Chadstone Shopping Centre has been formed from the dust of Melbourne's eastern region to become the new 'Mecca' for the city's shoppers. It has been the secret of the suburbs since its first major refurbishment in 1983, when it diverted from the Australian convention of 'strip-shopping' and took a step towards following the American model of a shopping centre. 'Chaddi', as its known more affectionately by its customers, is no more 10 minutes drive from the city centre, located on Princes Highway lying just inside the Stonnington regional boundary. The complex's niche lies within its menagerie of activities and selective mix of tenants, which together, attract a widespread demographic of consumers and provide the framework for the perfect shopping environment.
             While currently one of the premier shopping complexes in Australia, Chadstone has undergone many phases of development and refinement to rise to its lofty position held at present. The Chadstone Mall was built in 1960 as a traditional Australian shopping venue, merely consisting of one road lined by shops on its flanks, covered by a tarpaulin for shelter. It remained this way until 1984, when the Gandel group acquired the then obsolete structure in May, and chose to invest $205 million over 18 years in its redevelopment. Sending its architects to the USA to carry out a reconnaissance of the successful and efficient American way of department shopping, Gandel architects mimicked their findings in the design of Chadstone Shopping Centre, as it is known today. The shopping centre has been resurrected from being the large trash and treasure market of the southeast, to being 'The Fashion Capital'; the epitome of a serious shopper's playground.
             The new era of shopping at Chadstone has been introduced through numerous expansions and augmentations to its edifice, which have increased the total area of its site to just over 56 acres square, enlarged retail floor space to one ...