A proposed outlet mall for Edmonton’s west side has been cancelled. Its landlord has partnered with a competitor to build one large outlet centre — a smart move, considering that a recent study showed that Edmonton could become oversaturated with two major outlet malls.
Last spring, American behemoth Simon Property Group began marketing plans to open an outlet mall, called Edmonton Premium Outlets, on a site near the northeast corner of Anthony Henday Drive and Stony Plain Road. When we were first provided lease plans for the project in April of 2015, names of proposed tenants included Polo, Michael Kors and Saks Fifth Avenue‘s off-price Saks OFF 5TH. Further investigation revealed that these were unconfirmed and, rather, were placeholders for marketing materials.
In December of 2013, landlord Ivanhoé Cambridge announced that it was building an outlet mall at the entrance of Edmonton International Airport. In January of 2015, Ivanhoé Cambridge announced that its outlet mall would be 65,000 square feet larger than originally planned. If Simon Properties had gone ahead with its proposed centre, the Edmonton market could have become oversaturated, according to a study conducted by the University of Alberta School of Retailing.
Ivahoé Cambridge has now announced that it is partnering with Simon Property Group to build a 100-store, 428,000 square foot ‘Premium Outlet Collection — Edmonton International Airport‘, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2017. Although neither landlord has announced tenants for the centre, sources say that Saks OFF 5TH may be an anchor — one of 25 planned OFF 5TH stores for Canada. Ivanhoé Cambridge will develop and manage the new Edmonton airport outlet mall, while Simon will jointly lease the property.
Edmonton will be Simon’s fourth Canadian market. The company also has ownership interests in Premium Outlets Montreal, Toronto Premium Outlets, and McArthurGlen Designer Outlets at Vancouver International Airport. By the end of 2017, Ivanhoé Cambridge will operate three pure outlet centres — Outlet Collection at Niagara, the Edmonton outlet and a Winnipeg centre, as well as hybrid outlet centres in suburban Toronto (Vaughan Mills), Calgary (CrossIron Mills) and later this year in suburban Vancouver (Tsawwassen Mills).
