New look inside the future Oakridge mall (RENDERINGS)

Mar 10 2023, 3:53 am

Expect a truly elevated shopping experience at the new Oakridge Park mall when it opens in late 2024.

Site preparation work on the redevelopment — the demolition of the previous Oakridge Centre and excavation — first began before the pandemic. In Summer 2020, a decision was made to shift the strategy to close the entire mall, and expedite the timeline for completing most of the brand new indoor shopping mall and a majority of the nine-acre rooftop public park by about two years, instead of having to wait longer until 2026.

Ever since, there has been very significant construction progress across the entire 28.5-acre mall site.

For those passing through the area along Cambie Street or West 41st Avenue, it is a sight that is hard to miss, and even from a distance the single largest cluster of construction cranes in the region can be seen.

oakridge park centre vancouver construction march 9 2023

Construction progress of Oakridge Park, as of March 9, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

oakridge park centre vancouver construction march 9 2023

Construction progress of Oakridge Park, as of March 9, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

oakridge park centre vancouver construction march 9 2023

Construction progress of Oakridge Park, as of March 9, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Three mixed-use towers along West 41st Avenue are well on their way upwards, forming a new street wall and the beginnings of the Oakridge Municipal Town Centre skyline, including two towers with mall, office, and condominium uses, and one tower with social housing and a major City-owned community centre with a replacement Vancouver Public Library branch.

Other residential buildings and the indoor mall areas to the south have also begun to make their way well above ground level. The residential towers — a mix of condominiums and rental housing with a total of more than 3,300 homes for over 6,000 residents — and 800,000 sq ft of office space will reach completion between 2024 and 2027.

oakridge park centre vancouver construction march 9 2023

Construction progress of Oakridge Park, as of March 9, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

oakridge park centre vancouver construction march 9 2023

Construction progress of Oakridge Park, as of March 9, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The floor area of the new mall will span 1.2 million sq ft — twice the size of the demolished previous mall. This includes a food hall that will be the world’s largest Time Out Market location, with 69,000 sq ft over two levels containing a curated high-quality mix of 17 live cooking kitchens with a wide range of cuisines, three bars, and a coffee shop, along with a stage, and art and cultural spaces.

The food hall’s mezzanine, the upper indoor level, will include a signature cocktail lounge, an event space, a demonstration kitchen, and outdoor patio opening up to the rooftop park. To state that Time Out Market would not be the old Oakridge food hall would be a gross understatement. Time Out Market will also open in late 2024.

Other anchor retail attractions will be a 141,000 sq ft, two-storey retail space on the north side for the new replacement Hudson’s Bay department store. This is expected to be a new concept, innovative store that sets it far apart from the chain’s existing locations.

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

Other significant retail spaces include a 14,800 sq ft unit and 32,000 sq ft unit in the southeast corner of the indoor mall. Down one level in the southeast corner, on the same level as the second underground parking level, there will be a 42,000 sq ft grocery store and a 14,000 sq ft liquor store.

Another two major retail units — 14,100 sq ft and 23,100 sq ft — provide the frontage for the “High Street” outdoor mall portion, located along the western side of the property. The previous mall’s 26,700 sq ft Crate & Barrel, which has remained open during construction, located at the northeast corner, will be retained.

In addition to Time Out Market’s vast food/beverage offerings, approximately 20 dedicated retail units for food/beverage are scattered across the mall, including some very obvious flagship restaurant experiences given both their size and unique location.

Beneath the tea house area on the rooftop park, above the indoor mall, there will be two restaurant units reaching the significant sizes of 11,900 sq ft and 11,300 sq ft. Within the indoor mall, some of the largest restaurant units are 8,000 sq ft, 7,400 sq ft, and 6,400 sq ft in size.

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

Altogether, the new mall will have well over 100 retail and restaurant units — not including the individual businesses within Time Out Market. This count does include the handful of retail and food/beverage units lining an underground corridor that will create a direct link between the indoor mall and the concourse level of SkyTrain Oakridge-41st Avenue Station, effectively providing the transit hub with an additional second entrance.

At this early stage, the slate of businesses at the new mall have not been announced by Westbank and Quadreal Property Group.

While there will certainly be a range of low-, mid-, and high-end stores, it is expected Oakridge Park will be able attract more upscale retailers to become the second largest luxury hub in Metro Vancouver outside of downtown Vancouver.

“Oakridge is going to be a very successful project in Vancouver, and next year is going to be very exciting. It is really going to compete with downtown Vancouver for retail tenants and consumers, and it’s going to split the market like what Yorkdale Shopping Centre has done in Toronto,” Craig Patterson, the founder and publisher of retail news publication Retail Insider, told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview.

“It’s the same scenario in Montreal, where they’re building this new Royalmount mall. It’s very similar to Oakridge in concept, except that it’ll destroy downtown Montreal because Montreal overall doesn’t have the same consumers to shop as Vancouver and Toronto does.”

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

Local firm Henriquez Partners Architects is behind the design of the overall redevelopment, while Revery Architecture is responsible for the retail environment design for the entire complex. Time Out Market is in the process of designing the food hall to its own specifications and standards.

New artistic renderings of the interior mall show open airy spaces, very high quality finishings, ample public art seamlessly integrated with the interior design, the use of wood materials for the ceilings, ample indoor greenery, large digital screen walls, and large skylights that allow natural light to flood the interior, which also perhaps provides a nod to previous mall’s gallerias.

There will also be ample spaces for lingering, gathering, and events, including a main atrium with amphitheatre-like seating that doubles as both an area for lingering and a concert hall-like environment.

Many revisions have been made to the redevelopment’s design over the years, with each redesign showing even greater attention to detail.

oakridge park centre mall vancouver

Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank)

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