Westfield Fountain Gate

**Westfield Fountain Gate** is a super-regional shopping centre located in Narre Warren in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is the forth largest shopping centre in Australia by floor area, after Highpoint Shopping Centre, Canberra Centre and Chadstone The Fashion Capital. However, it is the largest shopping centre in Australia with all 3 discount department stores, Big W, Target and Kmart.

## Accessible

Westfield Fountain Gate is currently the largest known Westfield in australia that this currently know of, as well as having one of the highest number of stores.

The via access of Westfield Fountain Gate that contains initially counted as 7 lifts, but also added an extra lift to equal a total of 8 main lifts, it also has 16 escalators, 4 cases of stairs an 9 accessible toilets.

## History

Initially opening in November 1970, the centre was reconstructed and re-opened on 11 March 1980 by the Victorian Governor of the time, Sir Henry Winneke, with a Kmart and Coles being the major tenants. In September 1988, the adjacent homemaker centre opened. The centre was later purchased by the Westfield Group in July 1995 and was eventually extended and redeveloped into a much larger complex, which was completed by November 2001. The centre hosts a variety of major chains including Kmart, Coles, Woolworths, Big W, Target, Myer, Toy Kingdom, ALDI and approximately 320 other specialty stores.

A major expansion of the complex took place between 2011 and 2012. Approved by the City of Casey in December 2007, the extension featured a new two-level 12,000m2 Myer store, a new 4,200m2 Coles store, in a new location near the former BI-LO, with the existing store shell being reconfigured with space for two new minor anchor stores, as well as providing increased retail space for Target, which increased from 6,884m2 to 8,368m2. David Jones had been set to open a store in the new expansion but terminated the contract with Westfield in July 2010, with Myer replacing David Jones in the expansion. David Jones had been trying to exit its contract with Westfield Group since 2003 as Fountain Gate did not fit the company's strategy or target demographic. Four new minor anchor retail spaces were constructed, as well as 114 new specialty store spaces and 1,500 new car parking spaces, with new ground-level parking surrounding the centre and new rooftop parking above the new mall areas.

It is the location of the first-ever Krispy Kreme in Victoria.

A new building has been added to the complex which is the City of Casey's vibrant new entertainment precinct, it is the creative and community heart of the region. This is the new home of the Narre Warren Library.

## In popular culture

Fountain Gate Shopping Centre is named as the mall frequented by the characters in the popular television series *Kath & Kim*. Scenes in the show are filmed at Fountain Gate and at another Westfield complex, Westfield Southland.

Fountain Gate Shopping Centre was a filming location in the feature film *Bad Eggs* where, in the first scene, a car rolls into the actual shopping centre; in the film, the mall is named *Crystal Heights Shop Kingdom*.

## Transport

Narre Warren railway station is approximately 1 km away from the centre and is linked by a number of bus routes to Westfield Fountain Gate. Some regional buses also stop at Fountain Gate.

The Hallam Bypass, a new section of the Monash Freeway opened in 2003, passes beside the complex and can be viewed from the windows in the food court. A trail known as the Hallam Bypass Trail, constructed at the same time, runs beside the centre on the north-east side, providing access for cyclists and pedestrians.

## Opening Hours

* **Monday** - 9am-5:30pm
* **Tuesday** - 9am-5:30pm
* **Wednesday** - 9am-5:30pm
* **Thursday** - 9am-9pm
* **Friday** - 9am-9pm
* **Saturday** - 9am-5pm
* **Sunday** - 10am-5pm
* Store hours may differ