Retail Insider resumes our annual tradition of sharing holiday photos of Canadian shopping centres for 2022. Both landlords and merchants have rolled out the red carpet for holiday shoppers and the staff at Retail Insider wanted to share their efforts for those on a mission as they plow through their Christmas shopping, those who haven’t seen their favorite retail haunts over the holiday season for a while, or for those who like to thumb through festive holiday photos like we do!
This installment of the ‘Holiday Photo Series’ takes us to City Square Mall just south of downtown Vancouver. The retail hub is across the street from Vancouver’s City Hall and spans approximately 250,000 square feet of retail space. It’s close proximity to the city’s Canada Line public transit connecting YVR Airport to downtown by light rail and its Cambie street retail location makes the mixed-use and heritage roots a frequented location for Christmas shoppers.
City Square Mall was sold for $225 million in 2019 to Sun Commercial Real Estate Group. The corporation is based out of Richmond which also owns a number of other properties like the Sands Hotel in downtown Vancouver, Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club in Coquitlam, and two notable Richmond properties; the Mylora Sidaway Golf Club and Lucky 9 Lanes Bowling Centre at the Riverport Entertainment Complex. Prior to that, the Panahi family owned the complex.
The shopping centre is located in the heart of the heritage district of central Vancouver, on the northwest corner of 12th Avenue and Cambie Street. The almost-a-city-block sized centre started out life as far back as 1901 when two schools were built on the site. The Normal School was a provincially run school offering the “norms of teaching” in which new teachers were trained. The Model School was a fully functioning elementary school where the new teachers practice taught. The schools went through many iterations until their closure in the 1970 when they fell into disrepair.
In the 1980s the school buildings were designated Municipal Heritage Sites and reopened in August 16, 1989 in its current mixed-use format. It was incorporated into ‘The City Square Projects’ with a vibrant mix of unique shops, boutiques, language schools and private offices.
We hope you enjoyed our holiday tour of City Square Shopping Centre near downtown Vancouver. Don’t forget to check out our other retail photo tours over the past few months. Thank you for taking this tour with us.
Discover More Related Retail Photo Tours From Retail Insider:
- Holiday Photo Series: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in Downtown Vancouver
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- Holiday Photo Series: CF Pacific Centre in Downtown Vancouver
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- Holiday Photo Series: The Bay Centre in Victoria
- Retail Profile: Gastown Area in Vancouver (Spring 2022)
- Holiday Photo Series: Midtown in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Holiday Photo Series: Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver
- Holiday Photo Series: Metropolis at Metrotown Shopping Centre Adds New Retailers
- Holiday Photo Series: CF Toronto Eaton Centre
- Holiday Photo Series: The CORE Shopping Centre in Calgary, Alberta
- Holiday Photo Series: Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa
- Retail Profile: Tsawwassen Mills Shopping Centre in Greater Vancouver (Winter 2021)
- The PATH Holiday Photo Tour (December 2020)
- Retail Profile: Gastown Area in Vancouver (Spring 2022)
- Holiday Photo Series: Midtown in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Holiday Photo Series: Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver
- Holiday Photo Series: Metropolis at Metrotown Shopping Centre Adds New Retailers
- Holiday Photo Series: CF Toronto Eaton Centre
- Holiday Photo Series: The CORE Shopping Centre in Calgary, Alberta
- Holiday Photo Series: Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa
- Retail Profile: Tsawwassen Mills Shopping Centre in Greater Vancouver (Winter 2021)
- The PATH Holiday Photo Tour (December 2020)
