QIC to Invest A$600M in Castle Towers Mall Expansion in Sydney’s Hills District
QIC, a Queensland government-backed fund manager, plans to invest over A$600 million (US$418.3 million) to redevelop Sydney’s Castle Towers mall, adding 70 stores and a rooftop health club. Construction begins in October and is expected to complete in late 2029. The investment follows A$2 billion in
QIC, the Queensland government-backed fund manager, plans to invest more than A$600 million (US$418.3 million) to redevelop the Castle Towers shopping centre in Sydney’s north-west. Work on the mall, located in Castle Hill about 34 kilometres from the central business district, is set to start in October, QIC said in a statement on Tuesday. The project will rework about 30,000 square metres (322,917 square feet) across four levels, adding 70 stores and a 6,000-square-metre rooftop health club. QIC expects to complete the project in late 2029 and said the centre will remain open during construction.
The spending comes after a series of QIC retail divestments in Australia. Since late 2024, the state-backed manager has sold western Sydney’s Westpoint Shopping Centre to Hines and Haben for A$900 million, offloaded Melbourne’s Woodgrove Shopping Centre to PGIM Real Estate and Assembly Funds Management for A$440 million and sold the Hyperdome Town Centre complex south-east of Brisbane to MA Financial for A$678.7 million.
Castle Towers opened in 1982 and currently has 110,329 square metres of gross lettable area, according to QIC. The centre attracts about 20 million visitors a year and generated A$935 million of total revenue over the 12 months ended 31 August. QIC previously spent A$180 million on an expansion of the mall that opened in December 2019, which included an underground link to Castle Hill station on Sydney Metro’s Northwest line. Earlier this year, the company began converting former department store space on levels two and three into a fashion and lifestyle precinct, with new tenants including JD Sports and Lululemon set to occupy the revamped space when it opens later this year.
“Castle Towers is already one of our most important retail assets, underpinned by a strong catchment, direct Metro connectivity and exceptional retailer demand,” said Deborah Coakley, QIC’s managing director of real estate. “We are investing with a clear view of how Castle Towers needs to evolve as part of the broader masterplan and continuing to create long-term value for our customers, retailers and investors.”
The new stores will cover fresh food, sport, footwear, fashion and dining, with the effort also incorporating high-end cinemas and a rooftop health centre that QIC says will be Sydney’s biggest. The mall is held jointly by the QIC Property Fund and QIC Town Centre Fund, the same two vehicles that owned the Westpoint Shopping Centre. “This investment reflects both the performance of Castle Towers today and our confidence in where the Hills District is heading,” said Chris Brown, QIC’s director of real estate development.
