Previously operating under a different structure, the centre began trading in 1980 as "The Sands Shopping Centre". The Lend Lease Corporation purchased the centre in 1990 and began redevelopment of the site. The new centre began trading in 1994 under the new name "Sunshine Plaza". It contains approximately 62,000 square metres of floor space; increased by recent expansions in the early 2000s. The latest expansion (completed in 2002) included the addition of a Woolworths supermarket, a new leisure and restaurant precinct, and the expansion of the Birch Carroll & Coyle cinema complex.