Forest Hill Chase (often called "The Chase" is a major regional shopping centre located in Forest Hill, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It has approximately 200 shops across three levels and parking space for over 3400 cars.
It has three supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths, Aldi), two discount department stores (Target and Harris Scarfe), a Hoyts cinema complex and some smaller anchor stores. The JY Group and Haben Property Fund have shared joint 50/50 ownership of Forest Hill Chase since 2022.
First proposed in 1957, the centre officially opened on 30 June 1964 with 70 shops in an open-air mall layout, and has since undergone significant redevelopments completed in July 1976 and December 1990. It was originally known as the Forest Hill(s) Shopping Centre, reopening as Forest Hill Chase in 1989.
Early development (1955–70)
Background In the mid-1950s, Polish-born property developer Paul Fayman bought a poultry farm at Canterbury Road, intending to establish a landmark retail destination for Melbourne's booming eastern suburbs. The idea followed the Myer family's prior purchase of land in Burwood East for an American-style regional shopping centre, a concept then new to Victoria.
In July 1957 it was revealed that the Forest Hill centre would have about 70 shops, two service stations, a housing estate, public open space, and parking for over a thousand parking spaces (envisioned by the developers as an “almost complete town”)."Shopping centre", Melbourne Herald, 19 July 1957, p 13. Its proximity to Myer’s proposed Burwood East centre is cited as a factor in Myer redirecting its focus to Melbourne’s south-east, leading to the development of Chadstone, which later became Australia’s largest shopping centre."Shopping centre for Myer Emporium Ltd appears likely to proceed on 28 acres of land purchased at East Malvern" Cross-Section 1 July 1958, p. 3 – Via State Library Victoria
Set to be the largest and most modern of its kind in Victoria, the Forest Hill centre was proposed by a private consortium headed by Paul Fayman. Investors included commercial law firm partners Maurice Slonim and Leon Velik.
Planning and delays (1956–64) Directors and consultants made several study trips to the United States to survey the newest generation of American regional malls. They visited the Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco, one of the most influential post-war malls in America, whose layout would directly inform the design of the Forest Hill centre.
There was a long debate between the developers, local council and neighbours about what the centre should be called. During the early planning stage it was referred to as either the Forest Hill or Forest Hills shopping centre. The 's' at the end of Forest Hills was controversial as it didn't accurately reflect the suburb of Forest Hill, instead keeping with the American theme and referencing Forest Hills in Queens, NYC. Between 1958 and 1960, it was advertised as the Stonestown Drive-In Shopping Centre, reverting back to its earlier branding of Forest Hills in time for opening in June 1964. Original layout
As built, the original centre was a single-level, open-air strip complex built around a rectangular inner block called Canterbury Court, where two landscaped courtyards were enclosed by a continuous ring of shops. An angled, sloping spine of stores known as Centre Court cut through the middle of the block, linking the large front and rear car parks while dividing the twin courtyards. A service loop encircled the retail block, and a separate row of narrow, ancillary shops lined the eastern boundary along Mahoneys Road.
The proposal was exceptionally ambitious for the time and struggled to gain momentum from the outset. After its initial announcement, information about the project became subject to continual rumours. In a 1957 interview with the Nunawading Gazette, project spokesperson Walter McLaughlan admitted the developers felt they almost owed an apology to local residents, prospective buyers, and business owners. "Few people could realise the headaches which arise in a project of the magnitude of 75 shops, 44 houses, a theatre, halls, and all the amenities to be built here," he said.Walter McLaughan's full statement as reported on Page 1 of the Nunawading Gazette, 24 October 1957: "If people could see the van-load of correspondence and plans which are associated with this project, they would understand why we've been 'under cover' for about two years. Most local people will appreciate the problems which arise in connection with a house built on an unmade road. But few people could realise the headaches which arise in a project of the magnitude of 75 shops, 44 houses, [a] theatre, halls, and all the amenities to be built here. There are continual complications as town planning, uniform building regulations and requirements of various authorities enter the picture. This has been a headache to them, too–involving almost a complete town. All the bodies connected with various plans, permits and services have given use their wholehearted co-operation and advice and we are most grateful to them. But, speaking of the reason why such projects take so long to finalise on paper, a comparatively small change can upset a whole train of planning and there have been so many £400 alterations to the plans alone that it has run into the thousands in money and weeks or months in time. We are not completely clear yet. The final constructional problem is to eliminate a 7 ft. dip in Canterbury Road–which is to be reconstructed. The 7 ft. rise will alter all the street levels, but when complete, will be of immense value to us, our neighbours, and the public."
In preparation for a scheduled opening in early 1959, major tenants Coles, Woolworths, Dickins, Pattersons, Shell and Caltex entered contracts with the developers. Tenders for construction were called in later 1958, but progress abruptly paused amid financial shortfalls.The proposal was strengthened through a partnership between Fayman's consortium and Paynes Properties, which took a controlling interest and planned to open one of its Paynes Bon Marché department stores on-site. The developers acquired an additional 18 hectares of surrounding land, effectively quadrupling the housing estate's size to about 190 blocks. More than £250,000 was set aside for roads, drainage, and sewerage.
All roadworks were contracted to F. J. Kerr & Bros who built several streets including Barter Crescent, Paul Road, and an extension of Mahoneys Road, creating a thoroughfare between Burwood Highway and Canterbury Road. With additional funding secured, prestigious architectural firm Leslie M. Perrott & Partners were hired to expand on and enhance Wheatland's 1957/58 design.
A press conference to officially launch the development was held on 26 May 1959 at the Hotel Australia. In announcing his company's participation in the centre, Norman Rockman of the Rockman's department store chain predicted that "regional drive-in shopping centres will soon play a vital part in the shopping habits of the community". The Rockman's chain, which had recently been acquired by developer Stanley Korman, joined the centre as an anchor tenant.
Representing Payne's Properties and the Reid-Murray group, Raymond Borg said in his speech to the crowd: "My associates and I feel we shall build more than an ultra-modern drive-in shopping centre, planned by far-sighted people." He also said that the centre would be "the largest and most modern in Australia". The next day, HSV-7 aired an interview with the supervising architect Leslie M Perrott Junior, who discussed his American-influenced design.
Later in the year it was announced that a medical centre had been added to the plans, though this wouldn't be built until 1969 under different architects. In preparation for construction of the shops and houses, an orchard of about 500 trees was bulldozed. Approximately 6 hectares of thickly-timbered remnant bushland was cleared, and several timber cottages were burnt down under CFA supervision.
Tenders for the centre itself were called once again and works commenced by November 1959. Contractor McDougall-Ireland built three large anchor stores near the car park at Canterbury Road, and a dozen subsidiary shops in the Centre Court. Residential land first went to auction in December 1959, with many lots having homes built by Paynes Properties and sold as a package.
The developers sought to establish a £100,000 hotel with the centre, and applied for a liquor license. But this move was strongly opposed by local residents, who stressed road safety issues and the welfare of the students at the adjacent Nunawading High School. The centre's opening was subsequently rescheduled from March 1960 to January 1961, but this was optimistic given the circumstances facing the developers. After 89 ratepayers and local associations sent written objections to Council, it was agreed by a vote of 9 to 1 that Council should intervene and a public hearing was convened at the Licensing Court. In June 1960, amid protracted disputes and the formation of a protest society, the developers simply dropped the hotel from the plans. By this time, only a dozen or so shops had been built, but would sit empty long past their schedule opening. The delay was mainly due to declining economic conditions and an eventual credit crunch, which lead to the bankruptcy of industrialist Stanley Korman – a key backer of the project. To make matters worse, another key financier,Raymond Borg of Payne's Properties, was under investigation for fraud and later served jail time.
Both incidents received widespread media coverage, contributing to Payne's parent company, Reid-Murray Holdings, being placed into a receivership amid what became the largest and longest bankruptcy in Australian history. Reflecting in his sole biographical interview, Fayman likened the scenery at Forest Hill during this period to "a ghost town". The abandoned parking surfaces became a place for drifting cars. Meanwhile, rival centre Chadstone opened in October 1960 to much fanfare. Development restarts again (1964) In February 1964, the receivers of Reid-Murray Holdings held a tense shareholder meeting at the South Melbourne Town Hall. Referring to the derelict land at Forest Hill, one shareholders asked if "this monument to stupidity" had been sold. The land fell back into the hands of Fayman shortly after the meeting, leading him to seek additional investors to get the project going again. As Fayman recalled, he was showing shop builders Maurice Alter and George Herscu around the deserted centre when Herscu blurted out: "Why just buy the shops? I want to buy the whole centre".
Alter and Herscu subsequently acquired a joint controlling interest in the development, while Fayman & associates retained about a quarter share. The Fayman-Alter-Herscu partnership would later consolidate their realestate enterprises as the Masaga Group, which later became Hanover Holdings Limited. The eventual success of the centre at Forest Hill laid the foundation of Herscu and Alter's later multi-billion dollar fortune.
Once the appropriate capital had been injected, developers engaged local builder-architect Thord Lorich to carry out a modest redesign and to supervise the centre’s full development. Rather than a limited update, he proposed a comprehensive reworking of the complex’s architectural identity: drawing on contemporary American retail precedents, he prepared a new master plan that introduced a unified design language across the site. Individual tenancies were required to conform to the architectural standards established by his office, an uncommon requirement in local retail development at the time, when incremental and stylistically varied construction was typical (the Bell Street Mall is a comparable example of that incremental approach).