[Photo: Ivanhoe Cambridge]
Surrey BC’s Guildford Town Centre reveals its $280 million renovation/expansion today, amid increasing competition amongst Canadian malls. Guildford’s expansion adds over 200,000 square feet of retail space for about 70 retailers. New stores include H&M, Forever 21, Browns Shoes, iehl’s, Sephora and a LEGO Store, among others. The expansion also includes a new food court with over 1,000 seats, new washrooms, and an overall modernized mall interior.
The mall will also see further redevelopment, scheduled for completion in 2014. We’ll periodically provide updates as we receive them.
In addition, a 10,000 square foot ‘living wall’ will adorn the mall. It’s one of the largest of its kind in North America and features more than 120 species of plants.
1.5 minute mall renovation/expansion ‘fly-through’
Landlord Ivanhoe Cambridge will continue to spend a fortune renovating and expanding its retail properties across the country. One of its largest projects is Vancouver’s Oakridge Shopping Centre, set to expand to more than double its current retail square footage while adding a third luxury department store. Ivanhoe Cambridge will also beef up the retail offerings at several Canadian hotel properties that it plans to eventually sell, including the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
Other Canadian shopping malls are also seeing significant expansions and renovations. One of the largest is at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, which recently underwent an expansion before announcing another addition/expansion that will include a Nordstrom store.
Mississauga’s Square One will see the addition of a 120,000 square foot Holt Renfrew as well as other retailers. West Edmonton Mall is spending hundreds of millions while adding luxury tenants and courting Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, while Calgary’s Chinook Centre looks to, again, expand its premises.
We’ll soon be writing an article on the expansion of West Vancouver’s Park Royal Shopping Centre, which will feature an outdoor ‘town-centre’ concept as well as the addition of a new retail anchor.
Guildford Town Centre’s doors open at 10:00 am today, after a 9:30 am grand opening celebration.
