The construction of the extension cost a total of £675m and brought Cardiff within the top five shopping destinations in the United Kingdom.

[12] St David's and other centres were patrolled in 2009 by three paramedics on bicycles between every Friday and Sunday in order to respond rapidly to medical emergencies.

Demolished buildings included Oxford Arcade, St David's Market, St David's Link including the Cardiff Central Library, the NCP Tredegar Street multi-storey car park, the Wales National Ice Rink, the NCP Bridge Street multi-storey car park, and Toys "R" Us who relocated to Cardiff International Sports Village.

The Lower Grand Arcade St David's 2 has added an extra 967,500 sq ft (89,880 m2) of retail space[4] to the city centre, in addition to the 260,000 sq ft (24,000 m2) John Lewis department store,[4] nine other large stores, and a further 90 smaller shops in a two-tiered shopping mall have been built.

[4] It has also created 3,000 car parking spaces, new bars and restaurants plus the new 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) Central Library and 4,500 permanent jobs.

[17] Many of the retailers in the second phase of the centre were new to Cardiff, and to Wales, in particular John Lewis, Apple, Hollister, and Victoria's Secret.

The former Central Library was located a few hundred yards north of the present building and was knocked down to make way for the St David's 2 development.

The sculpture consists of a large stainless steel and enamelled metal arrow column and a hoop, which glows in the dark, and falls and rises with the tide.

[6] Hayes Apartments has private courtyard gardens designed by Hyland Edgar Driver and planted above the rooftop of the shopping centre.

The "people", simplified down to dots, become the linking element in a scheme that applies across a vast array of items, from fonts to symbols and images.