Plans were first announced for a major redevelopment of the Morley Galleria shopping centre 2013. Eleven years on, the community is losing patience at the lack of progress.
State MP for Morley, Amber-Jade Sanderson, told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth the centre was now “a shadow of its former self”.
“It’s tired, it is run down, there are a lot of empty shops and it is in dire need of redevelopment. It is nowhere near the standard of other shopping centres,” she said.
Ms Sanderson said the shopping centre, which includes a cinema, Myer, Kmart and numerous small retail stores, and is close to the Morley Bus Station and new Morley railway station, was an important hub for the community.
“I live locally with my family and I encourage the community to use the Galleria because it’s such an important employment and social centre for Morley, but it’s not the amenity that the community deserves,” she said.
She said it seemed like the owners had been preparing for work to commence for some time.
“They’ve also been so close to the redevelopment that they’ve closed down whole areas of the shopping centre, and it just looks like it’s completely dead.
“When I go there on the weekends, the staff ask me in the shops, what is happening here?
“And my view now is if they don’t start this redevelopment this year, then they should sell the asset to someone who will.”
Water basin branded an ‘eyesore’
So far the only progress that has been made towards redevelopment is the relocation of a Water Corporation water compensating basin, from an area close to the cinema which is earmarked for expansion, to a section of car park next to the Morley Bus Station.
But far from providing reassurance to locals that the redevelopment is on-track, Ms Sanderson said the relocated water basin, needed to manage storm water in the catchment, caused dismay when the covering fences finally came down.
While the artist’s impression of the development showed the water basin integrated with a new plaza on Russell Street to create an inviting outdoor space, she said the reality was mostly concrete.
“They invested more than $20 million in that movement, and that was a really strong indication of their commitment,” Ms Sanderson said.
“But when the boards came down and the community saw what they had actually done, and I will say Water Corp are partly responsible for the aesthetic here, the community were pretty horrified by that basin.
“I met with them and was very direct, and I said this would never have been acceptable in the western suburbs, but for some reason, that was reasonable in Morley.
“The state government has provided money for a bit of beautification to soften it.
“And we need the redevelopment to work around that and make it a much more appealing amenity.”
The Galleria is owned by Vicinity Centres, which owns major shopping malls around Australia.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said, “Vicinity Centres is working hard to meet its commitments on the revitalisation of Galleria and delivering a contemporary centre that meets the retail, entertainment and leisure needs of the community.”
“Our priority is to continue to support our retailers and customers and we look forward to progressing with our planned investment in the future of Galleria.”
‘The community has run out of patience’
Ms Sanderson said she had spoken to Vicinity on numerous occasions asking for a clear timeframe for the redevelopment to start.
“There’s no question that COVID fundamentally changed the construction market, but this has been on the cards since 2013, six years before the pandemic, and they failed to make any meaningful progress,” she said.
“We know that there’s a challenged construction environment, but there are a number of ways to manage that.
“The community has run out of patience. The promises seem empty.
“We are calling on them to either show that commitment and start the redevelopment or sell it to someone who will.”
Listeners to ABC Radio Perth agreed the centre needed to refreshed.
Shane: “I went to Morley Galleria last year, was shocked to see a “ghost town” like experience. Many empty shops or vinyl wrap covered ones — feel for workers there.”
Cam: “I went to the Galleria to meet a friend last month on a Saturday … as soon as I walked in the door, the silence was jarring. Then, when I went to the top floor, everything was boarded up except a cafe, a sports shoe store, and a second-hand bookshop. Incredibly sad as it was such a beautiful, shiny shopping centre when it first opened.
Jenny: “I live in Bayswater and the Galleria is my local. It serves its purpose and in spite of it still looking from the early 1990s I love to visit and support it, but it does deserve some love.”