Newmarket battleground in retail campaign

By ANNE GIBSON

The battle for Broadway is on.

As Australia's Westfield details plans for a $300 million retail development in Newmarket, a rival developer has revealed the extent of another mega-centre plan across the road.

If both go ahead, Newmarket's 3000 carparks will rocket to about 10,000, the suburb will get 500-plus more shops and have some $500 million spent on it.

Two new three-storey shopping centres will stand opposite each other, competing for Newmarket's shoppers.

Westfield wants to turn the former Mercury Energy complex and adjoining sites into a 260-shop mall. Across the road, the 277 Shopping Centre on Broadway will be redeveloped and extended, adding a further 200 shops in a $200 million project backed by Newmarket Newzealand and Auckland One - the two companies controlled by Singaporean businessman Denis Jen through his Intro International.

Jen has been land-banking around his 277 site for some years. Incorporating the former Levene Extreme building and carpark, his 4ha block is bounded by Mortimer Pass, Morrow St, Gillies Ave and Broadway.

Westfield is planning a 65,000sq m development, 3000 carparks, 260 shops and 12 picture theatres.

Jen is planning a 60,000 sq m development, 4000 carparks and 200-plus shops.

The sites are almost directly opposite each other on Broadway: Westfield has bought a retail site on Broadway near the intersection with Remuera Rd to give what its chief, Grant Hirst, calls a "throat" to open up the mall to the key shopping strip. It has land-banked the Mercury Energy sites as well as the Palmers Garden Centre on Remuera Rd.

But Jen has an enviable 300m frontage on Broadway with his 277 and surrounding shops and land.

The regional manager of Newmarket Newzealand and Auckland One, Ken Cooney, said the 277 site would win out in the end. Not only was the zoning in place, but a better site, wider access to Broadway and lack of railway lines running through the land made the site more attractive.

Mr Cooney said the 277 mall already had 53 retailers, and many inquiries had been received from them about the redevelopment.

Westfield said it had applied for re-zoning of its land yesterday, but Mr Cooney said the 277 site was already zoned for retail expansion.

Building work was starting in October, with the initial demolition of a building on Morrow St, he said.

Westfield is not planning to start its mega-mall until 2002.

The chief executive officer of Auckland One and Newmarket Newzealand, Michelle McKellar, said yesterday that master plans were being finalised by leading United States retail architects Schafer Design, who would work in conjunction with ASA Crone in Auckland.

Mr Cooney said the development would take place in phases.

Plans for the 277 site are initially to build on to the existing mall. The second phase will be to build the six-level carparking building.

Stage three will see a modification of the existing centre, with the construction of another level of shops on top of the two-storey 277 Shopping Centre. Then further construction will take place on the former Levene Extreme site.

The first new shops will be open by Christmas next year.

Intro International has substantial shopping centre interests in Australia, including the Myer Centre Adelaide, Broadway on the Mall in Brisbane and the Q Super Centre on the Gold Coast.

Next week, Intro will settle on the Market City Retail Centre in Sydney.