Westfield Chermside

Westfield Chermside, colloquially known as 'Chermside' or 'Chermy',^[1] is a regional shopping centre^[2] located in the Brisbane northern suburb of Chermside. It is the second largest regional shopping centre in Australia by both number of stores and gross leasable area, behind Chadstone Shopping Centre, and is operated by Scentre Group.^[3] The centre contains the Chermside bus station, a major hub for buses north of Brisbane.

Westfield Chermside's trade area population is 439,600. It is one of the largest markets for shopping centres in Queensland and Australia. Its 15.5 million customer visits per annum^[4] make it Australia's second busiest Westfield shopping centre. The centre is located on the corner of Gympie Road and Hamilton Road.

Chermside bus station is a bus transit hub for the area. Many bus routes commence and terminate at this bus station. It is served by Transport for Brisbane services.

Westfield Chermside has multi-level car parks with 7,200 spaces.^[5]

Construction of Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre began in October 1955 on the site of what was originally Early’s Paddock. The site was prone to flooding and 6-foot drainage pipes were constructed underneath the complex to carry Somerset Creek under the car park to Downfall Creek to overcome this issue.^[6]

Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre opened on 30 May 1957 by the Premier of Queensland, Vince Gair. It was the first post-war major shopping centre to open in the Southern Hemisphere. The shopping complex cost £600,000 and was set on 28 acres (11.33ha). It was developed by Allan & Stark who promised a shopping experience that would be "both fun and a thrill".

More than 15,000 people visited the centre on the opening day and 20 police were on hand for crowd control. The opening had "all the trappings of a Hollywood premiere – prominent personalities, brass bands, popping flashbulbs ... and crowds".^[7]

Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre featured an Allan & Stark department store, a Brisbane Cash & Carry (BCC) supermarket, 24 specialty stores including a florist, a milk and doughnut bar, a fruit and vegetable shop, a newsagent, a butcher's shop, a beauty salon, an optometrist, and a chemist. The centre also had its own children's nursery. There was parking for 650 cars.^[8][9][10] The terminus of tram route 72 to Enoggera via the Brisbane central business district was located opposite the centre.^[11]

BCC was taken over by Woolworths supermarket in 1958 resulting in that chain entering the Queensland grocery market.^[12] The Myer Emporium Group purchased Allan & Stark in 1959 and the Chermside store was rebranded to Myer and the shopping centre came under the ownership of Myer Emporium.^[13][14]

The first major development occurred in 1965 at a cost of $2.5 million. This redevelopment added escalators, air-conditioning and a restaurant. In 1966 a $500,000 new Woolworths supermarket opened which was the largest store in Australia at that time.

In December 1968, the tram route 72 to Enoggera via the Brisbane CBD closed. It was replaced by a bus route 172 and eventually split into routes 370 Chermside to Brisbane CBD and 390 Brookside Shopping Centre to Brisbane CBD.^[15]

In September 1972, a Target discount department store opened.

At around 7am on 19 December 1972, a major fire destroyed Woolworths and caused extensive damage to Myer and Clark Rubber and several specialty stores. The total damage bill was estimate to between $1.5 and $3 million at the time.^[16]

In June 1974, a four-year redevelopment plan was unveiled. It was known as the "New Project to Rise from the Ashes" and would cost around $16 million. The proposal was to expand Target, demolish and build a new three-level Myer store and add another 40 specialty shops. The retail area would expand to 33,445m² and the total number of parking space would be 2,500 and the existing bus terminal would be upgraded.^[17] The new Myer store opened in a new large three level building in June 1977. In 1979, the new Target discount department store opened.^[18][19]

In 1985, the Myer Emporium Group merged with Coles to form the Coles-Myer Group resulting in the centre coming under the ownership of them.

Several renovations were completed in 1985, 1986 and 1987 adding another 29 stores and an underground car park to the centre.

A business mall was constructed in February 1992. The Westfield Group purchased the property from Coles Myer in December 1996.^[20]

In 1999, work began on a major redevelopment of the centre which was to nearly double its floor space. The redevelopment resulted in most of the existing structure being demolished, save for the Myer store and some pieces of adjoining mall, to make way for the larger complex. Stage one opened on 9 August 1999, which contained a Coles Supermarket and a new bus interchange. In 2000, the second stage of the redevelopment opened, containing a Kmart, Bi-Lo (which existed until March 2008), Target and a 900-seat food court. A new Birch Carroll & Coyle cinema complex also opened, which it was claimed resulted in customers moving away from the cinemas at Westfield Toombul.^[21]

In 2005, construction began on another expansion, which officially opened on 19 October 2006 and contained 2,300 more car parks, and over 100 new specialty stores. In August 2007, the two level David Jones store was officially opened and is located in the same expansion. The following year saw the opening of another department store on the site of the former Bi-Lo supermarket, however smaller, which is the first Harris Scarfe store in Brisbane. In late 2009, an Apple Store opened in the centre.

In 2011, Westfield Chermside introduced a new 'Park Assist' system to help shoppers find available car parks quicker. At the same time the centre also introduced a pay parking scheme designed to stop commuters parking vehicles at the centre. Parking under three hours remains free and entry after 6 pm will be free as well.^[22]

In 2015, Scentre Group announced the Westfield Chermside Redevelopment, which will add up to 95 new retailers, a gallery mall, new dining and entertainment precincts and major expansion to the second floor. Construction was started in January 2015 and the new area was opened to shoppers on 6 April 2017. The new development included international fast fashion stores like H&M (closed 2022), and Zara (closed 2021).^[23]

The Westfield Chermside Redevelopment, which was known as "The New Westfield Chermside" opened in early 2017. This expansion was addition of a second level of stores above the Myer to David Jones fashion mall, and introduced international brands including H&M, Sephora, Uniqlo and Zara. JB HiFi, Rebel and Optus also moved from their existing stores to new locations in the redevelopment.

On 22 June 2017, the final stage of the redevelopment was officially opened. This included a new restaurant precinct with more than 20 cafes and restaurants, creating Westfield's largest dining precinct.^[23] In addition, an incubator store alley and a lifestyle precinct with a bowling alley, laser tag, a new gymnasium, and a child minding centre were opened.

Westfield Chermside has 176,585m² of floor space. The major retailers include David Jones, Myer, Harris Scarfe, Big W, Kmart, Target, Coles, Woolworths, Cotton On, Uniqlo, Apple Store, JB Hi-Fi, Rebel, Hijinx Hotel, Holey Moley, Kingpin and Event Cinemas.

• List of shopping centres in Australia

• Westfield Chermside Official Website