Wheelers Hills Shopping Centre: Shoppers cry out for revamp and big-name retailers
Shoppers call for an urgent upgrade of this ‘drab’ and ‘uninteresting’ Wheelers Hill shopping centre but will it ever be able to make its way out of the 1990s?
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Who needs a time machine when you can go to Wheelers Hill Shopping Centre.
That’s the feeling among some regular visitors on the Monash Leader Facebook page, as part of the Love Where You Shop campaign.
With many demanding an urgent upgrade to the centre, Emma Taylor said it was like taking a step back into the 1990s, while Sheila Metcher said it needed a complete update.
“Have lived in area since it opened, nothing really done since then. Very drab, uninteresting,’’ she said.
There was, however, plenty of love for individual stores.
The Hills Pantry, the bakery, the hairdressers, especially Total Image, and the florist were all favourites with punters, but all too often they were screaming out for better quality shops.
Judith Kelly said: “Love to see more specialty shops and more major shops. I wish there was Coles, Target, Kmart, Big W, Typo, Cotton On, Kikki K or Smiggle.”
While Nick Snr Marandola said it was “very tired shopping centre with little variety — if Woolies goes place will die.’’
There was also demand for work to be done outside the centre.
Taylor Merv said: “There desperately needs to be a pedestrian crossing put in immediately out the front of Woolworths to allow people to cross safely to the footpath directly opposite.”
This was supported by Deborah Jane, who also suggested a courtesy bus running to the
adjacent retirement village would reduce the number of people using the carpark.
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But it’s not as simple as inviting a major retailer to come on-board
Teska Caron’s Jimmy Wong, the centre’s administrator, said because the centre was strata titled — there was not one owner, instead dozens of individual landlords — it was difficult to make drastic changes.
“We are not a Centro or a Westfield, there are 40 different landlords who do their own thing,’’ he said.
“We do things like keep up maintenance, and we manage a small number of tenants and we help where we can, but the vast majority are controlled by real estate agents.”