Centrepoint Mall (Melbourne)

Centrepoint Mall

Location	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Address	283-297 Bourke Street
Opening date	9 October 1979 (1979-10-09)
Developer	Maurice Alter Paul Fayman
Owner	Centrepoint Freeholds (1979–88)
Architect	Ray Barnard-Brown
No. of stores and services	100+

Centrepoint Mall is a shopping centre in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. The development was a joint venture between Jewish businessmen Maurice Alter and Paul Fayman, and was officially opened by Premier of Victoria Rupert Hamer on 9 October 1979.

History

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Developer Maurice Alter at Centrepoint Mall site

Background

In the early 1970s, Melbourne-based property investment group Hanover Holdings commenced the strategic acquisition of several adjoining sites in the central business district, with the intention of undertaking a major redevelopment. The company first purchased the Eureka Stockade Hotel at 287–297 Bourke Street, along with the adjacent Mason's Building on Sugden Place. Over the following two years, Hanover also acquired the neighbouring Berkowitz and Union Building Society buildings, which fronted Little Collins Street. These properties occupied a prominent site between Bourke and Little Collins streets, diagonally opposite the Myer Emporium, one of Melbourne's most important retail landmarks.

Following the acquisitions, the buildings were leased back to their previous owners for a period of up to five years, providing Hanover with sufficient time to plan and coordinate the proposed redevelopment." Following a major downturn in company profits, Hanover shifted its primary investment focus from retail sites to residential development. Despite these adjustments, the company was later privatised and eventually dissolved in 1979. However, principal directors Maurice Alter and Paul Fayman retained ownership of the Bourke Street and Little Collins Street properties through a former Hanover subsidiary known as Hanover Freeholds. This entity later evolved into Centrepoint Freeholds, which assumed responsibility for the planning and development of the retail complex that would become Centrepoint Mall.

Design and construction

Plans for the long-anticipated redevelopment were initiated in early 1977, when Centrepoint Freeholds commissioned architect Rainsford "Ray" Barnard-Brown and his firm to design a large-scale indoor shopping centre. The proposed A$32,000,000 million project (approximately $200,000,000 in 2025) included more than 70 retail outlets and a pedestrian arcade linking Bourke and Little Collins streets. At the time, it was regarded as the largest and most expensive retail development in Melbourne's central business district in over half a century.

It featured a basement-level food court, a large self-service cafeteria on the second level, and several floors of specialty retail stores. Office suites and community facilities were located on the upper levels. Architectural features included a prominent 10-metre illuminated sign above the Bourke Street entrance and a large chandelier suspended across three storeys. This could be raised, lowered, rotated, or dimmed to create various visual effects. In addition, an electronic signboard composed of over 3,000 lightbulbs was installed to broadcast advertisements and international news. Qantas and Medibank were to occupy a large portion of the centre's upper office floors. A 300-seat Pancake Parlour was located in the Basement Food Court alongside The Reject Shop.

Opening and public reception

Centrepoint Mall was officially opened on 9 October 1979. The opening ceremony was attended by over 450 guests, including Premier Rupert Hamer, who described the development as "a most attractive major new central business district focal point."

Architect Norman Day publicly criticised Centrepoint's design, claiming that "Everything in the building has been patterned so that there is a definite movement of colour and shape contributing to an architecture of anxiety." Architect Peter Axup, who worked on the Centrepoint project, published an article defending the design.

The centre's reputation suffered in 1981, after a Federal Court judge found that the development company, Centrepoint Freeholds, had contravened the Trade Practises Act by engaging in misleading conduct to induce a tenant to take up shop leases in the mall. In his judgement, Justice Northrop said that the leasing brochure was misleading, claiming: "One of the more striking effects of the mall is the confusion cause by the walkways, both level and sloping, the escalators, stairs and corners. It is easy to become disorientated and confused, and it is easy to become lost as in a maze".

Demise and future

Although the shopping centre was relatively popular when it first opened, patronage declined significantly after the nearby Melbourne Central Shopping Centre opened in late 1991, followed by the opening of Emporium Melbourne in 2014. The most severe blow to Centrepoint came during the two years of pandemic lockdowns, which drove shoppers and city workers out of the CBD, leading to a sharp decline in foot traffic—the primary source of income for retailers. In 2022, Centrepoint indicated that a major overhaul of the building was being considered as a future option. As of June 2025, the Centrepoint building remains open, with Priceline Pharmacy occupying most of the original indoor mall area. The remaining areas are closed to the public.