Development History of Westfield Kotara

 1965  Kotara fair opens on 6 October. The centre was designed and developed by Woolworths Properties for a of £2M and included a Woolworths Supermarket, a Big W department store, 27 specialty stores plus other services that included a bank, doctor, post office and a child minding centre.
 1971  David Jones Properties Ltd. purchased Kotara Fair and plans were drawn to enlarge the centre to consolidate its strong position in the marketplace.
 1973  Construction of the new centre began in early 1973 and was completed in October 1974 at a cost of $8M. Renamed "Garden City", the new enlarged centre boasted a David Jones department store, Woolworths Supermarket, Norman Ross discount department store and 51 specialty shops and services.
 1977  David Jones Properties began a further development with Norman Ross vacating their first floor premises to allow for 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.
 1980  Garden City was bought by the AMP Society for $104M. AMP Properties spent $62M creating the Hunter Region's biggest retail centre which celebrated its Grand Opening on Tues 15 March. The new centre included David Jones, the first Super KMart Hypermarket store in Newcastle, Woolworths Supermarket, Venture, Best & Less and Shoeys plus 120 specialty stores giving customers the benefit of choice and competitive prices.  
 1995  Coles Supermarket relocated to the ground floor and a new Toys'R'Us was constructed and opened.
 1998  Further refurbishment took place in 1997/98 including a new relocated Woolworths Supermarket, 14 specialty stores and an additional 148 car parking spaces.
 2003  Westfield Shopping Centre Management Co Pty Limited acquired Westfield Kotara on 11 August and the centre was re-branded from Garden City to Westfield Kotara. 
 2006  Construction works commenced at Westfield Kotara on 8 May, which will see the addition of approx. 120 new specialty stores and kiosks, a discount department store and 3 mini majors.