| The Plaza Shopping Centre | |
| Coordinates: | -40.357°N 175.613°W |
| Opening Date: | 1986 |
| Owner: | Kiwi Property |
| Number Of Stores: | 100+ |
| Number Of Anchors: | 4 |
| Floor Area: | 32000m2 |
| Parking: | 1200 Parking Spaces |
| Floors: | 1 |
| Website: | http://www.theplaza.co.nz/ |
The Plaza Shopping Centre is a shopping mall in the central area of Palmerston North, New Zealand owned by Kiwi Property.[1] It is the largest shopping mall in the Manawatu region.
The mall opened in 1986 as the PDC Plaza. The Premier Drapery Company (PDC) was a major department store in Palmerston North, owned by the Manawatu Co-Operative Society. The mall was developed around the PDC department store in response to the trend away from department stores towards shopping malls. Declining turnover coupled with the 1987 stock market crash saw PDC and the Co-Operative Society go into receivership in 1988, and the mall and department store were sold off. The PDC department store was closed and demolished in 1990 to make way for an extension of the mall.[2]
Originally 19700m2, the mall underwent redevelopment from 2008 to 2010 refurbishing the existing space and expanding to 32000m2. Redevelopment was done in three stages. The first stage opened in March 2009 with a new food court, a multi-level carpark and 15 new specialty stores.[3] The second stage opened in September 2009 with an additional 10 specialty stores. The third stage opened March 2010 with the addition of 32 specialty stores, a two-storey 7200m2 Farmers department store and another multi-level carpark.