Melbourne Central Shopping Centre
Encyclopedia
Melbourne Central is a large shopping centre, office
, and public transport
hub in the city of Melbourne
, Australia
. The complex includes the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, which was refurbished in 2005 by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall
; the Melbourne Central railway station
(a part of the City Loop underground railway
and formerly called Museum); and the 211 m high office tower
with its distinctive black colour and two communications masts. The centre features a gross leasable area
of 55,100 m2. It is owned by GPT Group.
which was built on the site in 1888. After last being used in 1961, the tower was retained to become a focal-point of the centre, R.M. Williams and the Shot Tower Museum now take up the inside of it. The tower was also featured in the opening sequence of the 1997 Jackie Chan
film Mr. Nice Guy
.
The Melbourne Central shopping and office development was designed by Japan
ese architect Kisho Kurokawa in the Metabolist style
, and constructed between 1986 and 1991 by Japanese firm Kumagai Gumi
at a cost of $1.2 billion. The original anchor tenant was the Japanese department store
Daimaru
, who opened their first Australian store over six floors located between the shot tower and La Trobe Street. (Daimaru also operated a second store on the Gold Coast
in Queensland, which also no longer trades)
Large scale redevelopment of the city block bounded by Lonsdale, Swanston, Lonsdale and Elizabeth Streets was studied in some detail during the 1960s and 1970s, being closely linked with work on the City Loop underground railway. Early work on the site commenced in 1971 when land on the south side of La Trobe Street was acquired, to enable the cut and cover construction of Museum Station
(now known as Melbourne Central). With planning for the site being carried out by the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority from 1980, the railway station opened in 1981, but protracted negotiations failed to find an anchor tenant for the development, resulting in the State Government of Victoria deciding in 1983 that a private developer should be sought.
By the time registrations closed in March 1984 a total of 28 submissions had been received from developers, with eight selected organisations invited to respond. A government panel sat in April 1985 to evaluate the responses, and one month later announced their preferred scheme: designed by Hassell Architects for EKG Developments, a joint venture between Australian property developer Essington Limited and Japan
ese construction firm Kumagai Gumi
. The contract was signed soon after but without Essington Limited, who were removed by the State Government after a number of directors were linked to the Nugan Hand Bank
. The project was also scaled back, with the hotel removed, and the office tower reduced to 72 storeys and then 55. It was also at this time that Kisho Kurokawa was brought on board as architect, with Hassell and Bates, Smart & McCutcheon
were compensated by becoming the joint documenters of the scheme. A anchor tenant was also found, Daimaru
signed on due to the involvement of the Japanese Sumitomo Bank on the project.
Melbourne Central finally opened in 1991 but never became profitable for owner Kumagai Gumi, who sold 97.1 per cent to Australian property manager GPT Group for $408 million in 1999, retaining 2.9 per cent in order to write the asset off over 20 years. Kumugai abandoned this plan in 2001, selling their remaining share to GPT for $17 million. Daimaru closed their department store in 2002, paying five years' rent ($30 million) in return for abandoning their lease commitment which ended in 2016.
With half the total retail space empty due to the loss of Daimaru, GPT announced a $195 million plan to renovate the centre in April 2002. Eventually costing $260 million, the renovated centre with a postmodern design by architect
s Ashton Raggatt McDougall
, aimed to open the complex to more natural light, new street-front shopping strips, and bubble-like additions to the footbridge across Little Lonsdale Street, but largely compromised the design of Kurokawa. The works also compromised access to the adjacent Melbourne Central railway station
, removing direct access to Swanston Street and directing passengers through the shopping centre. The renovation took the book value of the complex to $1033 million in 2010, up from $229.8 million as of at December 31, 2001.
In 2010 plans for a second redevelopment was unveiled by GPT, being a $30 million stage one of a $75 million project. Again using Ashton Raggatt McDougall architects, the north-east corner at Swanston Street is again being altered, a new food precinct will be opened, and a new entry at Elizabeth Street built to create another cross-block connection through the precinct.
ME Bank and Allianz have signed up to move into the building replacing space currently tenanted by BP and Telstra. They have taken up building signage rights.
Melbourne Central currently has 292 stores.
There is a glass footbridge across Lonsdale Street to Myer
, with the layout of the centre allowing people to walk almost uninterrupted through some form of a shopping centre for over half of the city's width or 5 city blocks, from La Trobe street to Little Collins Street. This is able to occur via Melbourne Central which joins to Myer which in turn joins to David Jones over Bourke Street Mall. However, the glass footbridge is currently closed as Myer
Melbourne has vacated their Elizabeth store building.
Melbourne Central has a broad range of food outlets in two separate food courts. There is a food court on the lower ground level, on the same level as the entrance to the train station, where there are outlets such as Subway and KFC. Another food court is located on the Food On 2 level, accessible directly from the Corner of LaTrobe and Swantston Sts. by escalator.
Food On 2 was closed in 2011 for redevelopment whilst adjacent to this, a brand new, larger food court, called the Dining Hall, opened in the first stage of its $30 million redevelopment.
The upper levels of the centre house a Hoyts
Cinema complex as well as ten pin bowling, bars, and the Melbourne Central Lion Hotel an English style pub on the On3 entertainment level.
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
, and public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
hub 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...
. The complex includes the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, which was refurbished in 2005 by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall or ARM is a firm of architects based in Melbourne, Australia known for "architectural outspokenness". Founded in 1988, the firm has completed internationally renowned design work and the principals are Stephen Ashton, Howard Raggatt and Ian McDougall...
; the Melbourne Central railway station
Melbourne Central railway station
Melbourne Central is an underground station in the metro railway network of Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations on the City Loop, which encircles the central business district. The station is under La Trobe Street, between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets, on the northern edge of the CBD...
(a part of the City Loop underground railway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
and formerly called Museum); and the 211 m high office tower
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
with its distinctive black colour and two communications masts. The centre features a gross leasable area
Gross leasable area
Gross leasable area in the retail development industry is a term applied to shopping malls, lifestyle centers, outlet malls and other retail centers to indicate the amount of floor space available to be rented...
of 55,100 m2. It is owned by GPT Group.
History
Contained underneath the shopping centre's massive glass cone sits the Coop's Shot TowerCoops (Melbourne Central) Shot Tower
The Coops Shot Tower is located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. It was completed in 1888 and is 50 metres high. The historic building was saved from demolition in 1973 and was incorporated into the vast Melbourne Central complex in 1991 underneath an 84 m-high conical glass roof.Coop's...
which was built on the site in 1888. After last being used in 1961, the tower was retained to become a focal-point of the centre, R.M. Williams and the Shot Tower Museum now take up the inside of it. The tower was also featured in the opening sequence of the 1997 Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
film Mr. Nice Guy
Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film)
Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as...
.
The Melbourne Central shopping and office development was designed by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese architect Kisho Kurokawa in the Metabolist style
Metabolist Movement
In the late 1950s a small group of young Japanese architects and designers joined forces under the title of "Metabolism". Their visions for cities of the future inhabited by a mass society were characterized by large scale, flexible, and expandable structures that evoked the processes of organic...
, and constructed between 1986 and 1991 by Japanese firm Kumagai Gumi
Kumagai Gumi
is a construction company founded in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but the actual head office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.Kumagai Gumi was removed from the Nikkei 225 index on Oct...
at a cost of $1.2 billion. The original anchor tenant was the Japanese department store
Department store
A 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...
Daimaru
Daimaru
is a Japanese department stores chain, principally located in the Kansai region of Japan. The chain is operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, a subsidiary of J. Front Retailing...
, who opened their first Australian store over six floors located between the shot tower and La Trobe Street. (Daimaru also operated a second store on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
in Queensland, which also no longer trades)
Large scale redevelopment of the city block bounded by Lonsdale, Swanston, Lonsdale and Elizabeth Streets was studied in some detail during the 1960s and 1970s, being closely linked with work on the City Loop underground railway. Early work on the site commenced in 1971 when land on the south side of La Trobe Street was acquired, to enable the cut and cover construction of Museum Station
Melbourne Central railway station
Melbourne Central is an underground station in the metro railway network of Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations on the City Loop, which encircles the central business district. The station is under La Trobe Street, between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets, on the northern edge of the CBD...
(now known as Melbourne Central). With planning for the site being carried out by the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority from 1980, the railway station opened in 1981, but protracted negotiations failed to find an anchor tenant for the development, resulting in the State Government of Victoria deciding in 1983 that a private developer should be sought.
By the time registrations closed in March 1984 a total of 28 submissions had been received from developers, with eight selected organisations invited to respond. A government panel sat in April 1985 to evaluate the responses, and one month later announced their preferred scheme: designed by Hassell Architects for EKG Developments, a joint venture between Australian property developer Essington Limited and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese construction firm Kumagai Gumi
Kumagai Gumi
is a construction company founded in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but the actual head office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.Kumagai Gumi was removed from the Nikkei 225 index on Oct...
. The contract was signed soon after but without Essington Limited, who were removed by the State Government after a number of directors were linked to the Nugan Hand Bank
Nugan Hand Bank
Nugan Hand Bank was an Australian merchant bank thatcollapsed in 1980 in sensational circumstances amidst rumours of involvement by the Central Intelligence Agency and organized crime.-Founding:...
. The project was also scaled back, with the hotel removed, and the office tower reduced to 72 storeys and then 55. It was also at this time that Kisho Kurokawa was brought on board as architect, with Hassell and Bates, Smart & McCutcheon
Bates Smart
Bates Smart is Australia's second oldest architectural firm, established in 1853 by Joseph Reed as the practice Reed and Barnes. JPE Design Studio in Adelaide founded in 1851 by Daniel Garlick is the oldest continuing architectural practice in Australia....
were compensated by becoming the joint documenters of the scheme. A anchor tenant was also found, Daimaru
Daimaru
is a Japanese department stores chain, principally located in the Kansai region of Japan. The chain is operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, a subsidiary of J. Front Retailing...
signed on due to the involvement of the Japanese Sumitomo Bank on the project.
Melbourne Central finally opened in 1991 but never became profitable for owner Kumagai Gumi, who sold 97.1 per cent to Australian property manager GPT Group for $408 million in 1999, retaining 2.9 per cent in order to write the asset off over 20 years. Kumugai abandoned this plan in 2001, selling their remaining share to GPT for $17 million. Daimaru closed their department store in 2002, paying five years' rent ($30 million) in return for abandoning their lease commitment which ended in 2016.
With half the total retail space empty due to the loss of Daimaru, GPT announced a $195 million plan to renovate the centre in April 2002. Eventually costing $260 million, the renovated centre with a postmodern design by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Ashton Raggatt McDougall or ARM is a firm of architects based in Melbourne, Australia known for "architectural outspokenness". Founded in 1988, the firm has completed internationally renowned design work and the principals are Stephen Ashton, Howard Raggatt and Ian McDougall...
, aimed to open the complex to more natural light, new street-front shopping strips, and bubble-like additions to the footbridge across Little Lonsdale Street, but largely compromised the design of Kurokawa. The works also compromised access to the adjacent Melbourne Central railway station
Melbourne Central railway station
Melbourne Central is an underground station in the metro railway network of Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations on the City Loop, which encircles the central business district. The station is under La Trobe Street, between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets, on the northern edge of the CBD...
, removing direct access to Swanston Street and directing passengers through the shopping centre. The renovation took the book value of the complex to $1033 million in 2010, up from $229.8 million as of at December 31, 2001.
In 2010 plans for a second redevelopment was unveiled by GPT, being a $30 million stage one of a $75 million project. Again using Ashton Raggatt McDougall architects, the north-east corner at Swanston Street is again being altered, a new food precinct will be opened, and a new entry at Elizabeth Street built to create another cross-block connection through the precinct.
Office Tower
The Melbourne Central Office Tower comprises 57 levels, 46 of which are office floors. The tower is owned by GPT Wholesale Office Fund. The tower structure is approximately 210 metres above Elizabeth Street, however with it two 54 metre communications masts (which extend 35 metres above the apex), the tower is 245 metres tall.ME Bank and Allianz have signed up to move into the building replacing space currently tenanted by BP and Telstra. They have taken up building signage rights.
Coop's Shot Tower
The Shot Tower is the focal point of the shopping centre, with the cone purposefully built to protect the National Trust building. A few shops are tenanted inside the building including R.M. Williams. Recently, a museum opened inside the tower on its history. Entry is free.The Marionette Fob Watch
The Fob watch, designed by Seiko, was given as a gift to the people of Melbourne. The watch has a twelve and a half metre, two tonne chain, which was taken down during the centre's refurbishment and has since not been re-attached. Every hour, on the hour, a marionette display drops down from the bottom of the watch with Australian galahs, cockatoos and two minstrels performing Waltzing Matilda, under the watchful gaze of some koalas.The Glass Cone
The Glass Cone is the largest glass structure of its type in the world. The cone is 20 storeys high, weighs 490 tonnes and has 92 glass panes. The glass panes are cleaned by a specially designed mechanical system. Upon the centre’s opening it was referred to as the “Magic Cone”.The Vertical Garden
The vertical garden was pioneered by internationally renowned French artist and scientist, Patrick Blanc. The garden is soil-less and was a major part in transforming part of the Shot Tower's walls into a lush, leafy landmark.Tenants
There is a glass footbridge across Lonsdale Street to 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...
, with the layout of the centre allowing people to walk almost uninterrupted through some form of a shopping centre for over half of the city's width or 5 city blocks, from La Trobe street to Little Collins Street. This is able to occur via Melbourne Central which joins to Myer which in turn joins to David Jones over Bourke Street Mall. However, the glass footbridge is currently closed as 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...
Melbourne has vacated their Elizabeth store building.
Melbourne Central has a broad range of food outlets in two separate food courts. There is a food court on the lower ground level, on the same level as the entrance to the train station, where there are outlets such as Subway and KFC. Another food court is located on the Food On 2 level, accessible directly from the Corner of LaTrobe and Swantston Sts. by escalator.
Food On 2 was closed in 2011 for redevelopment whilst adjacent to this, a brand new, larger food court, called the Dining Hall, opened in the first stage of its $30 million redevelopment.
The upper levels of the centre house a 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 complex as well as ten pin bowling, bars, and the Melbourne Central Lion Hotel an English style pub on the On3 entertainment level.