Mid Valley Shopping Centre

Mid Valley Shopping Centre is a regional shopping centre in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest shopping centre in Gippsland.^[1] The centre commenced trading on 7 September 1982 (after an opening ceremony the previous day), and has since been redeveloped between the late 1990s and mid-2000s. The centre has 67 stores, including two discount department stores and two supermarkets, as well as a cinema complex and Hardware Store (Bunnings Warehouse)

Opening

Mid Valley was opened in 1982 on a site between the Princes Highway and the main Gippsland railway in Morwell's east. Its location was the topic of some controversy, as it was located at the eastern end of town whilst the town's CBD was located in the west. Mid Valley's opening in effect split the retail centre of Morwell in two. Curiously Target and Safeway each operated large stores in the CBD and Mid Valley for several years, with both closing their CBD stores in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

At the time of opening the centre housed four majors: Safeway, Target, Venture, and McEwans. There were 40 specialty shops, which included State Bank, Camera House, Patch of Blue Jeanery, Jephcott's The Jewellers, Mid Valley Toys, Panther's Mensland, Sussan, Just Jeans, Dickson Sport, Croaker's Menswear, Mid Valley Pharmacy, Tattslotto, Witchery, Homecrafts, SnowDeli, Brashs, Katies, M.Raue & Co., Eastcoast, Speeds, Mid Valley Travel, West Mall Newsagency, and Mid Valley Credit Union.^[2]

Of the original tenants Safeway, Target, Tattslotto, Just Jeans, Katies, Sussan, and West Mall Newsagency (renamed Card Alley) now remain.

Design

Built with three malls radiating from a central point, the centre had some architecture features unique to retail buildings in Gippsland. The central focal point consisted of a deep-set stage and standing/seating area, almost fully surrounded by planters with tall deep-green coloured plants such as rubbers and ferns. The malls featured brown tiling, timber seating, and pitched skylights with planter boxes supported by wooden beams throughout. Deep-varnished wood was used extensively throughout, giving the centre a very 'rich' feel. The centre's exterior walls were coated with a fine pebble finish. The roofing around the entrances featured terracotta tiling, and the entrances themselves used tinted plate glass, with the entrance doors bearing the Mid Valley logo.

The main entrance was via a short dual-carriageway road (Centre Valley), which joined the Princes Highway at a signalised intersection. A feature at this intersection was the Mid Valley clock tower, which bore the original logo of a stylised four-pointed green star on a yellow background, and the name Mid Valley in a capitalised courier-style font. Centre Valley road connected with Mid Valley Drive via a roundabout that had a large fountain in the middle. 1500 car parking spaces were constructed, with car parks for each of the north, east, and west malls. Secondary access was via the highway onto Mid Valley Circuit at the western end of the centre, however there was no eastbound highway traffic access available.

A modern bus terminal was constructed on the centre's eastern side, becoming a major stop for many of the local and regional bus routes passing through. The eastern mall's roofline was extended over the terminal, providing covered access from public transport to the centre.

A small residential estate - Mid Valley Village - was built on the western edge of the centre.

The 1983 East Morwell Planning Study shows that provision was made for construction of a railway station at the rear of the Mid Valley Complex, however as of 2013 the station has not been built and there are no current plans to build it.

Expansions

• The centre's first expansion opened in 1997 with the addition of the Village 8 Cinema complex. This was built on the western side of the mall as an attached building but with access only from outside the centre.
• Bunnings Warehouse was built on the vacant land to the centre's north-west and opened in 1998. This required an extension to the northern car park and a rerouting of Midvalley Drive. It also resulted in the closure of the Bunnings (formerly McEwans) store in the centre itself.
• The east mall underwent a facelift in the late 1990s, with the deep-stained wood sanded back and the tiling replaced to provide a more contemporary and brighter feel. By this time Fosseys (later replaced by The Reject Shop) and Chain Reaction occupied the space formerly occupied by Venture and received a new entrance. The eastern opening to the centre was also modernised.
• A major redevelopment of the centre was announced around 2001, and in 2002 stage one of the expansion opened with an extended north mall and new large food court. Big W moved into the space formerly occupied by Dimmeys, with a building extension to the north. By now most of the shopping centre's look had been modernised to match the east mall. The centre stage was demolished and levelled-off to provide space for a cafe. The centre's exterior was also largely modernised, however pockets of the centre retained their original look, in particular the bus terminal. A new logo was also unveiled.
• Stage two opened in 2003 when the west mall was extended with new major tenant BI-LO. (BI-LO was later rebranded to Coles, which meant that again Morwell had a major retailer operating two stores, with a larger Coles being located in the CBD.)
• An extension was proposed in 2011 to allow for a further 15 tenants.^[3] This could be built on the car park on the west side of the bus terminal.

Major Stores

• Target - Opened 1982
• Woolworths (formerly Safeway) - 13 Aisles, opened 1982
• Coles (formerly Bi-Lo) - 11 Aisles, opened 2003, converted to Coles in early 2007
• Big W - Opened 2002
• Bunnings Warehouse - Opened 1997 outside the complex

Former major stores:

• McEwans - Opened 1982, replaced by Bunnings Warehouse in 1997
• Dimmeys - Opened 1997, closed 2002
• Venture - Opened 1982, closed mid-1990s
• Fosseys - Opened mid-1990s, closed 2001
• Brashs - Opened 1982, closed 1998

External links

• Mid Valley Shopping Centre official website

References