Highpoint Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre located in Maribyrnong, Victoria

Maribyrnong, Victoria

Maribyrnong is a suburb 8 km north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong, part of River Ward. At the 2006 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 8242....

, in the western suburbs 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...

, Victoria, 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...

. The centre has over 400 stores including a four-level Myer

Myer

Myer 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 store, Target

Target (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...

, Big W, Harris Scarfe

Harris Scarfe

Harris 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...

, Safeway supermarket, Best and Less

Best and Less

Best & Less Pty Ltd is an Australian retailer of clothing and household linens.-History:Best & Less was founded by Berel Ginges, and opened its first store in Mascot, New South Wales on 27 May 1965.In April 1998, Best & Less was acquired by Pepkor...

, Rebel Sport, Toys R Us, JB Hi-Fi

JB Hi-Fi

JB 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...

 and a 17 screen Hoyts

Hoyts

The 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...

 cinema and an IMAX

IMAX

IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...

 theatre. It is the largest shopping centre serving Melbourne's western and north western suburbs, an area with a population of at least half a million people.

Highpoint is Victoria's fifth-largest shopping centre and the 10th-largest in Australia, with an annual turnover of $778 million and over 15 million shoppers visiting each year.

Highpoint is currently undergoing a $300 million two-stage redevelopment which will include a David Jones

David Jones Limited

David Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...

 department store, with the will be completed by late 2013.

History

Highpoint is built on a hill which looks out over the Maribyrnong River

Maribyrnong river

The Maribyrnong River rises about 50 km north of Melbourne, Victoria , near Mount Macedon. It flows generally southward and combines with the Yarra River to flow into Port Phillip....

 to Melbourne's CBD

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

, hence its name. An anti-aircraft battery operated on the site during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 for protection of the surrounding military bases and ammunition works in Maidstone and Maribyrnong.

The 50-acre site was previously a quarry, as can be seen by the quarry cliff face walls of the lower carparks. The land was sold by the City of Essendon

City of Essendon

The City of Essendon was a Local Government Area located about northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1861 until 1994.-History:...

 for $1.85 million in April 1971, with permission required also from the City of Sunshine

City of Sunshine

The City of Sunshine was a Local Government Area located about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994.-History:...

 as the quarry was also located in that local government area. Construction of the initial stage of the shopping complex cost $11 million.

Named originally "Westland Shopping Centre" then "Highpoint West Shopping Centre" it was later renamed "Highpoint City Shopping Centre". It is now simply marketed as "Highpoint". It is sometimes ironically referred to as Knifepoint.

Redevelopment

The redevelopment commenced in March 2011 and will boast and extra 30,000 m² and will include the West Melbourne's first David Jones over two levels, a renovated Woolworths and Fresh Food Hall, better traffic flow, an extra 1,000 car spaces and 100 new specialty retailers. The development will be constructed in two stages. The first stage which is estimated to be completed by late 2012 will include a new Woolworths as well as a Fresh Food Market, and an improved car park with "Park Assist" technology. The second stage which will be completed by early 2013 will include the David Jones store, 100 specialty stores and an extra 1,000 car spaces. The redevelopment also aims to improve the centre's sustainability.

Facilities

Highpoint has 126,000 m² of floor space on four levels. By 2013 the addition of David Jones and an extra 100 shops will expand the total retail space to 156,000 sq m.
Level One:

• Youth & Entertainment
• Hoyts Cinema Complex

Level Two:

• Rebel Sport
• Best & Less
• Woolworths
• Harris Scarfe
• Howards Storage World

Level Three:

• New Food Court
• Big W
• Target

Level Four:

• Professional suites
• Centre management

Opposite the main Highpoint centre on Rosamond Road there are a large number of other stores and businesses, including Bunnings Warehouse

Bunnings Warehouse

Bunnings Warehouse is Australia's largest hardware chain with stores in Australia and New Zealand. The chain is owned by Wesfarmers Limited.-History:-Pre 1900s:...

, Harvey Norman

Harvey Norman

Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based retailer of electrical, computer, furniture, entertainment and bedding goods. It is effectively a franchise and the main brand owned by Harvey Norman Holdings Limited...

, Dick Smith Powerhouse, another JB Hi-Fi

JB Hi-Fi

JB 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...

, Officeworks

Officeworks

Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores which was established in the early 1990s by Coles Myer...

, an AMF Bowling Center

AMF Bowling Center

AMF 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...

, The Good Guys and a large number of homeware and furniture retailers in a section called "Homemaker City" such as Freedom and Barbeques Galore

Barbeques Galore

Barbeques Galore is an Australian and U.S. chain of retail stores specializing in barbecue grills, accessories and consumables. There are 40 stores in the United States of America...

. One of the branches of Maribyrnong Library Service is located at the front of the shopping centre on Rosamond Rd.

Ownership

Until 2006, Highpoint was wholly owned by Melbourne's Besen family (also owners of the Sussan retail chain). In March 2006, the GPT (General Property Trust) Group purchased a 50% stake and management rights in the centre for about A$

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

621.2 million.

Transport

There are no trains in the area. Melbourne tram route 82

Melbourne tram route 82

Tram route 82 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from the corner of Leeds and Irving Streets near Footscray railway station in Footscray to the corner of Ascot Vale Road and Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds. It is one of Melbourne's very few tram routes which...

 (Footscray to Moonee Ponds) while Melbourne tram route 57

Melbourne tram route 57

Tram route 57 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from the corner of Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street in the city centre to West Maribyrnong in the inner Western suburbs....

 (West Maribyrnong to City) is 450 metres away on Raleigh Rd.

Highpoint Shopping Centre is serviced by the following bus routes:

• 215 Caroline Springs
• 223 Williamstown Road, Yarraville
• 406 Footscray - Keilor East (Footscray is 4km away)
• 407 Avondale Heights
• 408 St. Albans
• 468 Essendon

Bicycle racks

Bicycle stand

A bicycle stand,also called a bike rack, is a device to which bicycles may be securely attached. It may be free standing or securely attached to the ground or some stationary object such as a building. Indoor bike racks are commonly used for private bicycle parking, while outdoor bike racks are...

can be found at both the "Atrium Level 2" and the "Riverbank" entrances.