Glenfield Mall
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAn enclosed suburban shopping centre serving Glenfield and surrounding communities on Auckland's North Shore.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Glenfield Mall is an enclosed shopping centre in Glenfield, a suburb on Auckland's North Shore in New Zealand. The centre occupies a site between Glenfield Road, Downing Street and Bentley Avenue and functions primarily as a convenient, family-oriented retail destination for nearby communities. Its tenant mix has included major national retailers such as Farmers, The Warehouse, Woolworths and Briscoes Homeware, alongside food, fresh-food, service and specialty retail businesses. The mall's role is therefore broader than that of a single-store shopping destination: it combines department-store, discount, grocery, homewares, food and everyday-service uses under one roof. The centre opened on 8 November 1971 with approximately 12,212 square metres of gross leasable area. It was expanded in 1986 to about 17,800 square metres. A 1991 refurbishment added a food hall and fresh-food stores to the lower level, strengthening the centre's position as a regular convenience destination rather than a purely discretionary shopping venue. In 2000, Westfield undertook a major redevelopment reported to have cost approximately NZ$100 million. The work enlarged the centre to roughly 29,700 square metres and changed it from a two-level facility into a five-level complex. The mall became part of the Westfield portfolio in May 1996 and was subsequently known as Westfield Glenfield. Its period under Westfield ownership included the major 2000 redevelopment and placed it within a large national and international shopping-centre network. In November 2015, Scentre Group, which owned and managed the Westfield shopping-centre portfolio at the time, sold the property to Ladstone Glenfield Limited, a subsidiary of Ladstone Holdings Limited. The centre was offered for sale again in September 2018; the available reference material does not identify the subsequent purchaser or current legal owner. Glenfield Mall has also been discussed in relation to the competitive dynamics of Auckland's North Shore retail market. A 2008 assessment by a New Zealand retail-expert group gave Westfield Glenfield two out of four stars, the lowest rating awarded in that assessment. The review considered factors including shopping area, economic performance, amenities, appeal and future growth prospects, and identified competition from newer and larger centres, particularly Westfield Albany. Mall management disputed the negative interpretation and emphasized its convenience and family-focused positioning. Beyond commerce, Glenfield Mall has a place in New Zealand literary culture. Janet Frame's 1979 novel Living in the Maniototo draws on aspects of her experience of living in Glenfield after moving there in 1975. The novel presents a fictionalized version of the mall under names including Heavenfield Mall and Heavenfield City:Blenheim, using the shopping centre as part of a wider reflection on suburban development, commercial architecture and the character of modern city life. The Glenfield Night Market was formerly held in the mall's car park on Sunday evenings, adding a periodic community and food-market function to the centre's regular retail activities.
History
Glenfield Mall opened on 8 November 1971 in Glenfield, on Auckland's North Shore. The original centre provided approximately 12,212 square metres of gross leasable area and was designed as an enclosed suburban shopping facility serving the surrounding residential districts. Its location between Glenfield Road, Downing Street and Bentley Avenue gave it a prominent position within the local road network and supported its role as a convenient neighbourhood centre. The first major expansion took place in 1986, when the centre grew to approximately 17,800 square metres. A further refurbishment in 1991 focused on the lower level and added a food hall and fresh-food stores. These changes broadened the mall's use beyond general merchandise and specialty shopping, encouraging more frequent visits for meals, groceries and household purchases. Westfield Group acquired the mall in May 1996, after which it was renamed Westfield Glenfield. The most substantial physical transformation followed in 2000, when Westfield completed a redevelopment reported to have cost approximately NZ$100 million. The project expanded the complex to about 29,700 square metres and increased its configuration from two levels to five. The redevelopment reflected the approach of treating the centre as a larger regional-suburban retail complex rather than a small local mall. The centre later faced increasing competition in Auckland's North Shore market, especially from newer and larger developments such as Westfield Albany. In a 2008 review of New Zealand shopping centres, a retail-expert group gave Westfield Glenfield two of four stars. The assessment considered the amount of shopping space, economic performance, amenities, consumer appeal and future growth prospects. Management rejected the implication that the centre lacked relevance and emphasized its convenience and family-oriented character. Ownership changed on 30 November 2015, when Scentre Group sold the mall to Ladstone Glenfield Limited, a subsidiary of Ladstone Holdings Limited. The transaction ended the centre's period as a Westfield-branded property, although the available material does not provide a complete account of later branding, ownership or management arrangements. The mall was offered for sale again in September 2018, but the cited reference does not identify a final buyer. The centre's social and cultural history extends beyond its tenant roster. The Glenfield Night Market was formerly held in the car park on Sunday evenings, providing a periodic food and community-market use. Glenfield Mall also appears in Janet Frame's Living in the Maniototo, published in 1979. Frame drew partly on her experience of moving to Glenfield in 1975 and transformed the real mall into fictional settings called Heavenfield Mall and Heavenfield City:Blenheim. In the novel, the shopping centre becomes a symbol of suburban commercial development and of a city whose most imposing building is a mall rather than a civic or cultural institution.
- 2018
Put up for sale
[1]The mall was offered for sale again in September.
- 2015
Sold by Scentre Group
[1]Scentre Group sold the property on 30 November to Ladstone Glenfield Limited, a Ladstone Holdings subsidiary.
- 2008
Receives a low retail-centre assessment
[1]A New Zealand retail-expert group awarded Westfield Glenfield two out of four stars, while management defended its local convenience positioning.
- 2000
Major Westfield redevelopment
[1]A major redevelopment enlarged the centre to approximately 29,700 square metres and changed it from two levels to five.
- 1996
Acquired by Westfield Group
[1]Westfield Group bought the mall in May and renamed it Westfield Glenfield.
- 1991
Lower-level refurbishment
[1]A refurbishment added a food hall and fresh-food stores to the lower level.
- 1986
First major expansion
[1]An expansion increased the centre's gross leasable area to approximately 17,800 square metres.
- 1979
Appears in Janet Frame's Living in the Maniototo
[1]The mall was fictionalized as Heavenfield Mall and related settings in Janet Frame's novel Living in the Maniototo.
- 1971
Mall opens
[1]Glenfield Mall opened on 8 November with approximately 12,212 square metres of gross leasable area.
Products and positioning
A convenient, family-focused suburban shopping centre serving Glenfield and the wider North Shore, with a tenant mix centred on everyday retail, groceries, department-store shopping, homewares, food and services.
Retail category
Department-store and general merchandise retail
Glenfield Mall's retail offer includes large-format department-store and general-merchandise tenants, notably Farmers and The Warehouse in the referenced material. These stores provide apparel, home goods, beauty, seasonal merchandise and other everyday categories, giving the centre an accessible mass-market anchor offer.
Food retail · 1991
Grocery and fresh food
Grocery and fresh-food retail forms an important convenience component of the centre. Fresh-food stores were added during the 1991 lower-level refurbishment, and Woolworths is identified among the mall's major retailers. This category supports routine local shopping alongside the centre's broader general-retail offer.
Household retail
Homewares
Briscoes Homeware is identified as a major retailer at Glenfield Mall. The homewares offer covers household equipment, furnishings and related domestic goods, complementing the centre's department-store and grocery anchors.
Food service · 1991
Food hall and prepared food
A food hall was introduced as part of the 1991 refurbishment, adding prepared-food and dining uses to the shopping environment. The available reference material does not provide a complete current tenant list or detailed description of the present food offer.
Market event
Glenfield Night Market
The Glenfield Night Market was formerly held in the mall's car park on Sunday evenings. It operated as a periodic food, retail and community event rather than as a permanent mall tenant or product line.
Brand decisions
2018
Property offered for sale againM&ABackground
The property returned to the market after its 2015 sale.
Action taken
Glenfield Mall was put up for sale in September 2018.
Aftermath
The cited reference does not report the eventual buyer or the final outcome of the sale process.
2015
Sale to Ladstone Glenfield LimitedM&ABackground
Scentre Group sold the shopping centre after its period as owner and manager of the Westfield shopping-centre portfolio.
Action taken
On 30 November, the property was transferred to Ladstone Glenfield Limited, a subsidiary of Ladstone Holdings Limited.
Aftermath
The transaction ended the centre's ownership by Scentre Group. The available source does not establish the later legal owner or all subsequent branding changes.
2000
Major redevelopmentStrategyBackground
Westfield pursued a large-scale modernization and expansion of the centre.
Action taken
The project enlarged the mall to approximately 29,700 square metres and increased the number of levels from two to five. The reported project cost was approximately NZ$100 million.
Aftermath
The redevelopment repositioned Glenfield Mall as a substantially larger suburban retail complex, although later assessments noted competition from newer North Shore centres.
Redevelopment cost. Approximately NZ$100 million (2000)
1996
Westfield acquisition and rebrandingM&ABackground
The established suburban centre was brought into the Westfield Group portfolio in May 1996.
Action taken
Westfield Group acquired the mall and operated it under the Westfield Glenfield name.
Aftermath
The acquisition was followed by a major redevelopment in 2000 and a substantial increase in the centre's size and vertical configuration.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/glenfield-mall · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled