Karrinyup Shopping Centre - History and Development

History and Development

Prior to the current centre being built, a smaller Karrinyup Shopping Centre was constructed in 1964, and resided on a 0.5-acre (2,000 m2) corner site (Karrinyup Lot 450) bounded by Francis Ave and Karrinyup Ave, on lease from the Lands Department for five years. This was built as the precursor to the larger centre expected to be constructed in the future. The original centre consisted was constructed by LJ Wallis of Osborne Park and owned by Karrinyup Investments of Scarborough. Valued at £12,500 GBP (1964), it consisted of a grocer, greengrocer, deli, butcher, chemist, hairdresser, draper, news agent, post office, bank agency, and parking for 100 cars.

During the latter part of the 1960s, the Metropolitan Regional Planning Authority developed the Corridor Plan for Perth which was published and adopted in 1970. The plan called for the creation of five 'sub-regional' retail centres (Fremantle, Joondalup, Midland, Armadale and Rockingham) which would form the commercial and economic focus of each 'node', and take the retail burden away from the CBD. The Corridor Plan was not endorsed by Parliament until 1973, by which stage Morley Shopping Centre had expanded twice in 1970 and 1973, and Karrinyup was one of three new shopping centres that were completed in 'middle-distance' suburbs, locations outside the designated corridors; the other two were Westfield Carousel at Cannington and Garden City at Booragoon established a year earlier in 1972.

Construction on the larger centre began in April 1972, and on completion was expected by its developers, St. Martins Properties Pty. Ltd., to become the biggest shopping centre in the state. The centre consisted of a number of features including grade separated access from the car parks to the centre over the main vehicle routes to reduce driver confusion, 37 feet (11.3 m) wide malls of terrazzo flooring, natural light provided through diffused roof lanterns, and enclosed air conditioned malls, the latter being considered unusual at the time by the local press. Construction of the centre was expected to be completed in September 1973.

Designed by architectural firm Cameron, Chisholm Nicol, the newer and larger centre on the 37-acre (150,000 m2) site was designed to include:

• A 13,935 square metres (149,995 sq ft) Myer;
• 9,290 square metres (99,997 sq ft) David Jones;
• 929 square metres (10,000 sq ft) Walsh’s (menswear store);
• 2,787 square metres (29,999 sq ft) Woolworths;
• 6,039 square metres (65,003 sq ft) of space for 70 speciality shops;
• 3000 parking bays;
• Food hall;
• Bus transit station; and
• Room for a future community centre and hotel to be included in the complex.

At the time of its proposal, it was originally expected to serve some 100,000 residents within its catchment area. By 1970, projections performed on behalf of the centre owners by PA Management Consultants had increased this projected catchment area to 250,000. Projected spending within this catchment area was estimated at A$188 million (1970), increasing to a catchment of 500,000 and projected spending of $376 m. by 1982.

The centre officially opened on Monday 17 September 1973 at 9:10am. The opening however did not go without incident, with all lighting within the centre failing one minute before opening time. This issue was rectified and lighting was restored at 9:11am. Over 100,000 people visited the centre on its first day, with all 3,000 parking bays at the centre being filled by 9:45am.

Upon its completion, it was the largest regional shopping centre in the state and only three of the centre's tenancies comprising 380 square metres (4,090 sq ft) of GLA were vacant.

The City of Stirling library planned for the centre was opened one year later.

In order to grow both the five 'sub-regional' retail centres and these off-corridor regional shopping centres, a Retail Shopping Policy was developed by the MRPA in 1976, and a Perth Metropolitan Region Retail Structure Plan was put in place to regulate the industry. This Plan was amended as new centres were required. Under this regulatory control, extensions to the shopping centre occurred in 1982 and 1987, bringing the GLA to 43,607 m² in 1996. A review of the Corridor Plan in 1987 found that the sub-regional centres had failed to adequately compete against the regional shopping centres in the middle-distance suburbs.

In November 1991, Karrinyup was the first shopping centre in the state to implement a total ban on smoking inside the centre. It was reported in the Stirling Times that other centres had praised the concept despite tenants of the centre being concerned that the ban was an infringement on people's rights.