Market Square Shopping Centre
Coordinates: 38°08′53″S 144°21′41″E / 38.148°S 144.3615°E
Market Square Shopping Centre is located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The shopping centre was named after the original town square of Geelong on which the shopping centre is constructed. The centre is surrounded by Little Malop, Moorabool, Malop, and Yarra Streets. Market Square is located on the southern side of Malop Street opposite the Westfield Geelong shopping complex, the two of which together make up Geelong's Central Shopping Complex.
Market Square contains numerous speciality stores such as Dymocks and Harris Scarfe. In 2006, an extension into the former Safeway section of the centre saw other large chains move in, including the return of JB Hi-Fi to Geelong, and an EB Games.
The 1980s saw the first of many urban renewal proposals floated for the central Geelong area. The Geelong Regional Commission on November 6, 1981 released a plan that would see a massive shopping centre extend from Little Malop Street through to the waterfront. This proposal did not proceed, but a scaled down version of the plans can be seen in today's centre and the Bay City Plaza development.
It was decided by the former Geelong City Council that the shopping centre should still be completed, so investors were sought to construct the complex. This was unsuccessful, with the council instead constructing the centre itself. The shopping complex was constructed on Crown land at a cost of approximately $32 million, financed from borrowings. The project also included the creation of the Market Square Mall on Little Malop Street beside the centre, and the beautification of Moorabool Street between Malop and Ryrie Streets.
...
Wikipedia