It’s hosted weddings, Kim Kardashian and Drew Barrymore. What’s next for Parramatta Westfield?

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For 50 years, Westfield Parramatta has given the people of western Sydney a convenient retail, dining and entertainment precinct. But plans to expand the shopping centre with a multi-storey tower in Sydney’s second city remain uncertain.

Shoppers watch as Marie Thomas and Antonio Ashby get married in Westfield Parramatta in 1976.

In 1975 it was unlike anything Parramatta had ever seen: a vibrant retail and lifestyle destination spread over multiple floors. Over the next five decades, the shopping centre would host weddings, concerts and a number of meet-and-greets with celebrities, including Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa and, in 2014, Kim Kardashian.

While Parramatta city has experienced significant change in recent years, the shopping centre has remained a community staple.

Georgia Mills from Cronulla shows off Kim Kardashian’s autograph a decade ago.

“We are so proud to be celebrating 50 years of Westfield Parramatta. This destination has grown alongside generations of customers and business partners, continually evolving to meet the community’s needs,” Westfield Parramatta Centre Manager Leanne Tompkins said.

Parramatta Westfield today, at the centre of a busy CBD.

“Today, Westfield Parramatta is not only one of Australia’s largest shopping centres, but a thriving town centre that welcomes millions of people each year from across Sydney and beyond.”

From Thursday and across the weekend, Westfield Parramatta will hold a number of events to celebrate its 50th birthday.

But as Scentre Group, the owner of Westfield Parramatta, commemorates the milestone this week, questions about its future remain unanswered.

The concept plan for a 47-storey office tower above Westfield Parramatta.

In 2014, the state government approved a concept plan from Scentre Group to build an office tower above the mall. Seven years later, Scentre received approval to increase the height of the $670 million building to 47 storeys.

It was expected to deliver 105,000 square metres of commercial space and bring more jobs to western Sydney, with former Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes saying the development would enhance Parramatta’s status as Sydney’s second CBD.

Then, in December 2024, it was reported Scentre Group was exploring adding housing to the proposed Parramatta tower, with chief executive Elliott Rusanow explaining the company was considering redeveloping its properties to include apartments to ensure the company’s long-term growth and also help improve housing supply.

“Our Westfield destinations are located in and around existing civic and transport hubs – places where densification is already occurring,” he told the ABC.

However, concrete plans to convert the tower into a residential building have yet to be released publicly and Scentre Group has remained tight-lipped about the development since.

Scentre Group did not respond to questions from the Herald on the future of Westfield Parramatta and the proposed tower.

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email [email protected] with news tips.