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Market Square Shopping Centre is located in
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
,
Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...
. The shopping centre was named after the original
town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
of Geelong on which the shopping centre is constructed. The centre is surrounded by Little Malop, Moorabool, Malop, and Yarra Streets. Market Square is located on the southern side of Malop Street opposite the Westfield Geelong shopping complex, the two of which together make up Geelong's Central Shopping Complex.


Stores

Market Square contains numerous speciality stores such as Dymocks and
Harris Scarfe Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It was founded in 1849 in Adelaide, South Australia and has more than 50 stores nationally. In 2015, ownership of Harris Sc ...
. In 2006, an extension into the former
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section of the centre saw other large chains move in, including the return of
JB Hi-Fi JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria. As of June 2024, the company operates 330 sto ...
to Geelong, and an
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.


History

:''See Market Square, Geelong'' for the history of the site before the centre. The 1980s saw the first of many
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
proposals floated for the central Geelong area. The Geelong Regional Commission on 6 November 1981 released a plan that would see a massive shopping centre extend from Little Malop Street through to the waterfront. This proposal did not proceed, but a scaled down version of the plans can be seen in today's centre and the Bay City Plaza development. It was decided by the former
Geelong City Council The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. I ...
that the shopping centre should still be completed, so investors were sought to construct the complex. This was unsuccessful, with the council instead constructing the centre itself. The shopping complex was constructed on
Crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
at a cost of approximately $32 million, financed from borrowings. The project also included the creation of the Market Square Mall on Little Malop Street beside the centre, and the beautification of Moorabool Street between Malop and Ryrie Streets. Demolition to clear the site of the new shopping centre commenced in 1984. The ''CML Building'' on Malop Street was retained and reused as offices, while the facade of the ''Corio Stores'' on Little Malop Street and the ''Solomons Building'' on Moorabool Street were reused in the new building. The development also saw the closure of ''Jacobs Street'' that ran from near the Speaky's surf store on Malop Street to the loading dock on Little Malop Street. The centre was officially opened by Victorian Premier
John Cain John Cain may refer to: * John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria) (1882–1957), Australian politician * John Cain (41st Premier of Victoria) (1931–2019), Australian politician, son of the above ** John Cain Arena, sports arena in Melbourne, Austral ...
on 3 December 1985. The management of the centre was the responsibility of the city council. The initial layout of the centre saw a rather small
Safeway Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops, and veh ...
supermarket located under the
multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...
on the eastern side of the site, with a Venture discount
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
located on the first floor at the western end. Speciality stores occupied the majority of the ground floor. The main entrance of the centre was on Moorabool Street, until the opening of the Bay City Plaza shopping centre on Malop Street in 1988. Images of the centre under construction are on display in the lift lobby on level 1 near centre management. A plaque marks the site of the former Market Square
clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...
on the ground floor near the Tattslotto outlet, and a display of historic documents and plaques marking the opening are located around the corner.


Sale

Upon opening the centre drew high rental incomes for the city council. However, these revenues declined by the early 1990s due to competition with Bay City Plaza and the
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
after the collapse of the
Pyramid Building Society The Pyramid Building Society, the Geelong Building Society and the Countrywide Building Society together made up the Farrow Group of building societies, based in Geelong, Australia. The group collapsed in 1990 with debts in excess of $2 bil ...
. In 1993 the newly created
City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. I ...
decided to sell the shopping centre. The centre was advertised for sale by tender with a closing date of 15 March 1993. No bids were received, but an offer of $27 million was received in the following weeks. None of the bidders were willing to enter into a contract, so the council withdrew the property from sale in June 1993. The Council attempted to establish a linkage with the adjoining Bay City Plaza shopping centre but was unsuccessful. The decision to put the centre on the market again was made in September 1995.In January 1996 a minimum
reserve price In economics, a reservation (or reserve) price is a limit on the price of a good or a service. On the demand side, it is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay; on the supply side, it is the lowest price a seller is willing to accept f ...
of $34.5 million was set. The centre was sold for $32 million when the
contract of sale In contract law, a contract of sale, sales contract, sales order, or contract for sale is a legal contract for the purchase of assets (goods or property) by a buyer (or purchaser) from a seller (or vendor) for an agreed upon value in money (or ...
was signed on 12 March 1996, with a
settlement date Settlement date is a securities industry term describing the date on which a trade (bonds, equities, foreign exchange, commodities, etc.) settles. That is, the actual day on which transfer of cash or assets is completed and is usually a few days a ...
of 28 June 1996. The centre is currently managed by Knight Frank Australia Pty Ltd.


Image gallery

Image:Market Square, Geelong.JPG, Entrance to Market Square from Little Malop Street. Image:Market Square CML building Geelong.jpg, Retained CML building on Moorabool Street. Image:Market Square clock tower history plaque.jpg, Plaque marking the site of the former
clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...
. Image:Market Square history display.jpg, Historical display inside the centre Image:Market Square history plaque.jpg, Plaque detailing the history of Geelong's
Market Square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
Image:Market Square opening plaque.jpg, Plaque marking of the opening of the centre. Image:Market Square council composition plaque.jpg, Plaque listing the composition of the City of Geelong when the centre opened. Image:Market Square time capsule.jpg, Plaque marking a
time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...
to be opened in 2035. Image:MarketSquareGeelongGardens.JPG, The fountains located outside Market Square Shopping Centre.


Footnotes


References

* Peter Begg (1990). ''Geelong - The First 150 Years''. Globe Press. ISBN 0-9592863-5-7
Gardner+Lang: Geelong Market Square case study

Geelong Market Site Act 1983



External links

* {{Shopping centres in Victoria Shopping malls established in 1985 Buildings and structures in Geelong Shopping centres in Victoria (state) Economy of Geelong 1985 establishments in Australia