Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm are set to open at CF Rideau Centre in downtown Ottawa in spring 2027, bringing three major home-focused retail banners into the former Nordstrom space.
The stores will be located on Level 3, marking a significant step in Cadillac Fairview‘s redevelopment of the large department-store premises left vacant when Nordstrom exited Canada in 2023. CBRE, which represents the Williams-Sonoma brands for real estate requirements in Canada, identifies the Rideau Centre transaction as a flagship.
All three retailers are part of San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma, Inc., making the project a significant multi-banner expansion into Ottawa. Williams Sonoma specializes in cookware, kitchenware and entertaining, Pottery Barn in furniture and home furnishings, and West Elm in contemporary furniture and home design.
The openings also come as Williams-Sonoma prepares to return to physical store growth following several years of optimizing its store portfolio.
Katelyn Young and Geoffrey Smith of CBRE’s Retailer Services Group work with the Williams-Sonoma portfolio in Canada and both identify the Rideau Centre transaction among their recent notable deals.
Canada a Growth Market for Williams-Sonoma
Williams-Sonoma’s Canadian physical network remains relatively small. The company’s latest annual filing reported 506 stores globally as of February 1, 2026, with its Canadian network concentrated primarily in major markets including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. None of Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn or West Elm currently operates a store in Ottawa.
Canada has emerged as one of the company’s stronger international markets. During Williams-Sonoma’s second-quarter earnings call, President and CEO Laura Alber said growth across its priority international markets was led by Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Recent results were also positive across the three banners coming to Ottawa. Comparable brand revenue in the second quarter increased 7.6 per cent at Williams Sonoma, 6.4 per cent at West Elm and 5.1 per cent at Pottery Barn.
Williams-Sonoma expects its store count to remain approximately flat in fiscal 2026 before moving to annual unit growth of about one to three per cent beginning in fiscal 2027. The spring 2027 Rideau Centre openings will therefore arrive as the company shifts back toward expanding its physical store network.
Breaking Up a 157,000-Square-Foot Nordstrom
Nordstrom opened at CF Rideau Centre in March 2015 as part of Cadillac Fairview’s major redevelopment of the downtown Ottawa shopping centre. The approximately 157,000-square-foot store occupied two levels and was Nordstrom’s second location in Canada.
Nordstrom announced its Canadian exit eight years later, eventually closing six full-line department stores and seven Nordstrom Rack locations. Its departure left Cadillac Fairview with a major two-level vacancy in the heart of the mall.
As Cadillac Fairview worked through the space, indications emerged that the former anchor would be divided among multiple tenants instead of being replaced by another department store. Ottawa commercial real estate broker Candice Lerner-Fry said in 2024 that Cadillac Fairview was speaking with major fashion and household-goods retailers about the former Nordstrom premises and expected the space would ultimately be subdivided.
The arrival of Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm now puts a significant part of that strategy into view.
Level 3 Takes Shape
The individual sizes and precise configurations of the three stores have not been disclosed. It is therefore unclear whether they will occupy the full Level 3 portion of the former Nordstrom or how the floor will ultimately be divided.
Redeveloping a former department-store floor can involve considerably more than placing new walls between stores. Landlords can introduce new mall corridors, entrances and common areas through former anchor premises, giving individual retailers direct access to the shopping centre’s circulation system.
That approach has been used elsewhere in Canada when large department-store spaces have been subdivided. Cadillac Fairview has not disclosed the final configuration at Rideau Centre, nor has it announced what will ultimately occupy the upper portion of the former Nordstrom.
The Upper-Floor Challenge
Upper levels of former department stores can present a different leasing challenge. Traditional department stores were designed to move shoppers vertically through large interconnected floors, while specialty retailers typically favour direct access to a mall’s main circulation corridors.
That can lead landlords to pursue different strategies by floor. Primary retail levels can be divided among multiple stores, while upper levels can accommodate larger destination uses that are less dependent on conventional mall frontage.
Oakridge Park in Vancouver provides a recent Canadian example. Hudson’s Bay had been planned as an anchor at the major mixed-use development, but the department store was never ultimately built out.
Altea Active is instead taking the upper level of the planned Hudson’s Bay premises for a large fitness and wellness club. The arrangement provides an example of how substantial space originally intended for a department store can accommodate a destination use outside the traditional retail model.
There is no indication that Altea Active or another fitness operator is destined for Rideau Centre, and Cadillac Fairview has not disclosed plans for the upper Nordstrom floor. The Oakridge project nevertheless points to another potential model for large upper-level anchor spaces as shopping-centre owners rethink former department stores.
Eataly Job Postings Sparked Earlier Speculation
The former Nordstrom premises had already attracted considerable speculation before the Williams-Sonoma brands were confirmed.
Earlier in 2026, Eataly North America posted a series of employment opportunities for Ottawa. The listings prompted online discussion that the Italian marketplace and restaurant operator could be preparing to enter the market, with some speculation focusing on CF Rideau Centre and the former Nordstrom space.
Eataly never announced a Rideau Centre location, however, and the job postings did not identify the mall as a future store. At least some were specifically described as being for “future opportunities,” leaving open whether Eataly was exploring Ottawa, building a prospective pool of employees or simply posting ahead of any firm plans.
The postings nevertheless drew attention because of Eataly’s existing relationship with Cadillac Fairview. The Italian food hall operator has locations at CF Sherway Gardens and CF Toronto Eaton Centre, along with two other Toronto locations.
No Ottawa Eataly location has been announced.
CF Rideau Centre Continues to Add Retailers
The Williams-Sonoma project follows several years of leasing activity at CF Rideau Centre. The downtown property has added retailers including Uniqlo and Arc’teryx, while Quebec-based pop-culture and entertainment retailer Imaginaire has also established a significant presence in the mall.
Those additions came as Cadillac Fairview worked through the much larger Nordstrom vacancy. Bringing Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm together adds another retail category to the property while establishing all three banners in an Ottawa market where they currently have no stores.
The concepts also have a natural relationship. Williams Sonoma focuses heavily on kitchens, cooking and entertaining, Pottery Barn carries a broader furniture and home furnishings assortment, and West Elm is positioned around contemporary furniture and design. Locating the three together creates a substantial home-focused retail cluster under common ownership.
The project shows how the loss of a large department store can reshape a shopping centre without requiring a like-for-like replacement. At Rideau Centre, Nordstrom’s former footprint is beginning to take on a new configuration through multiple specialty retailers, while the future of the balance of the two-level space has yet to be disclosed.
Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm are expected to open at CF Rideau Centre in spring 2027.
