IT WILL be a case of ‘‘something old, many things new’’ when the refurbished Westfield Miranda opens on Thursday, November 20.
From 9.30am shoppers will be able to wander through more new areas built during the $475million redevelopment, with the official opening to be held a week later on Thursday, November 27.
The stand-out ‘‘old’’ feature is the beautiful, big fig tree, which appears even more imposing as the centrepiece of a new, landscaped outdoor cafe-restaurant precinct at the shopping centre’s main entrance.
The tree has been standing at the Kingsway entrance since 1971 — seven years after the centre first opened as Miranda Fair.
The outdoor eating area leads to a new, three-level galleria mall, which is spacious, airy and filled with natural light.
Level one, which is devoted to fresh food and homewares, opened in October, with new stores progressively beginning to trade since then.
The upper two levels are ‘‘fashion city’’.
Level two is primarily a premier fashion and beauty precinct, while level three caters for youth fashion, with a range of new stores, including Gap, Hype DC and Platypus.
Centre manager Kate Holsgrove said that while projects of this nature were always challenging, everything had gone to plan and the opening was a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.
Ms Holsgrove said the new Kingsway entry was an outstanding feature of the project.
"There are a range of restaurants you can enjoy, as well as some general seating, so you can just sit in the sun beneath that beautiful fig tree and watch the world go by," she said.
Ms Holsgrove said work inside the centre would continue around the clock until Thursday when "the majority of stores will be open".
"Some restaurants will open on Thursday, a few more will do so before the official opening and there will be some more before Christmas," she said.
READY TO GO
New retailers opening this week include Gap, Mecca Cosmetica, Mac, Willow, Zimmerman, Sass & Bide, Nike, Adidas, Vans and Hype DC.
Restaurants opening this week include Italian Kitchen, Luxe, Kazbah, Oliver Brown and Charm Kitchen, with more to follow soon after, including Gelato Messina, Kelly’s Bar & Grill, Mejico, Sushi Bay and Din Tai Fung.
An upgraded traffic-signal controlled pedestrian crossing on the Kingsway will operate from Thursday.
The bus station, which used to be at the main entrance, will be relocated to the Kingsway.
More signs will be installed to explain the ticketless, licence-plate recognition parking system following confusion among some motorists.
What do you think of what you have seen so far of the "new" Westfield Miranda?