Westfield Woden

Westfield Woden, formerly Woden Plaza, is a large shopping centre in the Woden Town Centre of Phillip of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The centre comprises four anchor tenants - David Jones, Big W, Coles and Woolworths - and more than 250 other retail, leisure, and dining outlets.

Westfield Woden

Viewed from Callam Street multi-storey carpark opposite cinema. In 2009
Opening date	18 September 1972 (1972-09-18)
Developer	Lendlease
Management	Scentre Group
Owner	Scentre Group (50%) Perron Group (50%)
No. of stores and services	266
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	62,000 m²
No. of floors	4
Parking	~1,500
Website	www.westfield.com.au/woden

History

Woden Plaza was developed by Lendlease.^[1] It was opened on 18 September 1972 by Prime Minister William McMahon.^[2]

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 8-screen cinema complex. GPT purchased 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 Westfield Group purchased a 50% stake in the centre in July 2005, with the remaining 50% retained by GPT.^{[3][4] [5]} It took over management of the centre from Lendlease on the same date.^[6] In December 2015 the Perron Group purchased GPT's shareholding.^[7][8]

Transport

In December 1972 the Woden Interchange, located adjacent to the shopping centre, opened.^[9] It was used by ACTION and CDC Canberra bus services until being closed in January 2023 and will be rebuilt on a new site.^[10][11][12]

References

1. "New plaza". Canberra Times. Vol. 46, no. 12916. 15 September 1971. p. 1. Trove 110677459.
2. "Woden Plaza nears completion". Canberra Times. Vol. 46, no. 13217. 31 August 1972. p. 1. Trove 102001834.
3. "GPT severs ties with Lend Lease". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 2005. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022.
4. "Westfield takeover Woden". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. Financial Times Ltd. 22 February 2005. Gale A129003505.
5. "Westfield in $262m Woden Plaza deal". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. Financial Times Ltd. 19 February 2005. Gale A128937115.
6. GPT Group (1 July 2005). "GPT announces implementation of Penrith and Woden transactions" (PDF) (Announcement & Media Release). ASX.
7. Lenaghan, Nick (12 December 2016) [updated 13 December 2016]. "Billionaire Stan Perron buys $335m GPT stake in Woden". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
8. "Westfield Woden". Perron Group. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020.
9. Cooper, Ian (January 1973). "Bus interchange opened". Truck & Bus Transportation: Australia's premier road transport magazine. Vol. 37, no. 1. Surry Hills, N.S.W., Australia: Shennen Publishing & Publicity. p. 99. ISSN 0041-3380.
10. "Woden bus interchange closure". Transport Canberra. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023.
11. "Temporary Woden Bus Interchange now open". Transport Canberra. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023.
12. "Infrastructure". Australian Bus Panorama. Vol. 38, no. 4. January 2023. p. 34.

External links

Media related to Westfield Woden at Wikimedia Commons

35.3464°S 149.0868°E / -35.3464; 149.0868