Proceeds from proposed sub regional and neighbourhood shopping centres will be reinvested into value-creative development opportunities.
“Building on [sales of assets since 2915] and following an extensive review of our portfolio, it is clear that we need to focus our resources on creating destinations that provide market-leading shopping, dining and entertainment experiences," said Grant Kelley, CEO and managing director.
“Accordingly, we are divesting up to $1B of non-core assets to fund the acceleration of our strategy.”
Bankstown Central, then known as Bankstown Square on North Terrace, opened for trading in September 1966 as one of Sydney's first major shopping centres
Since then it has evolved into a major, three-level regional shopping centre of 85,628 square metres anchored by Myer, Big W, Kmart, Target, Woolworths and Supa IGA and includes more than 240 specialty stores, plus 3174 car spaces.
Vicinity centres acquired it in 2003 and in 2008 extended the complex to a block of land opposite Lady Cutler Avenue.
Bankstown Central had a valuation of $710M in December 2017.
In February 2017, Vicinity Centres announced that a $650M project for a major redevelopment of Roselands shopping centre, in a nearby suburb, had been “indefinitely postponed” after it was unable to strike a deal with major tenant Myer.
Vicinity’s 2017 annual report noted that in coming financial year the company proposes to finalise a “refurbishment and re-mixing project” of Roselands.
Co-owners of the shopping centre are Vicinity Centres and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.
