Three decades ago, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) opened a department store at Oakridge Centre shopping mall, replacing a space previously occupied by Woodwards, which went out of business in 1993.
Hudson’s Bay was set to return to the property’s redevelopment into a brand-new and expanded shopping mall, now renamed Oakridge Park.
However, that is no longer the case, as Hudson’s Bay has now cancelled its plans to open a store in the new mall.
In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, Tiffany Bourre, a spokesperson for HBC, says they have reached a new agreement with mall owner and developer Quadreal Property Group to not return to Oakridge Park.
Instead, HBC will focus its attention and resources on redeveloping the Hudson’s Bay flagship store in downtown Vancouver. HBC is proposing a significant mixed-use redevelopment of the downtown Vancouver property, which would introduce a wide range of additional uses and density, including a downsized flagship store, while also preserving the heritage facade.
“HBC continuously looks at opportunities to optimize its real estate portfolio on a market by market basis. We have recently completed an agreement with QuadReal Properties for our location at Oakridge Park and will not open within that redevelopment,” Bourre told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“Hudson’s Bay is excited to reinvest in the Vancouver community and is focused on investments in and the redevelopment of its flagship location on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.”
This represents Hudson’s Bay’s second store closure in the Metro Vancouver market in recent years, following its late 2023 permanent closure of its longtime location at the City of Lougheed mall in Burnaby, which enables the property’s future redevelopment.
Artistic rendering of Oakridge Park’s new indoor mall. (Revery Architecture/Westbank/Quadreal Property Group)
Artistic rendering of the new indoor mall at Oakridge Park. (Revery Architecture/Westbank/Quadreal Property Group)
2022 artistic rendering of the revised design of the Oakridge Park (Oakridge Centre) redevelopment. (Henriquez Partners Architects/Westbank)
Hudson’s Bay was set to occupy approximately 140,000 sq ft of space across two levels within the new indoor mall, generally in the same area as the previous location near the northern section of the 28-acre site.
In 2018, Daily Hive Urbanized reported that Quadreal Property Group and HBC had reached a deal to amend the retailer’s long-term lease to enable a complete redevelopment of the mall, with Quadreal providing HBC with $172.5 million, including $151.5 million to repay HBC’s credit borrowing and $21 million to outfit the new store’s interior.
It was previously touted that Hudson’s Bay’s new brick-and-mortar space at Oakridge Park would feature a brand-new design concept for the department store chain. It would use a new showroom concept that connects to its extended aisle and marketplace offerings, digital technology to enhance the customer experience, and enhanced pick-up and return options to meet the needs of customers’ evolving online shopping behaviours.
In March 2021, Hudson’s Bay closed its store at Oakridge Park in order to accommodate Quadreal’s change of plans to accelerate the entire construction timeline of the new indoor mall amid the pandemic shutdown, which necessitated the demolition of the department store’s wing. Prior to the pandemic, Quadreal had a phased plan for demolishing the property in a manner that would keep a sizeable portion of the shopping centre open at any given time. At the time, Hudson’s Bay’s pandemic-time closure at Oakridge Park was intended to be temporary.
Construction progress on the Oakridge Centre redevelopment as of September 6, 2020, with the previous Hudson’s Bay department store wing visible. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Inside the previous Oakridge Centre mall on September 6, 2020, prior to its demolition, looking toward the Hudson’s Bay store. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction work on the redevelopment began in 2018, with demolition accelerating in 2020.
Prior to construction, the old shopping centre had up to four major anchor tenant spaces, including Hudson’s Bay, Safeway grocery store, Zellers (which closed in 2013 and was originally planned to be converted into Target until it declared bankruptcy and withdrew its Canadian operations), and Oakridge Cineplex Odeon Cinemas.
Between 1985 and 2012, Oakridge Cineplex Odeon Cinemas was another anchor business for the shopping centre located next to the mall’s entrance atrium near the intersection of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue. This was an 18,000 sq ft cinema with three auditoriums with a combined seating capacity of over 1,100 guests.
Cineplex’s closure at Oakridge Park was key to its strategy for the 2016 opening of the nearby brand-new, modern, purpose-built Cineplex Cinemas Marine Gateway, which spans over 65,000 sq ft with over 1,900 seats across 11 auditoriums, including three VIP auditoriums.
Crate & Barrel, which is currently the only retailer that remains open at Oakridge Park during construction, subsequently opened a 27,000 sq ft store by primarily taking over the old cinema space.
As for the brand-new Oakridge Park mall, it is configured to entail three major anchor retail spaces: Hudson’s Bay, a 40,000 sq ft Time Out Market food hall, and a flagship Safeway, which will be co-located with a 24,800 sq ft Signature BC Liquor store.
In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, a spokesperson for Quadreal says they are in the process of determining a new use for the major space intended for Hudson’s Bay.
“At its heart, Oakridge Park is a place of evolution and growth – a destination that continually seeks to adapt and inspire, enhancing the lives of the people and communities we serve. As we progress with the development, we have reached an agreement with HBC, and they will no longer open a store in the Oakridge Park development,” Quadreal told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“In response to positive interest from a diverse range of esteemed brands, restaurateur, and beauty and wellness services, both local and international, this prime area will now be utilized in new and exciting ways, enhancing the overall experience for our residents, tenants, visitors, and the broader community.”
November 2023 construction progress on Oakridge Park, with the new towers poking out in the fog. (Westbank)
August 2024 construction progress on Oakridge Park. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
In a June 2024 interview with Daily Hive Urbanized, Chrystal Burns, the executive vice president of Canadian retail for Quadreal, shared that there has been exceptionally strong interest from retailers in establishing a presence at Oakridge Park. At that time, her team had already leased over 90% of the 650,000 square feet of leasable retail space in the first phase of the indoor mall.
Throughout 2024, Quadreal has been making progressive announcements about the retail brands, including numerous luxury brands, that will open in the first phase of Oakridge Park.
It remains to be seen whether the space intended for Hudson’s Bay will be subdivided into smaller commercial retail units or leased to another large retailer, such as La Maison Simons, which has shown interest in further expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint in Canada.
In early 2024, Simons opened a 56,000 sq ft store in Halifax, marking its first location in the Maritime provinces. Then, in July 2024, the Quebec-based retailer announced its plans to open a 110,000 sq ft store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre and a 118,000 sq ft store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, with both of these Toronto locations occupying most of the spaces previously occupied by Nordstrom. Other than Simons, the remaining former Nordstrom store space at CF Toronto Eaton Centre will be tenanted to an Eataly food hall and a flagship Nike store.
There have also been some rumours on social media that Simons, Zara, and Nike have signed on to take over the former Nordstrom space at CF Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver. Simons has to date not publicly indicated any potential interest in specifically opening at CF Pacific Centre. Currently, the only Simons store in British Columbia is at Park Royal mall in West Vancouver.
May 2024 construction progress on Oakridge Park mall. (Westbank)
Construction progress on the initial residential towers of Oakridge Park (Oakridge Centre) as of March 24, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
When asked again today whether Simons has any potential interest in taking over the space previously slated for Hudson’s Bay at Oakridge Park, the company reasserted that any new store announcements will be made formally.
“Generally speaking, Simons is always in for a challenge and is carefully analyzing all potential opportunities in all Canadian markets. At this moment, however, no new announcement is planned,” a Simons spokesperson told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“Right now the team is really excited about opening two new urban stores in Toronto in fall/winter 2025. Should there be new developments as to a new store opening elsewhere, Simons will inform their valued customers in due course.”
Quadreal’s spokesperson told Daily Hive Urbanized today that Oakridge Park is on track to open the mall’s first phase in Summer 2025.
The first phase accounts for 76% of the entire shopping centre’s planned leasable retail space, with the first phase being the indoor mall and the remaining space being an outdoor retail section on the western side of the property, which will be a future second phase.
Over 100 shops, restaurants, and services, most of the nine-acre rooftop public park, and a 100,000 sq ft City-owned and operated community centre with a new Vancouver Public Library branch (within the base of a social housing tower) will open in the first phase in 2025. Additionally, Oakridge Park’s first four new residential towers, which include some office space within the base podiums, will also reach completion in 2025.
In late 2025, a major expansion project of SkyTrain’s Oakridge-41st Avenue Station, currently under construction, will reach completion. Largely funded by the mall owner, this project provides the station’s street-level entrance with a new expanded structure, two additional escalators, and a new elevator, as well as a secondary entrance into the station from an underground retail-lined corridor between the indoor mall and the station’s ticketing concourse level.
2024 finalized concept for the expansion of SkyTrain Oakridge-41st Avenue Station. (Henriquez Partners Architects/Quadreal Property Group/Westbank/TransLink)
2024 finalized concept for the expansion of SkyTrain Oakridge-41st Avenue Station. (Henriquez Partners Architects/Quadreal Property Group/Westbank/TransLink)
2024 finalized concept for the expansion of SkyTrain Oakridge-41st Avenue Station. (Henriquez Partners Architects/Quadreal Property Group/Westbank/TransLink)
2024 finalized concept for the expansion of SkyTrain Oakridge-41st Avenue Station. (Henriquez Partners Architects/Quadreal Property Group/Westbank/TransLink)