Westfield Knox
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37°52′7.967″S 145°14′28.854″E / 37.86887972°S 145.24134833°E
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| Location | Total retail floor area 141,934 m2 (1,527,760 sq ft)[1] | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of floors | Four | |
| Parking | 6361[1] | |
| Website | westfield | |
Westfield Knox (formerly known as Knox City Shopping Centre) is a
There are over 350 stores and over 6300 free car parking spaces. The centre is the third-largest in
History
Planning for the development of the shopping centre commenced in 1972 when McIntyre, McIntyre and Partners Pty. Ltd. won a $30 million tender from the
Construction began in 1975. The shopping centre was originally going to be named "Studwood Shopping Centre", however this name was later abandoned. The shopping centre was officially opened on November 9th, 1977. The centre originally included a three-storey
Throughout 1989 and 1990, the centre was doubled in size and the original section completely refurbished. A fourth floor was added to the Myer store, the undercover car parks were expanded and new promenade, market and food court areas were added. The Target supermarket was removed and new Coles and Bi-Lo supermarkets opened. Target was also expanded in size. Venture also opened on level two where Toys "R" Us resided The twin cinemas were replaced with a 10-screen Village Cinemas complex, which opened in 1988 (replaced in 2002 and now unused above JB Hi-Fi). On the adjacent block an outdoor shopping centre was established, known as the Knox District Centre (later Knox Towerpoint and now Knox O-Zone).
During 1997, the centre saw a minor refurbishment. An updated logo was introduced, along with new signage. The food court was remodelled and introduced food decorations on the walls above the food outlets, palm trees, new tables and chairs as well as the opening of Hungry Jack's. Lincraft was also relocated when McEwans closed down. However, it itself has closed down to make way for a new Harris Scarfe in October 2009. Best & Less moved into Lincraft's old retail space. The Reject Shop also moved from opposite Coles to The Market area.
In 2002, the centre was extended further at a cost of $150 million. The Knox Towerpoint complex was renamed Knox O-Zone and joined to Knox City Shopping Centre through an expansion of the shopping centre eastwards and redevelopment of the O-Zone shops. The eastern section of the centre was completely redeveloped, which opened on 17 October 2002 with the new Knox O-Zone opening on 31 October. The exterior of the existing shopping centre was also painted. Currently there are over 350 retailers throughout the complex and 6,391 car parking spaces available.
In October 2012, Westfield Group purchased the centre, adding it to their franchise. As of July 2014, the Westfield Group became two companies Scentre Group and Westfield Corporation. The Westfield Group portion is now owned by Scentre Group.[2]
Planned expansion
In October 2014, an application to expand the centre was approved by the
However, as of September 2017, there had been no expansion of the shopping centre, with no word of when construction would begin.[6] The permit to expand Westfield Knox was set to expire in November 2017, unless an extension was granted. Many of the storefronts were in poor condition and were in need of repairs. In particular, the former Myer store was in a poor state, with carpet wearing out, floor tiles missing, paint peeling, and shelves damaged. The second Coles supermarket (formerly BI-LO) had suffered lighting issues on occasions in the last years; Coles and Myer were likely waiting for the redevelopment before improving the state of their stores to improve.[7]
In December 2019, new plans to refurbish Westfield Knox were released after their original building permit from Knox City Council expired. The updated plans showed a smaller Myer with two floors and a casual dining precinct with an outdoor children's play area. Stewart White of Scentre Group - who lodged plans on behalf of Westfield and is the group's development and strategic asset management director - said that the updated plans included a fresh food, fashion, and casual dining precinct. He also said that the library would be relocated into Knox Ozone while not revealing a specific location. Knox will introduce retail partners and dedicated office space in retail space that used to belong to Myer. [1] [dead link]
Myer revealed in March 2021 that they would close down their Knox store by the end of July that year, leading to speculation of what would take its place.[8] Days later, it was revealed that Woolworths would take over the ground floor of the former Myer space, with a new 2000sqm Knox Library taking up Levels 3 and 4.
In December 2022, Westfield officially opened level 1 of their new expansion area with Woolworths, Aldi, and the new Dining Hall. Westfield has stated that other parts of the upgrade will be released throughout 2023, including the new Library, Level 2 of the expansion area, the Basketball Court, the Swim School, and the new mini-major retailers in the old food court area. Westfield has also stated that they will be adding Macpac into the centre, as well as relocating JB Hi-Fi and Rebel Sport.[9]
Transport
Westfield Knox provides parking for around 6300 vehicles and is serviced by 11 bus routes and taxis.
Filming
The mall has been utilised as a filming location a number of times in recent years for the Australian television soap, Neighbours, particularly the Village Cinemas entrance. It was also used in the comedy series Full Frontal (Australian comedy series) in season 2 mainly using the entrance of Village Cinemas.
References
- ^ a b c "Westfield Knox". Scentre Group. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ Condon, Turi (20 June 2014). "Westfield restructure a success: Lowy". The Australian Business Review. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ "Westfield Knox Planning Application". Knox City Council. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Loussikian, Kylar; Wilmot, Ben (19 June 2014). "Westfield drives development pipeline as future of Scentre hangs in the balance". The Australian. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ a b Galloway, Anthony. "Westfield Knox $450m expansion will make it Australia's second biggest shopping centre". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ Seedy, Kimberley. "Questions over timeline for Westfield Knox's long-awaited upgrade". Herald Sun.
- ^ "Melbourne's shopping centres: The good, the bad and handy tips". Herald Sun.
- ^ "Myer to close down Melbourne store, impacting 100 jobs". 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Westfield Knox Shopping Centre".