The first step in Chadstone Shopping Centre’s $600 million redevelopment has been completed, with the new bus interchange and taxi rank officially opened.
The interchange will provide shoppers with a central point to access the centre from an extensive network of 14 bus lines connecting to the suburban train network and Melbourne’s east and south. At least one million passengers will use the bus interchange every year once it opens to the public on Wednesday, August 5.
“The interchange is the first stage to be completed as part of the major development, providing Chadstone Shopping Centre’s 22 million annual customers with an even more exceptional shopping experience,” said Federation Centres CEO and MD, Steven Sewell.
“Chadstone is the shopping hub of Victoria and this vital piece of infrastructure will link our customers to trains and buses across Melbourne’s east and south, and make the interchange one of the most-frequented in the state,” he said.
Sewell elaborated on the completion dates for other milestones in the centre’s facelift. “A new Target store will open in September, followed by the completion of two new car parking areas in November – creating the largest number of car parking spaces ever, just in time for Christmas.
“In mid-2016 a new 10 level office tower will open followed by the new retail precinct in late 2016, which will include a new Hoyts digital cinema complex, two new dining precincts, and more than 100 retailers including at least 3 new international flagship stores.
The bus interchange and taxi rank was officially opened by the minister for public transport, Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Steven Sewell and Public Transport Victoria’s director of customer experience Alan Fedda.
The interchange is weather-protected with ample seating, security CCTV, canopy heating and real-time electronic signage for commuters (where available), and will accompany new bus priority lanes and signals installed along Dandenong Road.
It was designed based on world’s best practice by architect The Buchan Group and will capture rainwater off the roof canopy for reuse via a rainwater tanker for toilet flushing, gardens and landscaping irrigation.
It is estimated one in 20 shoppers will use the interchange, with a high frequency of bus connections to the surrounding suburban train network, including 5000 bus services per week between Oakleigh Railway Station and Chadstone Shopping Centre; making it one of the busiest suburban corridors in Melbourne.
