 at Sydney Tower, SkyFeast at Sydney Tower.
Major retailers include
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 ...
,
Zara,
JB Hi-Fi and
Microsoft Store.
Gallery
Westfield Sydney L1 2017.jpg, Level 1 Shops
Westfield Sydney Level 2 2017.jpg, Level 2 Shops
Westfield Sydney Level 3 2017.jpg, Level 3 Restaurants and shops
Westfield Sydney Level 4 Seats area 2017.jpg, Level 4 Seats Area
Westfield Sydney2.jpg, Pitt Street Mall frontage
Westfield Sydney Entrance from QVB 201708.jpg, Basement Entrance from QVB
References
External links
Westfield Sydney Official Website
{{Shopping centres in New South Wales
Pitt Street, Sydney
Westfield Group
Shopping centres in Sydney
Shopping malls established in 2010
2010 establishments in Australia