Current Situation

Chadstone Shopping Centre. An iconic destination known throughout Melbourne. The joint management between Gandel and AMP over the years has done a great job to continually upgrade the centre. As of 2010, the entire centre has been totally revamped and is unrecognisable from the original Myer complex that the Myer company first built in the 1960s. As of 2011–12, there has been yet another proposal to further develop Chadstone, to the tune of $500M. Interestingly, these plans do offer a token effort towards integrating public transport — a revamped bus hub … of course, the ideas detailed in this article are of a whole other magnitude and scale…

Chadstone has played a big role in promoting the use of cars as a preferred mode of transport. While buses do connect the complex to public transport, Chadstone has really thrived from the constant freeway upgrades. The 40-hour shopping tradition on 22-23 December turns the Warrigal Rd exit of the Monash Freeway and the local roads into bumper-to-bumper queues of cars in spite of the massive upgrades made to the Middle Rd entry to the complex. As I foresee it, the $500M development plan will invariably help to grow Chadstone more, but to really unleash Chadstone’s growth, holistic integration such as the proposal below is really the way to go. To that end, I have probably overemphasised the investment by realigning the nearby Glen Waverley and Pakenham/Cranbourne lines to maximise the convenience for shoppers…

Futuristic Public Transport Hub

Chadstone is already an activity centre. Arguably it is THE activity centre outside of the CBD in Melbourne. In addressing the lack of train connectivity and turning Chadstone into a premiere public transport hub, the challenge is how any underground metro interchange can be optimally positioned for all connecting train lines.

In my alternate Melbourne, Chadstone becomes a significant focal point for three existing lines and a brand new metro:

1. Glen Waverley/Knox
2. Pakenham/Cranbourne
3. Alamein
4. Warrigal
   

The angle and curve of the Glen Waverley line is the most challenging to accommodate, so to reduce the complexity, my design is for the station to act as a V end-point. That is, trains will continue in a straight line from East Malvern to the Chadstone end point, at a 135-degree angle. To progress from Chadstone to Holmesglen, the trains will “reverse” onto a right-hand railroad switch that rotates about 90 degrees to the right so as to align with the current Holmesglen station. This radical and out-of-the-box design would be a first for Melbourne, if not, the ‘compromise’ made by the Dandenong line requires the repositioning of Murumbeena station to further north, close to Dandenong Rd. The addition of the third Warrigal line can then follow this new track alignment to enable a triple series of interchanges Oakleigh > Chadstone > Holmesglen.

Also added on is the restoration of track extension between Alamein and East Malvern. This enables the Alamein track to follow the alignment of the new Glen Waverley line through to Chadstone for easy interchange.

Based on the above descriptions, the approximate placement of the Chadstone metro interchange is likely to be under the current David Jones — Myer south wing. An additional four floors would constitute the metro station, with the bottom two holding the six tracks while the top floor providing the main station ticketing area. The mezzanine level would be positioned between the two lower floors dedicated to the Alamein platform.

Interchange Configuration

As a metro interchange, the three lines shall connect at Chadstone so that each station platform floor contains one platform for each line, laid out on a level basis below:

1. Main station level: connected to the main retail floor / south wing.
2. Upper platform level: Glen Waverley west (city)-bound, Dandenong east-bound, Warrigal north-bound
3. Mezzanine platform level: Alamein single platform/track terminus.
4. Glen Waverley/Knox east-bound, Dandenong west (city)-bound, Warrigal south-bound

This configuration allows for quick transfer from the Glen Waverley and Dandenong lines. The interchange to and from Warrigal line is not as important since the line shares additional metro interchanges with both lines, where the majority of transfers are likely to occur. Further, the single Alamein platform on a separate mezzanine level is designed since it too shares other interchanges besides Chadstone. The mezzanine concept makes the single platform/track easily accessible to both floors above and below.

Chadstone on Steroids

To further develop the futuristic, ideal design of Chadstone means that land space shouldn’t be a constraint. So, the ‘steroids’ here is the acquisition of all property south from Midlothian St and the Treyvaud Memorial Park. This includes all property in the Capon/Webster/Castlebar region to the east. Now when you look at a map of this area, this kind of land acquisition effectively doubles the entire space allocated to the Chadstone Shopping Centre complex!

Now, the immediate question that arises from this is what could you possibly fit into that space? What retailers could you add to Chadstone that aren’t already there … So, in my futuristic Chadstone, the following retailers would join the retail craze that is Chadstone:

1. Ikea?
2. Six-star hotel & conference centre
3. Two additional eating areas (food courts)
4. Big W department store
5. National Geographic Store
6. Apple Store (relocated & bigger!)
7. Costco
8. Airport Express Terminal complex for major airlines
9. Guggenheim Museum

This list of majors should highlight the diversity of experience that my designs seek to bring to the activity centre that is Chadstone. It takes the experience beyond retail shopping and makes Chadstone a much more attractive destination. I have not only identified a handful of key retailers who are not currently operating at Chadstone, but added in the non-retail businesses to add value to the Chadstone experience — the accommodation and conference facilities, art attractions and finally the airport express terminal.

The airport express terminal service is something I have read about overseas — allowing passengers to check-in at a central location separate to the airport itself. This service complements the hotel and conference facilities.

This list was originally compiled in 2010. Since then, Ikea has opened its Westall Rd store and the $500M development plans have unveiled the similar thought of adding a hotel to the complex, affirming at least in part, what I have taken to the extreme! As of April 2017, the $500M complex upgrade has also seen the highly successful Legoland Discovery Centre, which closely fits the same aspirations espoused above!