Gandel’s flagship centre to expand

Billionaire John Gandel and co-owners of the listed Vicinity Centres are readying to again expand Chadstone shopping centre.

Chadstone’s spectacular roof.

Billionaire John Gandel and co-owners of the listed Vicinity Centres are readying to again expand Melbourne’s famed Chadstone shopping centre as confidence at the luxury end of the market lifts.

The prospect of a spending bump as certainty returns in the wake of the re-election of the Morrison government has bolstered the fortunes of the top-end retailers driving the fortunes of the $6 billion-plus property, helping to spur plans for more events such as Louis Vuitton’s Time Capsule exhibit.

Luxury-focused shopping centres are pulling ahead of the pack as they are turned into destinations for lifestyle shoppers with bespoke retail and restaurant precincts, according to Vicinity Centres.

“We don’t measure Chadstone relative to other shopping centres,” Vicinity Centres chief development officer Carolyn Viney said. “We think Chadstone has evolved beyond that.”

The Melbourne centre’s most recent major development has just been recognised globally for design and development excellence, receiving in Las Vegas the International Council of Shopping Centres’ top award for ­vision, innovation, value and achievement.

“I’m personally delighted that Chadstone has been internationally recognised. This development was significant in the history of the centre, it’s cemented Chadstone’s place on the world stage,” Mr Gandel said.

That $660 million redevelopment, completed in 2017, included an expanded luxury precinct and a unique 7000sq m gridshell roof, that has 2700 individual glass panels creating a distinctive light-filled shopping and dining experience.

Ms Viney, said the company was working to evolve the Melbourne complex in its latest iteration as a fashion capital.

She said the award was a “testament” to Mr Gandel’s vision as he had taken Chadstone on an “incredible journey to one of the world’s top shopping, dining, entertainment and lifestyle destinations”.

The Melbourne complex generates $2 billion in annual sales, ranking Chadstone as the No 4 shopping centre in the world, by sales, with 24 million people visiting each year.

“We know that we need to continue to evolve to meet (customers’) ever-changing needs and expectations, and we’re excited about the future,” she said.

Chadstone has pushed into hospitality, with the planned opening of Hotel Chadstone Melbourne, MGallery by Sofitel, a 250-room hotel, in November.

Chadstone has already been redeveloped almost 50 times with Ms Viney saying the centre now sports valet parking and an airport-style visitor lounge.

The co-owners are deep into masterplanning the project’s next stage that Ms Viney said would take it from being a shopping centre to a destination in its own right.