The development crosses over three major roads: The 20 metre support structure from the two-storey glazed retail link over Portland Terrace weighs 400 tonnes, and Western Esplanade, opened in 1900 to link the Royal Pier with Southampton Central railway station,[5] was cut in half by the centre.

In December 2012, the model of the master plan was unveiled to the public, designed by London architects Acme Space and structural engineer, AKT II.

[7] On 14 April 2014, Hammerson submitted detailed designs for phase one of its Watermark WestQuay scheme to Southampton City Council.

[8] With the new name of WestQuay Watermark, the building work for phase one began in January 2015, with the closing of the existing walkway and the demolition of the entrance ramp.

The first phase comprises a landmark 10 screen cinema, owned by Showcase Cinemas as part of their Cinema De Lux brand, a bowling alley and arcade from Hollywood Bowl, and twenty-one restaurants (Wahaca, Zizzi, Byron Hamburgers, Five Guys, Nando's, Bill's Restaurant, Cabana, Comso, Cau, Red Dog Saloon, All Bar One, TGI Fridays, The Diner, Franco Manca, Thaikhun, The Real Greek, Casa Brasil, Kupp and L'Osteria as of December 2016) alongside a large public piazza.

[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] On 29 November 2016, it was announced that the first wave of restaurants (CAU, The Real Greek, Red Dog Saloon, Franco Manca, Thaikhun, Byron, Cabana, and COSMO) would be open on 8 December 2016.

Completed by the Autumn of 2012, the updated food terrace had new restaurants, including: Wagamama, Café Rouge, Pizza Express, Ed's Easy Diner and Tortilla Mexican Grill.

The outside terrace area became enclosed for all-weather access, with the seating updated to include a mixture of soft and hard furnishings; and inside, a glass bridge was installed, linking Café Rouge with Wagamama.

As of March 2016, Café Rouge was replaced by the Handmade Burger Co and Toby's Carvery was converted into a Subway As of October 2020, the available choice on the Dining Level is McDonald's, Subway, Wagamama, Tortilla, Chopstix, Slim Chickens, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, Ed's Easy Diner, Nando's and YO!