As customers waited, AMP Capital managing director Bryan Hynes launched the second stage of the $105 million expansion, which he said was the result of many years of hard work.
Mr Hynes said the company had recognised the growth in the City of Wanneroo and particularly the area around Clarkson when it bought the site in 2006.
He said the expansion provided contemporary retail products that suited local consumers and created local employment.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW‘It delivers a product that consumers actually want,’ he said. ‘They are the ones who shape our centres and make it successful.’
Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts said the shops were needed by the growing population.
‘We have doubled in size in the last 10 years and we will double again in the next 10 to 20 years; 21 people per day are moving into our area,’ she said.
Mrs Roberts congratulated the team on opening the expansion three weeks earlier than expected, ‘just before the Christmas shopping period’.
Celebrations continued through to the weekend, with beach-themed activities and competitions to entice shoppers.
Port Kennedy sculptor Kevin Crawford brought in five tonnes of sand to build his castle, etching away at the design over three days.
Mr Crawford told the Times he was an architect before becoming ‘a professional beach bum’.
The sand sculptor said he received one tonne bags of sand, which he shovelled into boxes and transported to the site.
Once there, he would carve away at the sand, largely making up the design on the spot, until he had a finished sculpture.