Yorkdale Shopping Centre

Yorkdale Shopping Centre

The main entrance to Yorkdale
Location	3401 Dufferin Street Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 2T9
Opening date	February 26, 1964 (1964-02-26)
Developer	Trizec Corporation
Management	Oxford Properties
Owner	Oxford Properties/OMERS (50%) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (50%)[1]
Architect	John Graham Jr.[2]
No. of stores and services	250
No. of anchor tenants	6
Total retail floor area	1,700,000 sq ft (160,000 m2) (soon to be 1,845,725 ft2)
No. of floors	3
Public transit access	Yorkdale (TTC)
Website	www.yorkdale.com

Yorkdale Shopping Centre, or simply Yorkdale, is a major retail shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located several kilometres north-west of Downtown Toronto at the interchange of Highway 401 and Allen Road, adjacent to Yorkdale station on Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto Subway.

Yorkdale is the fourth largest shopping mall in the country and has the highest sales per unit area of any mall in Canada.^[3] It surpasses Vancouver's Pacific Centre, with current merchandise sales levels at roughly CA$1,610/square foot.^[3] The mall contains over 250 stores, including many luxury retailers. Many international companies have opened their first retail locations in Canada at Yorkdale, including Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla Motors.

Yorkdale is currently owned by a joint venture between the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System through its subsidiary Oxford Properties Group and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation.^[1]

History

Construction and design

In the 1950s, the department store chain T. Eaton & Co. bought a 40 hectares (99 acres) site at Dufferin Street and the 401 for a new massive, suburban location. In 1958, rival department store chain Simpson's purchased a 8 hectares (20 acres) site to the east and the plan to build the complex was announced that year. Design of the mall was given to the Seattle firm of John Graham Consultants, except for the Simpson's store, designed by John Andrews of John B. Parkin Associates.^[2] Howard Lesser was the planning and development consultant. Using Lesser's market research, the developers determined how much floor space to give up to each category of retailer, and chose retailers who would appeal to a broad range of shoppers.^[2]

The mall opened on February 26, 1964, under ownership from the Trizec Corporation.^[4] Its gross leasable area (GLA) was over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²), by far the biggest in Canada at the time. It was also one of the largest shopping centres in the world. When it opened, Yorkdale was the first Canadian mall to include two major department stores: Simpson's and Eaton's, under the same roof. It was built at a cost of $40 million.^[5] Before large suburban malls like Yorkdale became popular, most people in the Toronto area did their major shopping downtown. Yorkdale was at the edge of the urbanized city.^[2] The new shopping centre had required the construction of the Spadina Expressway, (now called Allen Road) as the developers would not proceed until the expressway was approved for construction.^[2]

The mall was constructed with a novel system for its retailers to receive merchandise. While other Canadian shopping centres had their receiving doors located at the back side, Yorkdale was constructed with a one-way, two-laned road for trucks running beneath the centre that leads directly to retailers' basement storages.^[4] The design of the mall included a 60-foot (18 m) tall atrium, 40-foot (12 m) wide halls and 27-foot (8.2 m) tall ceilings. The corridors still retain this look and feel although renovations in 2006 replaced the ceilings, windows, and skylights.

Universal Man in front of former Simpsons department store, 2011

Expansions and renovations

In 1999, Yorkdale completed a major overhaul adding a Rainforest Café restaurant, a Famous Players SilverCity movie theatre (which has since been taken over by Cineplex Entertainment), and an Indigo Books and Music store on the north side of the mall, facing Highway 401. The Universal Man statue in the west parking lot was relocated from the base of the CN Tower.

In 2005, a $60 million expansion on the former site of its Eaton's department store increased the size of Yorkdale to 1,404,646 sq ft (130,495.9 m²),^[6] and increased the number of stores from about 210 to 260. A highlight of this expansion was the construction of a 60-foot (18 m) high glass atrium running 300 feet (91 m) in length, which hangs from an exterior support structure. The expansion added Old Navy, Zara, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, and Home Outfitters as sub-anchors. This gave Yorkdale the title of the third largest mall in Ontario after Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga and Toronto Eaton Centre, ahead of Scarborough Town Centre in terms of retail floor space.

The renovation project continued into 2006 and 2007. This renovation matched the earlier sections of the mall to the style of the 2005 expansion. Key elements of this project included new public washrooms, opening of a Moxie's Grill & Bar restaurant, and new sliding automatic doors at all entrances.^[7] An advertising campaign, branded as "Change It Up!" was launched in conjunction with the renovation and redevelopment, winning a MAXI Award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in 2007.^[8]

Expansion continued in the second half of the decade. In April 2008, Yorkdale opened a Michael Kors store. Later additions included Armani Exchange, bebe, Crate & Barrel, BOSS store, and a Tiffany & Co.

In January 2011, Yorkdale announced another expansion, adding another 145,000 sq ft (13,500 m²), sufficient for 40 store fronts, and 800 underground parking spaces.^[9] The expansion would also relocate and double the number of seats at the food court, improve public access, and landscape portions of the property.^[9] The expansion, costing $35 million, was opened in the summer of 2012, and completed in November 2012. The existing food court was relocated to a new location on the third level of the former Eaton's department store. The new food court, named "Dine on 3" covers 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m²) and features 18 different eateries. The area of the former food court was redeveloped into a new wing, which housed new stores including a Microsoft store and a Tesla Motors dealership. The new parking garage was built below the wing.

In April 2013, Yorkdale announced a $330 million expansion, which will add an additional 298,000 sq ft (27,700 m²) of retail featuring a 188,000 sq ft (17,500 m²) Nordstrom store. The expansion project began in January 2014 and is scheduled to open in Fall 2016.^[10] In June 2013, Sears Canada announced the closing of their store at Yorkdale.^[11]

Incidents

Two stabbings occurred at the mall in 2008. In the first half of 2013, two shootings occurred at the mall. The first one took place in the external surface lot late on a Saturday night in March 2013, leaving one man dead and one man injured.^[12] In May 2013, a man was injured by shots fired into the Joey restaurant at midnight on a Friday night.^[13] Yorkdale upgraded its security with a new $3.4 million video surveillance system that went into service in March 2014. The new system provides full 360-degree surveillance of the mall and the parking lots. It also includes licence plate recognition technology at parking entrances.^[14]

Retailers

Retail mix

When first opened, Yorkdale had a large number of clothing retailers along with large department stores in the mix of stores. In recent years, Yorkdale's management has focused on attracting luxury brand retailers, especially those selling clothing and accessories. These include Versace, Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Cartier, Moncler and Jimmy Choo. Yorkdale has also attracted US retailers seeking to expand to Canada. Yorkdale bought out the lease of Sears to free up space for higher-priced department stores. Yorkdale has no discount stores, but there are factory outlets and discount stores nearby on Orfus Road.

Yorkdale places a requirement on each tenant to renovate regularly. When each tenant renews its lease with the mall, they are required to renovate their store.^[4]

Canadian firsts

Yorkdale has been the point of entry into the Canadian market for many widely known international retailers. Stores that have opened or plan on opening their first Canadian store at Yorkdale include:^[15]

• Apple Store — opened in May 2005, relocated to new wing in December 2012 (old location was replaced by Lego Store in Spring 2013).
• Bath & Body Works — An American retailer specializing in fragrant lotions, and various bath and personal care items opened their first Canadian store in September 2008. The store is located directly across from the first Canadian Crate and Barrel store, also opening at approximately the same time.^[16]
• Crate & Barrel — The United States housewares retailer opened its first Canadian flagship store at Yorkdale in the fall of 2008. A new two-story 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) building, similar to other newly opened Crate and Barrel stores in the US, was constructed on the northern part of the property, facing Highway 401.^[17][18]
• GEOX — Opened in May 2005. GEOX is an internationally recognized Italian manufacturer of shoes using waterproof and breathable materials.^[19]
• J. Crew — opened in August 2011.^[20]
• Kate Spade New York — opened in November 2012.^[15]
• LOFT — opened in November 2012.^[15]
• Microsoft Store — opened in November 2012.^[15]
• Ted Baker — opened in November 2012.^[15]
• Tesla Motors — opened in November 2012.^[15]
• True Religion — opened in October 2010.
• Zara Home — opened in August 2013.
• John Varvatos — opened in November 2013.
• David Yurman — opening Winter 2013.
• AllSaints — opened in April 2013.
• Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A. — opened in July 2013.
• White House Black Market — opened in October 2013.^[21]
• Tumi — opened November 2013^[22]

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, more than 30 American retailers contacted mall management, wanting to open their first Canadian stores in Yorkdale after Crate & Barrel revealed that their first store outside the United States would open here in 2008.^[8]

Anchor stores

• Holt Renfrew^[23] — A luxury brand clothing and accessories department store. (65,047 sq ft (6,043.1 m²))^[16]
• Hudson's Bay^[23] — Originally Simpson's, opened in 1964. (300,870 sq ft (27,952 m²))^[16]
• Cineplex Cinemas^[23] — Cinema complex. (59,612 sq ft (5,538.1 m²))^[16]

Sub-anchors

• Home Outfitters 33,200 sq ft (3,080 m²)
• Crate & Barrel 30,258 sq ft (2,811.1 m²)
• Indigo Books and Music 27,155 sq ft (2,522.8 m²)
• Sport Chek 26,701 sq ft (2,480.6 m²)
• H&M 25,890 sq ft (2,405 m²)
• Uniqlo 25,500 sq ft (2,370 m²)
• Old Navy 23,490 sq ft (2,182 m²)
• Pottery Barn 22,955 sq ft (2,132.6 m²)
• Zara 21,220 sq ft (1,971 m²)
• Harry Rosen 15,026 sq ft (1,396.0 m²)^[16]
• Anthropologie 9,630 sq ft (895 m²)

Former anchors

• Eaton's — Opened in 1964, the location was acquired by Sears Canada in 1999 after the decline and bankruptcy of the Eaton's company. The store was completely renovated in 2000, and reopened as part of Sears' upscale "Eaton's" experiment. Eaton's, however, proved to be unprofitable, and the store was once again closed in 2002. Sears itself temporarily occupied the location from 2002–03 while its current store was undergoing expansion. The space has since been renovated as a new mall corridor consisting of large multi-level stores such as Old Navy, Zara, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, and Home Outfitters as sub-anchors, completed in 2005.
• Simpson's — Opened in 1964. In 1978, Simpson's was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company. The Yorkdale location continued to operate under the Simpson's name. In 1991, the Yorkdale location as well as all other Simpson's stores were converted to the traditional Hudson's Bay department stores.
• Dominion — A grocery store chain, operating under the Food Emporium banner. Holt Renfrew has occupied this space since the 1990s.
• Famous Players — A six-screen theatre was located in the area west of the bus terminal and was demolished after the 'SilverCity' complex opened in 1999. Yorkdale originally housed a small two-screen theatre when the mall opened, which later expanded to three screens, and once again in 1986 to six screens. The original two-screen theatre, known as "Yorkdale Theatres", was the first dual auditorium facility of its kind in Canada when the mall first opened.^[24]

• Sears^[23] — Was originally constructed for The Bay. When the Hudson's Bay Company merged Simpson's and The Bay, the Simpson's location was rebranded as the Bay and the Bay's store was sold to Sears. For a short period from 2002–03, the Sears store was located in the former Eaton's location as the current store was expanded and renovated. (190,000 sq ft./17,651.6 m²)^[16] The store closed on March 9, 2014.^[25]

Transportation access

Yorkdale is accessible by private automobile, rapid transit and commuter buses. Parking is free, and includes a total of 7,200 spaces. The spaces are a mixture of above-ground surface lot, an above-ground parking garage and an underground garage. The mall is located next to the interchange of Highway 401 and Allen Road, as well as the nearby Dufferin Street, and all three major routes have road connections dedicated to serving the mall. Yorkdale Road forms the perimeter of the north and east sides of the mall. The Yorkdale subway station on the Spadina line is located just east of the mall. The Yorkdale Bus Terminal is located east of the mall. It is a terminus for GO Transit commuter buses. The transit facilities are connected to the mall by a pedestrian bridge.

See also

• List of shopping malls in Canada
• List of shopping malls in Toronto
  • Lawrence Square Shopping Centre

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

• Official website
• Yorkdale store directory
• Oxford Properties Group

Coordinates: 43°43′32″N 79°27′10″W / 43.725599°N 79.452696°W / 43.725599; -79.452696