Hunter Street, Newcastle

Hunter Street in Newcastle is the major shopping street in the Newcastle central business district. The street is a paved pedestrian mall between Wolfe and Perkins Streets. The major features of the mall section of the street include a bus interchange and a prominent 4 floor David Jones store at the western end. The shops continue both east and west beyond the ends of the mall.

Since the 1970's, the retail strip has fallen into serious decline, partly as a result of the development of suburban shopping centres and a trend to move away from inner-city dwellings and business. The re-implementation and frequent expansion of metered parking over a large area around the CBD by Newcastle City Council has exacerbated this decline. The street was once regarded as the premier shopping destination in Australia's second oldest city, at a time offering more than three quality department stores. Of these stores, David Jones is the only to survive. The strip between the Civic Precinct and East End also supported a moderate theatre district, along which stands the Newcastle Civic Theatre and the now closed Victoria Theatre.

A footbridge was constructed as part of the Queens Wharf redevelopment, providing access from the centre of the Hunter Street mall, over Scott Street, the Newcastle railway line and Wharf Road to Queens Wharf, on the southern side of Hunter River.

In recent years, development in Newcastle's CBD, particularly around the Civic precinct and beachfront areas, has injected new life and wealth into the old city. Modern architecture has begun to dominate the very Victorian skyline of the East End as firms begin to migrate back into the old city centre and a new cosmopolitan lifestyle begins to form in the city and adjacent suburbs.

The Hunter Street precinct is proposed to become the site of redevelopment by General Property Trust, who, in August 2007, announced plans to redevelop four blocks on the southern side of the Hunter Street Mall between Perkins and Newcomen Streets into one large shopping centre. No further details have been released, except for the fact that David Jones will hold a 12,000 m2 two level space within the centre that will be 25% larger than the existing store. The centre itself will be spread across three levels. Along with the development, Hunter Street Mall will be reopened to traffic one way.

External links

* [http://www.davidjones.com.au/stores/newcastle.jsp David Jones Newcastle]
* [http://www.newcastlebuses.info Newcastle Buses]
* [http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au Newcastle City Council homepage]