Oakridge Park mall to use satellite overflow parking lot for grand opening period | Daily Hive

Oakridge Park mall to offer satellite overflow parking lot option during grand opening period

Construction progress on Oakridge Park mall, as of May 11, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

The anticipation has been building for years, and the wait is finally over: the new Oakridge Park shopping centre — the complete redevelopment of the old Oakridge Centre shopping mall — will officially open to the public late in the morning of Thursday, May 28, 2026, following festivities that include a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

This marks the first and largest phase of the brand-new mall, comprising 650,000 sq. ft. of leasable retail and restaurant space, plus expansive, inviting mall corridors and other common areas. Most of the approximately 100 retailers and food and beverage businesses in this first phase are expected to be ready for opening day.

The retailer lineup builds on the previous mall’s luxury positioning while expanding its mix of mid-market brands. In terms of floor area, one of the largest retailers expected to be ready for opening day is Sporting Life, which will be the upscale sports apparel and outdoor clothing chain’s second location in British Columbia.

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Some of the largest anchor tenants will not open until a few weeks after opening day, specifically the neighbourhood-serving businesses of a 50,000 sq. ft. Safeway grocery store — a major return to the property — and a 25,000 sq. ft. Signature BC Liquor Store, which will relocate from its current Cambie Street location just north of the mall.

Beyond its broad retail mix, a key anchor attraction ready for Thursday’s opening will be Canada’s second Time Out Market food hall — part of a renowned global chain of upscale food and beverage destinations built around a highly curated selection of local offerings. The 50,000-sq.-ft. Time Out Market Vancouver will feature about 1,000 seats in a variety of configurations intended to encourage gatherings, lingering, and socializing and 20 vendors, such as Feenie’s (by chef Rob Feenie), Lunch Lady, DownLow Chicken, Heritage Asian Eatery, and PiDGiN.

Construction progress on Oakridge Park mall, as of May 11, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

A major portion of the 7.5-acre rooftop public park — an official City of Vancouver park managed by the Vancouver Park Board and maintained by the mall operator — will also be ready for opening day. However, the 100,000 sq. ft. civic centre — including a major new community centre and the return of the Oakridge branch of Vancouver Public Library — operated by the City of Vancouver, will not be ready until 2027.

Accessing free underground parking at Oakridge Park mall

QuadReal Property Group, the mall’s owner and operator, is anticipating very large crowds throughout the grand opening period and the first weekend of business.

By design, Oakridge Park will offer 2,000 free parking stalls for mall visitors across the first two underground parkade levels. Complimentary parking for mall visitors is free for the first three hours. Overnight parking is not permitted, and the parkade will not be available for park-and-ride use for SkyTrain’s Oakridge-41st Avenue Station.

There are three vehicle entrances to the underground parkade: one north entrance on West 41st Avenue, and two east entrances on Cambie Street — one just south of the intersection with West 42nd Avenue and the other at the intersection with West 44th Avenue.

oakridge park mall underground parking entrances

Underground parking entrances for Oakridge Park mall. (Oakridge Park)

Oakridge Park has also adopted high-tech wayfinding solutions to help drivers locate their vehicles, using an advanced network of overhead cameras and sensors to monitor real-time parking capacity and allow drivers to digitally search for the exact location of their parked vehicle.

Additionally, for customers seeking added convenience, valet service will be available at two locations: the north valet near the north atrium and the south valet near the south atrium. Both valet stations are located on the P1 level. Valet parking starts at $20 for the first three hours, plus $5 per additional hour, with no daily maximum. The north valet will operate from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, while the south valet will operate from noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

oakridge park mall valet parking stations

Valet parking stations in the P1 level of Oakridge Park’s underground parking. (Oakridge Park)

Oakridge Park mall will officially open for the first time at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 28. After opening day, the mall’s regular hours will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays to Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Special festivities and other programming marking the rebirth of the mall will continue well into June during mall hours.

Time Out Market’s regular operating hours will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays to Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with its Beaucoup Bakery Cafe opening and closing earlier each day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Temporary overflow parking lot option during four-day opening weekend

Given Metro Vancouver’s relatively recent history with brand-new mall openings seeing extremely high traffic, and the specific anticipation related to Oakridge Park mall, with its high calibre of offerings, including Time Out Market, there are plans in place to provide temporary additional parking if the underground parkades become full.

In anticipation of a significant surge in vehicle traffic upon opening, the mall has arranged a temporary overflow parking option at the nearby surface parking lot at 949 West 41st Ave. for the first four days of business. Located roughly two blocks west of the mall, just before Oak Street, the 14-acre site — accessible from West 41st Avenue — was formerly TransLink’s trolley bus depot and is currently vacant while awaiting redevelopment by Grosvenor into the future Mayfair West neighbourhood.

This temporary overflow parking lot option will operate from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28; 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29; 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30; and 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. Visitors using the temporary lot can either take a short shuttle ride to the mall or walk about 10 minutes to the mall’s main entrance at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue.

Vehicle entrance into 949 West 41st Ave., Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Walking distance between the temporary overflow parking site at 949 West 41st Ave. and the Oakridge Park mall main entrance at the intersection of West 41st Avenue and Cambie Street. (Google Maps)

The opening of Vancouver’s last two shopping centres, built completely from scratch, was associated with big crowds and significant traffic congestion over their multi-day grand opening periods, namely the 2015 opening of McArthurGlen Vancouver Airport Outlet Centre and the 2016 opening of Tsawwassen Mills.

Of course, regional public transit services that directly serve Oakridge Park are also highly convenient, including the R4 41st Avenue RapidBus and Oakridge-41st Avenue Station on the Canada Line.

Oakridge-41st Avenue Station is open and accessible, but it is still undergoing major construction as part of developer-funded upgrades that include an expanded street-level entrance, a new canopy, two additional escalators from street level, a new elevator, and a second station entrance connected to an underground mall corridor. The station upgrades and expansion — including the second entrance that directly leads to the ticketing concourse — are expected to be completed this summer. The street-level elevator at the station will reopen on May 28.

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