Newmarket Countdown shuts for $665m mall build

Westfield Two Double Seven in Newmarket where the Countdown was.

The Countdown supermarket in Westfield Newmarket's Two Double Seven mall has shut ready for the long-awaited $665 million expansion and upgrade of the entire property by Australian-headquartered Scentre Group.

A Countdown spokeswoman said the supermarket shut on the weekend.

"Most retailers in the centre have now either closed or are in the process of closing due to the Westfield makeover," she said.

"We're aiming for a brand new and amazing Countdown to be back in business at 277 in late 2019. Our team are being redeployed to other stores and we've been talking with our 277 customers about the change for a while now to help them plan where to shop in the meantime," the spokeswoman said.

Major infrastructure works have been happening around the property for weeks and the big Farmers store on Broadway shut late last year.

Scentre, which gets five million annual visitors to Newmarket spending $148.3m annually, described in an update how extensive work was taking place around its Two Double Seven mall and how the department store was no longer trading from its site.

Peter Allen, Sydney-based Scentre Group chief executive, said in 2016 that the Newmarket, St Lukes and Albany sites would all be upgraded and Scentre's investor presentation revealed an A$600m (NZ$665m) project cost for Newmarket alone.

Precisely what is planned in Newmarket has not yet been unveiled, although Scentre has shown visual impressions of how an expanded mall will look in its corporate documents.

The mall owner said last month: "Scentre Group...continues to consider plans for a potential development of Westfield Newmarket. As soon as these plans have been finalised we will share these with you."