NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: La Galleria Kings Cross (1987)

Above: A Cross section of La Galleria as viewed from the north (Kings Cross Road elevation). Full Citation below.

In 1987, the site of what is presently the Elan and Altair Apartments at Kings Cross was owned by developer Sir Sid Londish, who had purchased the one-hectare site located above the Kings Cross tunnel for $11 million the previous year. 

Source: Robertson, R. 1987. "Londish building cut by six levels". The Eastern Herald (The Sydney Morning Herald Supplement), December 10: 32.

A 32-storey hotel tower was to rise above a massive podium containing retail and commercial space. The estimated cost was estimated to be just under $300 million, according to a 1990 newspaper report in The Australian. 

The plans mentioned in the article are modified plans that were unveiled several months earlier and were criticised for being "too bulky" in its podium levels. The modified plans were welcomed by local residents. 

Plans were changed in 1989 when a 48-storey apartment tower was proposed for the site citing the increased appeal of inner city apartments.  

In 1990 the site was sold to Rushcutter Properties Limited (a subsidiary of General Accident Plc, UK), and the purchaser could pursue either scheme. Ultimately, the focus shifted to residential, leading to the demise of this proposal and, ultimately the Elan Tower (1997) and Altair (2000).  

Sourced from: Pottinger, P. 1990. "Kings Cross tunnel site is on the market - at $55m". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 10: 29.

SYDNEY DEPARTMENT STORES: Waltons Town Hall closing day (1987)

I was motivated to share this post after a recent posting of newspaper advertisements from a previous entry on the Old Shops Australia Group on Facebook.

I shared the advertisements, but I did have a newspaper clipping from the last day of trading at Waltons Store at Town Hall on 9 February 1987 before it would be demolished for the Park Plaza/Skytower complex.

It was anticipated that Waltons would return by October 1988, but that did not eventuate as the Bond Corporation struggled to obtain approval for their tower, and eventually sold the site to Kumagai Gumi and Sogo (Japanese Department Store chain) for approximately $278 million in 1989.

 

Source: Andrews, M. 1987. "Half-price clearance as an old shop shuts". The Daily Telegraph, February 10: 7. 

With items marked down to half price, an estimated 100 000 shoppers ventured through the doors creating an atmosphere like that of the Boxing Day sales. 

The Sydney Morning Herald (10 February 1987) reported that it took over an hour to clear the store as staff funnelled customers down towards the ground floor when the doors closed. For those still there, bargains of up to 80% were on offer 

Later that month, Waltons was sold by Bond Corporation to the Venture chain, marking the end of the Waltons Department Store chain. Waltons Town Hall was no more.

Related Entries

Remember this? - Waltons Town Hall Closing Down Sale (1987)

You may also find my series on the Evolution of the Citigroup Centre worth viewing as it was the redevelopment of the site that was behind the closure and demolition of Waltons Town Hall.

• Original 1982 Scheme
• Park Tower (1986)
• Skytower (1987)
• Park Plaza (1988)
• Park Plaza IV (1988)
• Park Tower (1990)
• Park Tower II (1994)
• Citigroup Centre (2000)
• Citigroup Tower & Galeries Victoria in 2018
• "What if" (What might have eventuated had any of the unbuilt schemes had proceeded.)

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: Mid City Centre Office Tower (1989)

For the next ten weeks, I will present a new series of "Never Builts" in Sydney. My collection in this area continues to grow.

Source: Chancellor, J. 1989. "Developer shelves $350m Mid City tower". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 18: 25. 

This week, I have selected the Mid City Centre Office Tower that was proposed in 1989. The current 34 level office tower at 420 George Street was completed in 2010 along with a new retail complex in its podium, bearing the same name as its predecessor.  It replaced the original Mid City Centre retail complex which opened in 1982 and was designed to accommodate a future highrise tower.

In 1989, plans for a 36 level office tower were shelved due to "oversupply" in the Sydney CBD Office Market and it led to disputes between the owners of the complex, City Freeholds Pty. Ltd and their tenants over the state of the complex.

Source: Totaro, P. 1989. "Brawl over Mid City Centre redevelopment plans. The Sydney Morning Herald, April 19: 8. 

It was not the first highrise tower that was proposed for the site. In 1971  a 46 level office tower was proposed by Tjuringa Securities Ltd. Click here to view an entry on that proposal which was published last year. 

SYDNEY SHOPPING CENTRES: The Conception of Macquarie Centre (1968)

Sourced from: Anon. 1969. "100 Super Shops: Grace Bros $12 mill complex".  The Daily Mirror, November 6: 2. 

Next week, I will do a special entry to focus on the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Macquarie Centre at North Ryde which will feature content from newspaper supplements that were published in 1981 to promote the opening of the shopping centre.

Ahead of next week, I share two newspaper articles from May 1968 when Grace Bros announced they had acquired 16 hectares of land in the area with the intention of building a regional shopping centre, and was seeking approval from Ryde Council to build the centre.

The Daily Telegraph (May 15, 1968) reported that the centre would be entirely "under-cover" unlike Roselands which they had built three years earlier with 600 000 square feet of retail space, containing 100 stores anchored by Grace Bros. If approved, the centre would open to shoppers by 1971 (Had this happened, I would be writing an entry celebrating 50 years of trade instead this year).

 

Source: Anon. 1968. "$12m. Shopping Centre Plan". The Daily Telegraph, May 15: 13.  

The Sun (May 15, 1968) in addition to the above reported that the centre would act as a "cultural centre" integrating itself with Macquarie University, which was located directly opposite the proposed centre but also for the northern suburbs.  

Source: Anon. 1968. "$12m Shopping Plan: 16 acre project near new uni". The Sun: May 16: 29.

Grace Bros were given approval to build in 1969 by the State Planning Authority after their proposal had been rejected by Ryde Council and decided to appeal the decision. At the same meeting, a proposal by David Jones to construct a rival shopping centre on Epping Road was rejected as their site was zoned for industrial use (Refer to my 2014 entry on their proposal for further details).

The Local Government Minister Pat Morton was convinced that the shopping centre would be successful drawing on Grace Bros success in planning, building and operating Roselands and felt it would be more successful (He would be right down the track). 

   

Source: Anon. 1969. "Approval for $12m. centre". The Daily Telegraph, November 6: 7.

 

Source: Anon. 1969. "100 Super Shops: Grace Bros' $12 mill complex". The Daily Mirror, November 6: 2.

Ryde Council gave their approval for the centre in 1972. 

 

Source: Anon. 1972. "$12m shopping centre approved". The Sydney Morning Herald, June 27: 1. 

Intended opening date was 1975 as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald on June 27, 1972 (see above). 

Construction did not commence until 1979. 

2000: Shopping Centres of the future - Article

Below is an article that was published in The Daily Telegraph in April 2000 about the future of shopping centres. I have included an enlargement of the photo.

Source: Skelsey, M. 2000. "Clicking on to retail therapy". The Daily Telegraph, April 11: 18. 

Twenty years after this article was published, notice how every prediction in the photograph has become reality with the exception of free valet parking.

Music and Books are mostly sold online in2020, though CD's have been replaced with mp3 downloads or subscriptions to streaming services e.g. Apple Music. We are fortunate that some physical bookstores still remain, though surviving chains and stores have reduced their retail space where they still trade e.g. Dymocks Parramatta has relocated to a smaller site within Westfield Parramatta.

Fashion and Food stores have become the key to success for a shopping centre in 2020. Supermarkets are now regarded as the anchors for a shopping centre. International Fashion chains have built a strong presence in the past decade with a number of chains e.g. Uniqlo and Zara now viewed as mini-majors. Their presence has expanded from the Sydney CBD into major suburban centres.

Food Courts have evolved to provide better furniture not to mention that they have their own competition from upmarket dining precincts that provide restaurants, cafes and bars.

The article foretold the rise of  "click and collect" shopping. Not only it appeals in terms of securely collecting the item, but in the two decades since, it can be convenient for a person who needs it "now".

Finally, some Sydney shopping centres have had apartment eomplexes built above their centres since 2000 which have been associated with redevelopment of existing shopping centres including Southpoint Shopping Centre at Hillsdale, Stockland Balgowlah (formerly Totem) and Top Ryde City. Some residential complexes have integrated a shopping centre or retail space into their developments including Central Park Mall at Broadway (former Carlton & United Brewery site), East Village at Zetland and Lighthouse by Meriton at Dee Why.

The Rouse Hill Town Centre incorporates highrise apartments above the retail complex.

Scentre (owner of Westfield Shopping Centres) floated building six apartment towers above Westfield Hurstville in 2017 but has not progressed since.

EVOLUTION OF WESTFIELD MIRANDA: Westfield Miranda extensions (1984-1985)

The success of Westfield Miranda during the 1970's and increasing population growth across the Sutherland Shire led to Westfield deciding to embark on another expansion.

Farmers would be rebranded as Myer in 1976

In 1982, plans for extensions were rejected by Sutherland Council. The scheme proposed expansion over the railway line and into Karimbla Road.

During the same year, Myer purchased Grace Bros. In early 1983, Myer made the decision to withdraw from NSW citing poor sales and focus on growing the Grace Bros brand across the state.

Source: Anon. 1983. "New jobs for Miranda staff". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, February 16: 3.

The majority of Myer stores were converted to Grace Bros. Some stores were closed altogether e.g. Gordon.

As Grace Bros was already a tenant in Westfield Miranda, it was decided that Myer would vacate the space.

This allowed Westfield to subdivide the space once occupied by the store. You will notice that some of that layout still remains, even after redevelopment and upgrades in 2014.

Source: Anon. 1983. "Myer Miranda Fair to be redeveloped". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, May 11: 38.

In mid 1983, Harvey Norman moved into what was the top floor of Farmers/Myer and would remain there for a decade before moving to Caringbah.

The extensions and upgrades were completed in three stages - April 1984, August 1984 and March 1985.

Upon completion, Big W had moved in. Woolworths moved from level 2 to level 3. Best and Less and Franklins opened stores. Parking facilities were also expanded to extend over Wandella Road onto land behind Miranda Public School. The expansion of the carpark caused controversy.

The number of shops had doubled again - 160 retailers under the one roof.

One departure was the Miranda branch of Sutherland Library, moving to its current site in Wandella Road.

Below are some scans from The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader from 1984 and 1985 to promote the upgrades and selected advertisements.

April 1984 - Stage 1

August 1984 - Stage 2

March 1985 - Stage 3

EVOLUTION OF WESTFIELD MIRANDA: Westfield Miranda Expansion Completed II (1971) - Retail Advertisements

Last week was an overview of the first expansion of Westfield Miranda (Miranda Fair), this week I am sharing some of the advertisements as published from The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader
on September 15 1971.

Grace Bros

Farmers

Woolworths Family Centre

The Whistling Prawn

Mansours

Kenrays

Katies

Soul Pattinson Chemists

Safeways

Bush'a Hygrade Means

Igloo Deli