Calgary: Calgary’s largest retail transformation is underway as Deerfoot Mall and adjacent vacant lands are redeveloped into Destination: Deerfoot City. The master-planned super regional centre will feature shops, restaurants and entertainment in an outdoor-indoor setting that will include social zones designed to bring people together all year long. The redevelopment will be the first of its kind in the region, meeting the growing demand for vibrant, experience driven retail experiences and an urban feel that differs from traditional malls. Deerfoot City landlord Shape Properties is well underway in the leasing of Phase 2 in what is considered to be one of the most strategic locations in Calgary.

At its core, Destination: Deerfoot City is a pedestrian-friendly network of outdoor streets and plazas interspersed with indoor comforts, providing a central destination for community residents, commuters and tourists alike. The 80-acre property is strategically located along Alberta’s busiest stretch of highway, Deerfoot Trail (Highway 2) at the 64 Avenue NE interchange, with more than 160,000 vehicles passing by daily. Nearby Calgary International Airport boasts 24,000 employees and more than 35,000 passengers daily, and about 930,000 people living within a 20 minute drive of Destination: Deerfoot City.  

“The retail offering has been slow to evolve in Canada,” says Executive Vice President of Shape Properties Darren Kwiatkowski, referring to the many enclosed malls and strip centres that pepper the country. “Destination: Deerfoot City will provide a unique and desired experience to Calgarians. The transformation of the centre is in response to how consumerism has evolved, people don’t live compartmentalized lifestyles anymore.”

The transformation is taking place over several phases. On January 31, the majority of the existing 623,000 square foot enclosed mall will close to make way for the next phase of redevelopment. Retailers like GoodLife Fitness and Winners with new locations in the enclosed centre will remain open during construction and incorporated into the massive, 1.1 million square foot open-air destination when complete. 

Sporting retailer Cabela’s recently opened their first southern Alberta location at Deerfoot City, and two more anchors are set to open in the fourth quarter of this year. The Rec Room, a brand new dining, amusement gaming and entertainment concept from Cineplex Entertainment will open in a 50,000 square foot, two-level location in Q4 of 2016. Canadian Tire will also open a 93,000 square foot store in a new building near Cabela’s. 

Deerfoot City will feature four architecturally unique ‘social zones’ that will bring higher brand exposure and drive deeper engagement with consumers: The ‘Restaurant Campus’, ‘Style District’, ‘Central Plaza’, and ‘Food Lodge’. Each is described below. 

Restaurant Campus: Opening in the fourth quarter of 2017, The Restaurant Campus will feature a variety of options from fine dining to quick casual bites. Vibrant patios will spill onto sidewalks, surrounding the event-filled Central Plaza and its massive water feature.

Style District: Opening in the fourth quarter of 2017, The Style District will feature an eclectic collection of shops and services, with everything from emerging upstart designers and homegrown labels to popular international fashion brands.

Central Plaza: The social heart of Deerfoot City will feature stunning architecture, vibrant patios and lush landscapes surrounding a dramatic water feature, creating an ideal setting for lively events and entertainment.

Food Lodge: The lodge-like experience will provide shoppers a place to warm up by the fireplace — a terrific amenity for a chilly winter day. The Food Lodge will offer shoppers a central place to eat, meet, and rest their feet.

Landlord Shape Properties continues to seek retail tenants for the redevelopment of Destination Deerfoot City. For more information, contact: Brian Nosko, nosko@shapeproperties.com or 604-694-7457, and Graham Horton, ghorton@shapeproperties.com or 604-694-7452.

American retailer Eddie Bauer will open a street-front location on Vancouver’s Robson Street in the spring. The store replaces French Connection, which closed over the weekend. 

The new Eddie Bauer store will feature French Connection’s address of 1150 Robson Street, and will measure about 3,150 square feet. The deal was negotiated by Mario Negris and Martin Moriarty of Vancouver’s CBRE Urban Retail Team. 

Mr. Moriarty noted that the 1100 block of Robson Street is becoming something of an “athletic/outdoor apparel destination” with Eddie Bauer joining New Balance, Sketchers, and Nike on the same block. CBRE also coordinated the Nike deal, which will soon replace the former 4,000 square foot Mexx location at 1119 Robson Street. 

Robson Street will be one of two Canadian street-front locations for Eddie Bauer, with the other being on Government Street in Victoria. A street-front Toronto Bloor Street flagship closed in 2006 to make way for an expansion of neighbouring Holt Renfrew. 

French Connection has struggled in recent years and has closed most of its North American locations. Only three French Connection locations now remain in Canada — Montreal’s Sainte Catherine Street West houses one French Connection store, and the company’s two Toronto-area stores are at CF Sherway Gardens and Vaughan Mills. French Connection has closed most of its Canadian stores over the past several years, including its Canadian flagship on Toronto’s Bloor Street West in 2013. 

A proposed second-level retail expansion at Vancouver’s Oakridge Centre is no longer progressing as planned, after landlord Ivanhoé Cambridge discovered an underground aquifer beneath the mall site. An expansion is still in the works for Oakridge, though smaller than originally anticipated.

The massive $1.5 billion project would have seen the complex expand to a total of 4.6 million square feet, including several tall residential towers and other uses above an expanded shopping centre. An expansion will still happen, but with 450 fewer residential units and less retail, spanning a total of about 3.5 million square feet. 

The mall’s retail component was originally supposed to grow by approximately 800,000 square feet, including a new second-floor retail level and a new department store anchor at its south end that was rumoured to possibly be a Saks Fifth Avenue or Bloomingdale’s. The second floor retail would have seen the existing 574,000 square foot mall expanded to about 1.365 million square feet, making it British Columbia’s second-largest mall after Metropolis at Metrotown. Ivanhoé Cambridge confirms that a ground-level westward expansion is still planned for Oakridge, though the mall will no longer gain a second retail level. 

Ivanhoé Cambridge says that a recently discovered aquifer beneath the site is to blame, though the company also said that there would be difficulties keeping tenants on board during the planned eight years of construction. Now that plans for a second retail level have been scrapped, retailers will be able to continue to operate on the mall’s ground floor while the scaled-back residential construction progresses above. 

Oakridge Centre is considered to be Vancouver’s most prestigious suburban mall, with freestanding locations for upscale retailers such as Tiffany & Co., Hugo Boss, Max Mara, and Rolex (at Montecristo Jewellers). The centre is anchored by a 182,000 square foot Hudson’s Bay and a 50,000 square foot Safeway grocery store. Target was originally supposed to move in to replace the mall’s former Zellers, though that was cancelled when Target shuttered its Canadian operations last year. 

Oakridge Centre is one of North America’s most productive shopping centres, with sales estimated to be $1,533 per square foot annually. Later this month, we’ll be releasing our newest study ranking Canada’s most productive malls in terms of sales per square foot.