Kotara Fair
Westfield Kotara was officially named what from Oct 1965 to 1974?
Westfield Kotara Westfield Kotara ( previously known as Kotara Fair and Garden City ) is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Kotara in Newcastle . Transport . Kotara Station is 800m away from Westfield Kotara and is on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line . The station is serviced by trains which operate between Sydney and Wyong and Newcastle . Westfield Kotara has bus connections to Broadmeadow , Charlestown , Swansea Heads , Wallsend and Warners Bay , as well as local surrounding suburbs . It is served by Newcastle Buses . The majority of its bus services are located on Park Avenue outside the centre . Westfield Kotara has multi level car parks with 3,540 spaces . History . Kotara Fair opened on 6 October 1965 and was developed by Woolworths . It was featured a Woolworths supermarket , a Big W department store 27 speciality stores . Kotara Fair was purchased by David Jones in 1971 and plans were drawn to extend the centre to consolidate its strong position in the marketplace . The $8 million expansion began in early 1973 and was completed in October 1974 . Kotara Fair was renamed Garden City in line with other David Jones Garden City centres . The Big W department store closed and was replaced by David Jones . As part of the redevelopment , David Jones , Norman Ross and 24 speciality stores were added . Further redevelopment occurred in 1977 when Norman Ross closed on level one . This provided the establishment of the Top Mall which provided space for 13 additional retailers in the centre including Shoeys , Best & Less , Reuben F Scarf and Angus & Coote . This extension also provided the centre with 8 offices and professional suites . In 1980 Garden City was purchased by AMP for $104 million . Another expansion in 1988 created the largest shopping centre in the Hunter Region . The grand opening was on 15 March 1988 . The $62 million expansion added a Super Kmart and Venture department store as well as bringing the total number of retailers to 120 . On 28 December 1989 , shortly after completion of another expansion program , the centre suffered significant damage during the Newcastle earthquake . Most affected were the upper levels of the car park adjacent to Northcott Drive and the Super Kmart . Despite the damage , repairs were effected quickly . The Super Kmart store was split into Kmart and Coles in 1990 . In 1995 Coles relocated to the ground level and Toys R Us opened on its old space . Garden City was refurbished in 1998 with the relocation of Woolworths and the addition of 14 speciality stores and an additional 148 car parking spaces . In 2003 following the purchase of Garden City by the Westfield Group , the centre was renamed Westfield Kotara on 11 August 2003 . Westfield worked for over a year to expand Westfield Kotara in an expansion that significantly increased its size . The redevelopment commenced on 8 May 2006 and added a Target discount department store , JB Hi-Fi and 120 speciality stores . The new food court and half the mall opened on 16 August 2007 . The Fashion Mall was completed in September 2007 . In 2010 a development application was submitted for an eight screen cinema complex and possible ten pin bowling alley as part of a $12.5 million expansion in light of the opening of the new Charlestown Square in late 2010 , because of , you know , competition . The $55 million redevelopment commenced in April 2015 on parts of the rooftop car park . On 26 November 2015 the open air entertainment precinct known as The Rooftop opened . The Rooftop has design drawn from the Hunter Valley Vineyards and the relaxed Novocastrian approach to life . The Rooftop included between eight and 10 local and national restaurants and food outlets and a live music venue . The eight screen Event Cinemas complex opened on 17 December 2015 just in time for the film . On 12 October 2017 Westfield Kotara commenced its $160 million redevelopment . During this development Kmart , JB Hi-Fi and Toys R Us have temporarily closed . The redevelopment was completed in October 2018 with the grand opening date on 18 October 2018 . Swedish retailer H&M opened on 4 October . This development featured new Youth and Urban Precinct on level 2 located next to H&M and is in line with the region’s surf , skate and lifestyle culture and includes a diverse mix of retailers . The youth precinct features a mini skatepark complete with half-pipe inside Parrey Skate store . It also featured a new look Kmart and JB Hi-Fi . The level 2 mall featured natural skylight that runs throughout the mall and darker accent colours to give it a modern edge . Travelators were installed to provide better access to Level 2 , 2M and 3 . Spanish retailer Zara opened on 8 November 2018 . This development also included the extension of The Rooftop precinct which included the opening of a gym , six restaurants and Timezone which opened in April 2019 . Since the original development application was to include a bowling alley , this was later dropped . However Timezone features a bowling alley , laser tag , Spin Zone bumper cars and gaming arcades . There were also changes in the car park with over 500 spaces added . The new level 3 car park features both outdoor and undercover car spaces and a solar-powered shade canopy , as part of the centre’s broader sustainability redevelopment . Tenants . Westfield Kotara has 82,433m² of floor space . The major retailers include David Jones , Kmart , Target , Coles , Woolworths , H&M , Zara , JB Hi-Fi , Timezone and Event Cinemas .