It's official: Oakridge Park mall opening date announced for late May | Daily Hive

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

There was a hive of activity at the Oakridge Park mall site this morning shortly after 7 a.m., as hundreds of construction workers — entailing crews from the landlord’s main contractors as well as separate contractors for the many retailers, restaurants, food and beverage operators, and other businesses — poured onto the site for what has now become a final push toward the finish line.

That hive of workers will soon give way to a vastly and exponentially larger wave of visitors and permanent employees as the sprawling redevelopment finally prepares to welcome the public.

After years of anticipation, the opening date of the indoor mall and the rooftop public park was confirmed and announced today.

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In just over two weeks from now, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 28, 2026, Oakridge Park will officially open to the public after a ribbon cutting ceremony, marking the long-awaited reopening of the mall after the entire demolition of the former Oakridge Centre and years of building the all-new larger, modern mall from scratch — as the key use of a high-density, mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment of the 28-acre site.

Launch programming will include live music performances every weekend from Thursday to Sunday at the North Atrium throughout the month of June, alongside experiential floral installations by Fleurs de Villes running from May 28 to June 7.

Visitors who purchase an Oakridge Park gift card valued at more than $200 will receive complimentary floral bouquets during the opening weekend and on Fridays through Sundays from May 28 to June 7, while shoppers spending more than $200 will also be eligible for complimentary portrait illustrations on Fridays through Sundays from June 8 to 21.

Additional wellness programming will include complimentary pilates classes hosted by Sporting Life and Vuori on June 26 and 27, as well as free barre classes for adults and seniors and children’s ballet classes presented by Goh Ballet.

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

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

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

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

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

For years, this has been Vancouver’s single largest private-sector construction project. Since initial work began in 2018, more than 30,000 workers have contributed to the site, with up to thousands of workers on-site at any given time during the peak construction activity. There were also more than a dozen construction cranes at one point at the site.

Anchor tenant of Time Out Market will be ready on the first day

In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized this morning, Chrystal Burns, the executive vice president of Canadian retail experience at QuadReal Property Group, says that about 500,000 sq. ft. of the 650,000 sq. ft. of leasable retail space in the first phase of the indoor mall will be open on the first day.

“All of our retailers have been working feverishly to be ready to open with us,” said Burns.

She says the “vast majority” of the over 100 retailers, restaurants, services, and other businesses will be ready on the opening day, including the anchor tenant of Time Out Market — the 13th location of the global food hall chain, and the second in Canada.

Not to be confused with a food court with fast food chains, the 50,000 sq. ft. Time Out Market will feature a curation of 18 kitchens, one dessert/coffee counter, three bars, multiple event spaces, and about 1,000 seats, plus a large outdoor terrace on the upper level that will open up to the rooftop public park. The concepts announced so far for the food hall include Feenie’s, Mee Bar, Lunch Lady, MaKaam, DownLow Chicken, Barnacle by Bar Bravo, Peacock, Via Tevere, Kishimoto, SANTO TACO, Heritage Asian Eatery, Mello, and Boba Run.

A significant portion of the 7.5-acre public park on the indoor mall’s rooftop will also open on the same day. It will be formally designed as a City of Vancouver park and programmed and operated by the Vancouver Park Board, while being maintained by the mall owner. The rooftop park features open grass lawns, large event-friendly spaces, pathways, gardens, and extensive landscaping and trees. It will be directly accessible from the indoor mall, as well as via multiple grand staircases and entrances from street level.

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

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

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

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

The other anchor retail tenants — a 50,000-square-foot Safeway, marking the grocery chain’s return to the property, and a 25,000-square-foot Signature BC Liquor Store, relocating from a nearby location on Cambie Street — are slated to open a few weeks after the mall’s initial opening day.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized at several points over the years, the roster of shops includes a number of firsts not only for Metro Vancouver but also for Canada. There will be numerous new international upscale fashion, apparel, and jewellery retailers, building on the previous mall’s decades-long positioning as a partially luxury shopping destination.

Oakridge Park’s retail lineup includes the luxury fashion tenants of Acne Studios, Alexander Wang, Brunello Cucinelli, Canada Goose, Christian Louboutin, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Harry Rosen, Loewe, Longchamp, Loro Piana, Louis Vuitton, Maison Margiela, Max Mara, Miu Miu, Moncler, Prada, Thom Browne, Versace, and Valentino.

The jewelry and watches category will feature Bvlgari, Chaumet, Chow Tai Fook, David Yurman, Leah Alexandra, Rolex, Swarovski, TAG Heuer, Tiffany & Co., and TUDOR.

Meanwhile, contemporary fashion, services, and beauty and wellness offerings will include Aritzia, Browns Shoes, Boss, lululemon, Lush Brow Bar, Maje, Mophead, Petit Pont, Sandro, Sephora, Sisley Paris, Sporting Life, Veronica Beard, and Weekend Max Mara.

It was also announced today that Delysees Champagne Bar, a luxury champagne bar experience, will be among the mall’s food and beverage offerings.

A number of other retailers and food and beverage offerings — like the return of the Peninsula Seafood Chinese Restaurant — were also previously confirmed by Daily Hive Urbanized, with some businesses expected to make their own announcements at a later date.

Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) will also open a major campus location of about 50,000 sq. ft., featuring dozens of classrooms, computer labs, and semi-wet science labs. This will help provide the mall with additional steady foot traffic and activity when FDU Vancouver opens in Fall 2026.

New businesses to occupy large space previously slated for Hudson’s Bay

The remaining 150,000 sq. ft. of the 650,000 sq. ft. of leasable retail space in the mall’s first phase was originally set to be occupied by Hudson’s Bay, spanning two levels. In November 2024, the Canadian department store chain confirmed it would not return to the mall site — months before the retailer’s financial issues came to a very public head, leading to the company’s collapse.

Burns also shared that Altea Fitness will take over about one-third of the space previously slated for Hudson’s Bay, a 55,000 sq. ft. space on the second level. She says the fitness gym chain was previously slated to occupy a different space in the mall, but the cancellation of Hudson’s Bay provided an opportunity for the club to open within a larger space.

Essentially, the future uses of the space previously set aside for Hudson’s Bay are now largely accounted for, with Altea Fitness occupying most of the second level, some deals signed for the ground level, and other deals close to being signed.

“So we are very excited to talk about it, but can’t talk about it yet,” Burns told Daily Hive Urbanized, noting that some of these businesses within the former Hudson’s Bay volume could open in Summer 2027.

“There has been really strong demand for that [former department store] space. We’ve been blessed in terms of how well aligned retailers and service providers believe that this is the right location to be for their future operations.”

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

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

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

New 100,000 sq. ft. civic centre at Oakridge Park to open in 2027

As for access, there will be 2,000 free vehicle parking stalls for mall visitors within the first two underground parking levels, forming about one-third of the redevelopment’s overall vehicle parking capacity, with the majority of the stalls dedicated for residential and non-retail commercial uses. This complimentary parking for mall visitors will be provided on a three-hour basis.

Work is also nearing completion on the major expansion and upgrade of SkyTrain’s Oakridge-41st Avenue Station, a project funded almost entirely by the developer. The improvements include two additional escalators connecting to the station’s street-level entrance — increasing overall capacity while also introducing a long-awaited down escalator — as well as a new elevator and a completely rebuilt stationhouse roof designed to provide significantly better weather protection for passengers.

Additionally, a key feature of the station upgrade is the construction of a secondary station entrance — a retail-lined corridor that provides an underground entrance between the indoor mall and the station’s ticketing concourse area. Burns noted that this additional entrance is “almost ready,” with TransLink reaffirming earlier this year that the overall station upgrade project will reach completion in the summer.

The first residents at Oakridge Park could move in soon, specifically into the 187 turnkey social housing units within the 22-storey tower at the site’s northwest corner, which is set to be handed over to the municipal government before the end of this spring.

The five-storey, 100,000-square-foot civic centre, which is attached to the social housing tower, will take a little longer, with Burns sharing that they are targeting the handover of this public benefit component to the municipal government in January 2027. After the City takes control, it will take a little while longer for the municipal government to get the space ready, which might enable an opening of the civic centre in Spring 2027.

This civic centre will include a community centre, seniors centre, youth hub, performance space, fitness gym, gymnasium, movement studio, childcare facility, artist studios, music rooms, and a 25,000-square-foot Vancouver Public Library (VPL) branch, which will be VPL’s second-largest branch location.

The remaining residential uses in the first phase of Oakridge Park are the four condominium towers that directly front Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue. Burns anticipates the first condominium residents will move into their units beginning late 2026 through Spring 2027. Altogether, there are about 900 strata market ownership condominium homes in this initial phase of the redevelopment.

There is also 300,000 sq. ft. of rental office space and 420,000 sq. ft. of strata ownership office space. This office space is primarily situated within the base podiums of the condominium towers.

In the last few years, since the pandemic, Metro Vancouver’s office space market demand has been weakened by British Columbia’s structural economic challenges and the sustained practice of semi-remote work, which has also led to reduced office space size needs for many businesses. This has led some developers to suspend or cancel their office projects, while others have pivoted their newly built office space to hotel uses.

Burns says QuadReal has no intention to pivot this office space into hotel uses, asserting that they believe in the location’s suitability to fulfill longer-term office demand.

“We actually believe this is the highest and best use for the site. It’s incredibly well connected. It’s incredibly visible and the quality of product we’re building. QuadReal, as well as BCI, are really long term global investors and our conviction in Vancouver and this location holds strongly throughout the cycles,” she said.

“We are staying the course in terms of believing that this is an iconic sought-after location with the right mix of uses that the community really needs.”

A project over two decades in the making

By 2029, the final phases of the redevelopment are scheduled for completion, bringing Oakridge Park to a total built area of five million sq. ft. across 10 towers and the mall. At full build-out, the project will have a cumulative total of more than 4,300 homes, including nearly 1,000 secured purpose-built rental homes, as well as an additional 200,000 sq. ft. of leasable retail/restaurant space on the west side of the mall property, and a further 1.5 acres of public park space at ground level, bringing Oakridge Park to a total of nine acres of public park space.

This project, spurred by the construction of SkyTrain’s Canada Line, has been more than two decades in the making.

Planning for the redevelopment of the 1959-built mall first began in the 2000s under the property’s previous owner, Ivanhoe Cambridge (now known as La Caisse). The municipal government approved an initial preliminary master plan in 2007 that envisioned a more modest expansion and mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment of the shopping centre.

In partnership with Westbank, a more ambitious vision for the redevelopment was given the green light in 2014, when the rezoning application received approval. The project’s retail component was later scaled back slightly to reduce the depth of excavation required for the larger underground parking facilities that a bigger mall would have needed, after the full extent of the aquifer beneath the property became better understood.

In 2017, Ivanhoe Cambridge sold the mall property and approved redevelopment plans to QuadReal, which at the time was still in its infancy after being established in 2016 as the for-profit real estate arm of British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), which is responsible for maximizing returns for B.C.’s public-sector pension plans.

QuadReal retained Westbank and Henriquez Partners Architects, rebooting the project with a more ambitious concept that also addressed the technical challenges posed by the aquifer.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, numerous revisions and design refinements have since been made to the project over the years.

Preliminary construction work began in 2018, followed by the start of major activities in 2019.

In Summer 2020, amid the pandemic’s impacts on brick-and-mortar retail, a decision was made by QuadReal and Westbank to significantly expedite much of the redevelopment’s completion by combining the initial phases, requiring the full closure of the previous mall.

Prior to the pandemic and the start of major construction work, the previous Oakridge Centre mall was regularly ranked by the Retail Council of Canada as one of Canada’s highest-performing malls for revenue. In the 12 months ending in June 2018, Oakridge Centre had the third highest sales per sq. ft. — behind Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto and CF Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver, and ahead of CF Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto.

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

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

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

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

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

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