A new "mini-major" shop will go into the former Zara store at Westfield Kotara as part of plans lodged for the shopping centre.
Westfield would not reveal who may fill the spot, but a development application lodged with City of Newcastle includes reconfiguring the former Zara space to allow for three specialty tenancies fronting the inside of the centre and a smaller mini-major with a new entrance to the level 2 car park.
Mini-major is a retail category that includes stores around the size of JB Hi-Fi, Rebel Sport, Dan Murphys and Cotton On Mega.
"We can confirm we have lodged a development application for Westfield Kotara, and look forward sharing details with customers at a later stage," Westfield Kotara centre manager Kelly Lewis said.
"Continuing to evolve our retail offer to meet the needs of customers is an important part of the Westfield customer experience and how we continue to attract more people to our destinations."
Clothing store Nude Lucy has recently opened in one of the vacant spaces, while hoarding around the area says another retailer Perfect Stranger is coming soon.
The mini-major will be 1467.9 square metres and will have a 300.1 square metre store room.
The proposed new entrance to the store will result in the loss of three car parks on Level 2.
However planning documents said the last major redevelopment approval for the centre included a condition to provide a minimum of 3122 spaces on the site, and there are currently 3165 spaces within the centre.
"The loss of 3 spaces will not have any significant impact on the shopping centre with parking still provided in excess of minimum required by existing consents," the documents said.
Zara opened its first Hunter store at Westfield Kotara in 2018. The store closed in October 2022.
