Hillcrest Mall has been the heart of Richmond Hill’s flourishing community for the past 50 years.
Recently the shopping centre celebrated that milestone as it has developed over the years into an important community gathering destination for local residents.
“In 1974, we opened as the largest mall north of metro Toronto and for the past 50 years, Hillcrest Mall has stood as a cornerstone of Richmond Hill, evolving and growing alongside the city. Since then, we’ve seen tremendous growth including an HBC renovation and redevelopments of our South and North Wings, bringing popular brands like H&M, Indigo and Sporting Life closer to our community,” said Ryan Da Silva, Hillcrest Mall’s Director and General Manager.
Hillcrest is a regional shopping centre which features a mix of 120+ fashion, lifestyle and food retailers. Strategically located in the heart of Richmond Hill, the shopping centre provides an unparalleled opportunity to capitalize on the region’s lucrative economy and growing affluent
population, says the mall which is about 585,000 square feet.
Sought-after brands including Sporting Life, Indigo, HomeSense/Marshalls, West Coast Kids, H&M, Hudson’s Bay, lululemon, Aritzia and Sephora continue to highlight Hillcrest as a shopping destination in York Region.
Hillcrest is co-owned by Oxford Properties and Montez Corp and managed by Oxford Properties Group.
Oxford Properties Group is a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder. It builds, buys, and grows defined real estate operating business with world-class management teams. Established in 1960, Oxford and its portfolio companies manage approximately C$82 billion of assets across four continents on behalf of their investment partners.
Oxford’s owned portfolio encompasses office, logistics, retail, multifamily residential, life sciences, hotels and credit in global gateway cities and high-growth hubs. Oxford is owned by OMERS, the Canadian defined benefit pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees.
In August, Hillcrest Mall celebrated its 50th anniversary with a number of activities, a back-to-school fundraising initiative and made a $5,000 contribution to Sandgate Women’s Shelter in York Region.
Hillcrest Mall was decked out with gallery timeline walls, a large gold 50 installation and a Rose Photo Wall paying homage to Richmond Hill’s reputation as the rose capital of Canada. From August 1 to 25, guests were invited to donate backpacks filled with supplies, clothing and toiletries near Guest Experience Desk to help the families of Sandgate Women’s Shelter.
Da Silva said Hillcrest was the largest mall north of metro Toronto and “for the past 50 years Hillcrest has stood as a cornerstone of Richmond Hill.”
“It continues to evolve and expand in a growing city,” he said, adding that mall occupancy is about 97 per cent. “The mall is bustling. Quite busy.”
Da Silva said some of the newer retailers in the past year or so include a new lululemon store, Gatsby Studio Salon & Spa, Ramona’s Kitchen.
Island Way Sorbet is coming.
“We have a lot in the works,” he said. “We have a few more but nothing we can name at this time . . . Our most recent expansion was our north expansion which included Marshalls, Mark’s, Indigo and Old Navy.
“We continue to invest at Hillcrest Mall and we’re currently looking at adding residential. That would definitely complement our shopping centre and the density surrounding the shopping centre which would work hand in hand in terms of shopping and a live, work, play element.
“The mall continues to evolve based on market conditions and we look to add various elements. Food and beverage. We continue to look at it which drives traffic to the shopping centre. We have a lot of great retailers including Sporting Life, SportChek, Marshalls, HomeSense. All the staples that you would need and find in a shopping centre.
“We continue to work with the city of Richmond Hill. We’re still making progress on obtaining municipal approvals and that would be for a proposed 588-unit purpose built rental. Two towers – 26 and 30 storey towers.”
He said the former TD location along Yonge Street will have two new restaurants in the future – 7,000 square feet added to the mall.
