Merry Hill Shopping Centre had agreed to become tenants of a new department store in the final phase of the shopping complex. It opened on 23 October 1990, replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns West Bromwich and Dudley; the retailer had hoped that its Merry Hill store could co-exist with the West Bromwich and Dudley stores, but the onset of the recession and a general downturn in trade in these towns led to the closure of both stores on 25 August 1990. On 24 December 1990, the shopping centre was sold to Mountleigh. Development of the steelworks site did not commence until
Box Hill Central Shopping Centre Box Hill Central - South was originally opened in 1984 as "Box Hill Central", it was built when the old Box Hill railway station,and level crossing was removed, and Market and Main Streets were closed to traffic. The centre was refurbished in 1998 and in 2000 was acquired by the Centro Properties Group, who have since renamed it to Centro Box Hill South, though many still refer to it as Box Hill Central. Unusually, the shopping centre has a large indoor fresh food market located along the eastern edge of the complex. The original market opened in 1895 which was