Construction for two major shopping centre redevelopments – Oakridge in Vancouver and Brentwood in Burnaby – could begin in 2014 as final city approvals draw near.
The two developments follow a trend that has seen mall construction exploding around urban centres.
Colliers International vice-president of retail consulting, James Smerdon, said 2012’s tally of shopping centres completed, planned or in progress, reached five million square feet in Metro Vancouver.
“It was 10.5 million square feet in Calgary coming on line,” he said, as it defies the prediction of Internet shoppers abandoning brick and mortar buying.
He attributes the shopping mall development to changing urban demographics.
Malls from the 1960s to the 1980s were destination centres with large land tracts for parking.
Expanding populations now surround the centres and mall owners realize they need more value from the land.
“Residential, commercial, civil, transportation and other infrastructure has now built up around these once fringe malls and they are sitting there in their original state and they all need to be upgraded,” Smerdon said.
Malls, once indoor oriented developments, are also changing shape and moving towards becoming urban centres.
Oakridge is an example.
Construction could start late next year, said Westbank Developments project manager Rhiannon Mabberley.
“It is underutilized from a land use perspective and we hope to improve upon that,” she said.
The development includes a doubling of the retail mall to 1.4 million square feet, 2,916 residential units, 300,000 square feet of new office space plus a 70,000-square-foot civic centre (with library, seniors centre and childcare space).
It will also feature nine acres of rooftop public space.
“That is four city blocks,” Mabberley said, adding the space may serve as a running track, community gardens, lawns, children’s play area and outdoor restaurants.
“The concept has been quite well documented,” she said about the blending of civic with mall features.
“(But), from a mixed perspective, we think this one is quite unique,” she said.
The site has civic amenities, housing, shopping, rapid transit and office space.
Coming off a major rebuild and diving into another is West Vancouver’s Park Royal.
Metro-Can Construction built Park Royal Village’s 200,000 sq. ft. parkade with 432 parking stalls, ground floor renovations creating 64,000 additional sq. ft. of commercial rental space and village street amenities.
In September, the mall announced a further $150 million renovation and revitalization plan to include 300,000 square feet.
That contract for the expansion has gone to Bird Construction, said business development manager Paul Bangma.
Also in a major build-out is Guildford Town Centre mall, with a $280 million upgrade and expansion over three-phases plus outbuildings to finish in 2014.
Ledcor is doing the work.
Graham Construction and Engineering is doing High Street in Abbotsford, a $200 million mall, which finishes next year.
But, mall construction in Burnaby could soon be booming.
“There are four applications for shopping centre expansion,” said the municipality’s community planner Johannes Schumann.
They are Lougheed and Brentwood malls, Station Square and Sears at Metrotown.
Schumann said these expansions provide Burnaby with the opportunity to provide more civic or public spaces in traditionally private areas.
Station Square, west of Metrotown, has received approval on its master plan with Anthem Properties and Beedie Development Corporation starting redevelopment of the 11.8 acre site earlier this year.
The site development will include five towers with retail, office, residential and entertainment space.
“Brentwood has a 30-year building out with every phase taking five years,” said Schumann.
There are four main phases and eight sub-phases for the 28-acre site.
“The intention is to take a mall from the sixties and turn it into a town centre concept with public space,” he said.
The first eight-acre phase of development includes an outdoor commercial centre, public plaza, residential development, underground parking, with the facilities integrated to the Brentwood SkyTrain station and bus stations.
The developers are aggressive and hoping to start construction March 2014, said Schumann, but he believes a more realistic date is summer 2014.
He said Burnaby is currently reviewing the master plans for Lougheed Mall on 46 acres, and Sears at Metrotown, a nine-acre site.
Lougheed Mall’s redevelopment plan will add 1.2 million square feet of retail space, one million square feet of office space and more than 8,000 residential units.
In Richmond, Graham Construction and Engineering completed the 160,000 sq. foot retail and office addition, Aberdeen Square, to Aberdeen Centre, while PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. relocated the food court and provided additional shop space at Richmond Centre.
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