Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre
Encyclopedia
Forest Hill, Victoria
Forest Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Forest Hill had a population of 9315.-History:...
in the city of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Owned and managed by Colonial First State Retail Property Trust, the centre is among the oldest in Victoria, opening on 30 June 1964 as an outdoor strip shopping centre, before being developed over the years into its current three level indoor form. Currently, Forest Hill Chase contains 204 stores and 3388 free car parking spaces. The centre has two supermarkets, two discount department stores and one traditional department store spread across 3 levels. The architecture is distinguished by a roof of polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
construction with a barrel vault
Barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
design.
Recent history
In December 2004, Melbourne businessman Maurice Alter sold the Forest Hill Chase shopping centre to listed retail property trust CFS Gandel, managed by Colonial First State Property, for $214.5 million.The sale was close to being the largest national (Australian) retail property deal of the year and which included property management rights and the potential for redevelopment.
At the time of purchase, Colonial First State Property fund manager Bevan Towning ruled out any immediate major redevelopment plans, saying the intention was to change the centre's retailing mix by introducing the same national brands it had at its other shopping centres, Chadstone and Northland. They also wanted to revitalize the centre and give it a "New look."
The 64,935 square metre Forest Hill Chase was the first shopping centre built in Victoria by Mr Alter's group, Pacific Shopping Centres, with George Herscu, in 1964.
2007-2010 major redevelopment
In the biggest redevelopment of the centre since 1989, levels one and two of the centre were completely refurbished in 2007 while the third level was expanded and refurbished during the second half of 2010. Major milestones of the redevelopment program, which started in December 2006, are as follows:- The Relocation of Kmart Tyre and Auto ServiceKmart AustraliaKmart Australia Limited is a discount department store chain owned by Wesfarmers. It operates 172 stores in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Victoria. Wesfarmers uses the Kmart name under licence from Sears Holdings Corporation.-History:Kmart Australia...
from next to the centre entrance to the former Kmart, to a new free standing site in Pacific Way, which was completed in March 2007. - The refurbishment of the level one and two interior malls, with new floor tiling laid, removal of the traditional gold balustrades with modern steel balustrades installed, and the removal of the stairwells at the south of the centre near Big W.
- The level two toilets were fully refurbished, completed in June 2007.
- The Mahoneys Road entrance was upgraded, with the existing canopy replaced and upgraded with a terrace installed on level 3 for use by The Chase Hotel, which was completed by June 2007.
- KmartKmart AustraliaKmart Australia Limited is a discount department store chain owned by Wesfarmers. It operates 172 stores in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Victoria. Wesfarmers uses the Kmart name under licence from Sears Holdings Corporation.-History:Kmart Australia...
's permanent closure on 31 January 2007 and subsequent conversion to a Target, which opened in September 2007. - The refurbishment and extension of the food court, completed in September 2007.
- The refurbishment of level 3 to complement the work undertaken on the lower levels, completed in December 2010.
- The creation of a new mall entry on level 3, completed December 2010.
- The addition of 300 more car parks, opening on 15 December 2010.
- Creating a new 'Entertaining and Dining' precinct on level 3, completed in December 2010, with the remaining retailers opening in early 2011.
Major anchors
- MyerMyerMyer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
department storeDepartment storeA department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
(clothing, cosmetics and homewares only). (Opened 2007, scheduled to close down in early 2012. ~4700 m² (50,590.4 sq ft).) - TargetTarget (Australia)Target Australia Pty Ltd is an Australian department store chain owned by Wesfarmers . It operates 172 Target stores and 119 Target Country stores making 291 combined stores with its head office located in North Geelong, Victoria. It sells clothing, cosmetics, toys, homewares, electrical and...
discount department store. (Opened September 2007. ~7700 m² (82,882.1 sq ft).) - Big WBig WBig W is one of the largest chain of discount department stores in Australia, with over 150 stores. It is a division of Woolworths Limited, the second largest retailer in Australia. Its main competitors are Kmart and Target, both owned by Wesfarmers....
discount department store. (Opened ~1998. 6697 m² (72,085.9 sq ft).) - ColesColes SupermarketsColes Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
supermarketSupermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
. (4127 m² (44,422.7 sq ft).) - 14 Aisles - Woolworths supermarket. (Currently trading as SafewaySafeway (Australia)Safeway was the trading name used by Woolworths Limited until 2008 for its supermarkets in Victoria, Australia. Elsewhere in Australia the trading name is Woolworths. In August 2008, Woolworths announced the discontinuation of the Safeway name, and has since gradually rebranded Victorian stores as...
. 3775 m² (40,633.8 sq ft).) - 11 Aisles - AMFAMF Bowling CenterAMF Bowling Centers, Inc. is the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers, employing more than 10,000 people. The centers offer multi-lane Ten-pin bowling for all ages, support league play, and local events such as Dollar Mania and Late Night College Fest as well as Xtreme Bowling...
28 lane ten-pin bowlingTen-pin bowlingTen-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
centre. (Opened ~2003. (2490 m² (26,802.1 sq ft)).) - HoytsHoytsThe Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the...
6 screen digital cinema multiplexMultiplex (movie theater)A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically three or more. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an...
. (Redeveloped from a former 10 screen multiplex in 2010. Opened ~1989.)
Minor anchors
- Dimmeys discount department store. (1858 m² (19,999.3 sq ft))
- Best & Less clothing store. (Opened 24 November 2010 ~1100 m² (11,840.3 sq ft))
- JB Hi-FiJB Hi-FiJB Hi-Fi is an Australian CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc, video game and consumer electronics chain store.-History:JB Hi-Fi was established in Melbourne suburb of Keilor East by John Barbuto in 1974...
electrical and computer store. (Opened 25 November 2010) - The Reject ShopThe Reject ShopThe Reject Shop is an Australian discount variety store chain. Founded in 1981 as a "seconds" store in South Yarra, Victoria, the company currently operates over 190 stores in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory...
discount variety store. - Priceline PharmacyPriceline (Australia)Priceline is a health and beauty retailer with stores in every state and territory in Australia. The Priceline brand has two store types; a traditional Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy. As of March 2010 there were over 330 Priceline branded stores throughout Australia...
health and beauty store. - The Chase Hotel bar/gaming lounge/TAB.
- Rebel Sport sporting goods store. (Opened 11 December 2010)
- TimezoneTimezone (video arcades)Timezone is a chain of amusement arcade centres owned by Australian company Leisure and Allied Industries, with stores in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.- Powercard :...
Video arcadeVideo arcadeAn amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
. - Fit n Fast Health Club/Gym (Opened 21 July 2011).
- TGI Friday'sT.G.I. Friday'sT.G.I. Friday's is an American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining. The company is a unit of the Carlson Companies. Its name is taken from the expression TGIF...
restaurant (Opened 23 August 2011)
Former anchors
- Harris ScarfeHarris ScarfeHarris Scarfe Department Stores was founded in Adelaide, South Australia in 1849. At its peak, Adelaide was home to several major South Australian department stores , of which Harris Scarfe is the sole...
department store. (~1989 - 2007. Reduced from two levels to one in ~1998) - KmartKmartKmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
department store. (~1989 - 2007) - McEwans hardware store. (~1989 - ~2002)
- ewsXPress] Newsagency (? - 2011)
- Casual and Country Living furniture store.
- Warehouse Sales electronics and whitegoods store.
- Amber's Playhouse children's play centre (originally known as Run Riot. ~1997 - ~2008)
- Fosseys discount department store.
- Factorie clothing store (originally known as Australian Way of Life)
- Chain Reaction clothing store
Major food restaurants
Major food retailers within the centre include a McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, a KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
, a Wendy's outlet, a Nando's
Nando's
Nando's is a casual dining restaurant group originating from South Africa with a Portuguese/Mozambican theme. Founded in 1987, Nando's operates in thirty countries on five continents....
restaurant and a Donut King
Donut King
Donut King is Australia's biggest doughnut franchise, based in Southport, Queensland.-History:The Donut King chain was founded in 1981 in Sydney, and is currently managed, under license, by the Southport-based Retail Food Group Limited...
. A Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd, often colloquially abbreviated to HJ's, Hungry's or Hungie's, is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin...
is also located exteriorly as a stand-alone restaurant on Canterbury Road.
Trading hours
The standard trading hours for most shops is 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday-Wednesday, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Thursday-Friday, 9:00am to 5:00 pm on Saturday and 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Sunday. The supermarkets however are open from early morning till midnight. Major anchor stores normally have extended standard trading hours. Level three is open till 1.00am the next day from Sunday to Thursday and until 3.00am the next day on Friday and Saturday.Transport
Forest Hill Chase provides free un-timed parking for approximately 3400 vehicles and is serviced by 4 bus routes and taxis.Parking
Adjoining the centre are several multideck carparks. A three deck car park is located off Canterbury Road while a four deck car park is located off Pacific Way to the east of the centre, adjacent to Coles, Target and Hoyts. 300 car parks are located on the level three deck of this car park, providing rooftop parking for level three access. Another two deck car park is located off Pacific Way to the south of the centre which services Myer, Safeway and Big W. Basement parking directly beneath the centre can be accessed from Glebe Street or Mahoneys Road. Three open-air car parks exist around Kmart Tyre and Auto, the Big W Garden Shop and adjacent to the Pacific Way/Mahoneys Road roundabout.Public transport
Forest Hill Chase is directly serviced by SmartBusSmartBus
SmartBus is a series of bus routes operating in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Undertaken as a part of Metlink, the program seeks to eventually establish a series of key suburban bus routes, and orbital bus routes around Melbourne...
route 703 services operating on the deviation as well as 3 regular bus routes (735, 736, 765), with bus stops located outside at the southern side of the centre at the entrance to the market area of the centre. Taxis can also be accessed from this area.