Westfield Eastgardens to undergo major revamp with proposal before state government

A key Sydney shopping centre which has not had a significant upgrade in 21 years could be transformed into a “vibrant”, versatile town centre with rooftop dining and refreshed retail.

Westfield Eastgardens could undergo a major transformation after more than 15 years without a significant upgrade.

Grand plans to revamp one of the eastern suburbs’ largest shopping complexes are before the state government with a developer outlining a vision for a “vibrant” and versatile town centre.

Westfield Eastgardens has not been significantly upgraded since 2002 – but an application to add three commercial towers which could include a hotel and affordable student housing could drag it into 2023 with the newer surrounding high rise development.

Rooftop dining, a refreshed food court and a new cinema are among the entertainment options slated for the mall’s major update.

An application before NSW Government which was initially lodged with Bayside Council in March 2018 also proposes to more than double the 25m maximum building height for the site.

Due to “no significant upgrade” since 2002, development plans lodged on behalf of the Scentre Group and Terrace Tower Group, state this was far beyond the typical 10 year redevelopment cycle.

Aerial view impression of the proposed transformation of Westfield Eastgardens.

It sparked Scentre Group – one of the country’s biggest retail landlords – to look at “changing customer expectations and lifestyle needs” and determining the need for new dining, entertainment, leisure, fitness and services retail.

The vision includes reconfiguring the existing food court, developing new rooftop dining and international mini-major fashion mall, and expanding the cinema.

The plans state there is a particular focus on “improving the arrival experience and public offer” at each end of the existing centre, while producing thousands of jobs and making it accessible by 12 bus routes, convenient ride share and end-of-trip facilities.

Artist impression of the street view of Westfield Eastgardens’ proposed revamp.

It means a previously proposed 20-storey building on the corner of Wentworth Ave and Bunnerong Rd would be replaced with an “iconic” eight to 10 storey commercial building with a maximum height of 40m.

The multi-use building would accommodate a range of office uses to assist with future employment growth and job creation.

In completing the vision, the developer said “two future development buildings” would be used for either affordable student accommodation or hotel development to “further diversify” the site. It would “support the growth” of the Randwick Health and Education precinct which is host to the University of New South Wales and Prince of Wales Hospital.

It would also complement the neighbouring Pagewood Green development commissioned by Meriton.

The Scentre Group have been asked for comment.