Westfield Knox redevelopment: $450 million project scaled back, might not start until 2019

LONG-awaited plans for a massive redevelopment of Westfield Knox which would have made it Australia’s second-biggest shopping centre have been significantly scaled back — and work could still be a long way off.

The revamped Westfield Knox was supposed to be opened in stages in 2017, but the plans have stalled and a time frame is still unclear. Picture: Stuart Milligan

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WESTFIELD Knox’s long-awaited redevelopment will be scaled back, with a new design, less shops and less parking than originally planned.

And construction might not start until November 2019, after Knox Council granted Westfield an extension — after its planning permit expired in November.

A $450 million expansion of the shopping centre — from 142,500 sqm to 188,500 sqm — was first announced five years ago, which would have put it on par with Chadstone.

An artist’s impression of how the redeveloped Westfield Knox was originally planned to look.

At the time, mayor Darren Pearce said construction would begin in 2016, with the project opening in stages from 2017.

But Knox Council city development director Angelo Kourambas said Westfield in March submitted a raft of changes to its plans, which were approved under delegation by council officers in September.

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The council said the centre would now be about 170,000 sqm with 203 new carparking spaces, which it said would cater for the centre’s expected demand.

Changes include a reconfiguration of its retail plan with “a reduction in the additional floor area to be developed”.

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The plans also include changes to the centre’s facade, plus consolidated multi-deck carparking and fewer new carparking spaces.

The shopping centre in 2010. Picture courtesy of Knox Historical Society

A public square has also been scrapped, with a “multipurpose civic precinct” containing a relocated Knox Library, outdoor public space and cafes in its place.

The permit for the project expired on November 26 and Knox Council received an application to extend the permit on November 30.

Mr Kourambas said council officers granted Westfield a two-year extension as the project was consistent with the Knox Planning Scheme and the Knox Central Structure Plan.

He said the new plans offered improved shopping and facilities and more job opportunities.

The shopping centre is in the area along Burwood Highway between Stud and Scoresby roads that the council wants to turn into the “capital of the east”.

In 2016 the centre was asking shoppers, including Belinda O’Halloran, what shops they would like to see added. Picture: Eugene Hyland

The centre’s modified size means it is would be smaller than Chadstone Shopping Centre (190,000 sqm), Highpoint, which has plans to expand to about 185,000 sqm, and Westfield Fountain Gate (177,000 sqm).

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Westfield did not respond to Leader’s inquiries, and has long been tight-lipped about its redevelopment plans.

Meanwhile, a popular sports bar is set to fill the void left by the iconic Dragon Boat Chinese restaurant in Knox Ozone.

The Sporting Globe will open sometime in 2018, according to signage at the site.

The site has been vacant since the Dragon Boat closed in January.