An Overview of Calgary’s Mall Expansions

An Overview of Calgary’s Mall Expansions From Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay adding restaurants to a new Asian mall, we recap what we know about Calgary’s expanding mall scene By Jaelyn Molyneux September 24, 2014 A rendering of the New Horizon Mall, which will be built just outside of Calgary…

An Overview of Calgary’s Mall Expansions

From Holt Renfrew and Hudson’s Bay adding restaurants to a new Asian mall, we recap what we know about Calgary’s expanding mall scene

A rendering of the New Horizon Mall, which will be built just outside of Calgary near CrossIron Mills.

New Horizon Mall

This is the big Asian mall that is planned for right beside CrossIron Mills. The mall will have 500 stores set up like a traditional Asian market, but inside modern architecture. Picture small boutique stores enclosed in glass for plenty of display options. Each boutique is sold on the condominium model, which means you can own a piece of the mall and use it for your own store or lease it out to someone else. There is a stage on the main floor in the atrium for fashion shows and performances. The second floor will have a banquet hall, food court and traditional Chinese stage. There’s also underground parking and future plans for a hotel and supermarket.

CrossIron Mills

Ivanho Cambridge is spending $60 million to expand CrossIron Mills. It will bump out the mall in the entertainment district to make room for the relocated food court. The old food court space will be turned into retail space. The reno will roll out in two phases. The first will be complete in spring 2016 and the second will be done in 2017. CrossIron Mills was designed so that it could easily be expanded as demand for the mall increases so expect more of these announcements in the future.

Hudson’s Bay, Downtown

The major changes to this iconic building have little to do with clothes or home appliances. Instead restaurant company Oliver & Bonacini is taking over 80,000 square feet of space and transforming it into a few different dining options. The basement will become a lounge aimed at drawing the slightly older, more mature drinker (by that they mean older than 25). The main floor, including pushing out onto the arcade and Stephen Avenue will be a restaurant. And, the 6th floor will become a private members wine club complete with wine storage and all of the accessories and stemware you need to properly taste that wine. The timeline on this project is the first half of 2015.

Holt Renfrew

Calgary’s Holt Renfrew is getting 20 per cent bigger. 2,500 of that space will go to the new fully-licensed restaurant. But, the show department will also grow and include boutique areas. Menswear will expand to 20,000 square feet and personal shopping areas will go from 2,800 to 4,100 square-feet. That 4,100 square feet includes a 1,000 square-foot “apartment”. That space is designed to look like a living room where you and several of your close friends can gather for shopping, styling, spa services and dining.

Deerfoot Mall

The 80-acre property in the northeast where there was once an outlet mall will soon become a hybrid indoor/outdoor shopping experience. At least that is what the plans are from Shape Properties. The development company is knocking down most of the existing structure and creating a network of pedestrian friendly street front stores. Most of the mall will be outdoors, but there will be some opportunity to go inside (it gets cold here after). Also watch for restaurants to be part of the mix as plans continue to be announced. The first anchor tenant, Cabela’s, is expected to open in fall 2015.

Sears, North Hill Centre

The Sears would stay at North Hill Centre, but early plans have the department store partnering with developer Concord Pacific to add residential high rises with potential for more retail to the 12 acre site. This project still has to go through significant planning and approvals.

Chinook Centre

After a $277 million renovation that was complete in 2010 followed by constant tweaks including most recently converting the Sears location into Nordstrom, Chinook Centre has more expansion plans. This time it is for the southeast corner. It’s essentially the entire ground level parking lot on the Macleod Trail side that might be familiar to you as the place where the Stampede breakfast happens. The expansion is in the early stages, but it could include retail and office space as well as a hotel and residential. All that lost parking will move underground. It takes into consideration the Chinook Station Area Plan, which creates a better mixed use area between Chinook Mall and the LRT station.

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