Vancouver's former Nordstrom space could linger empty
This article makes feel very annoyed and frustrated for many reasons. I won't post the whole thing (I think I was warned by a mod to not post entire articles lol) but here's some gems:
Pension-fund-owned Cadillac Fairview has a track record of taking its time with projects.
The 230,000-square-foot prime retail location at CF Pacific Centre has sat empty since June 13, 2023.
Cadillac Fairview, the mall’s property manager and 50-per-cent owner, is in no hurry to redevelop or fill the space, its senior vice-president of retail Lillian Tummonds told BIV earlier this month. “Nothing is agreed to, like none of it,” Tummonds said. “It’s not like we’re even close to anything getting done.”
A similar project delay is happening at the former site of the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver.
Friction between Cadillac Fairview and the Four Seasons prompted lawsuits and the hotel chain’s 2020 departure from a 30-storey, Cadillac-Fairview-managed tower on Howe Street above CF Pacific Centre. The property had been a Four Seasons hotel for more than 40 years.
Inside reconstruction took place during the pandemic and is ongoing, but no new hotel brand has been announced.
Tummonds told BIV that her company’s stance is the same as it was in December 2023.
That was when now-retired Cadillac Fairview senior vice-president of retail Tom Knoepfel told BIV: “We haven’t finalized our plans for the building. There may be a residential component to it. I don’t know. We haven’t determined the final use for the building. I would expect that, ultimately, at least a portion of the building will be a hotel.”
I will acknowledge that waiting and being careful is usually a good thing, and I am by no means suggesting a reckless, hasty poor decision for the space. But they are being overly blasé and have no urgency to fill these high profile spaces. I hate to play the western alienation card here lol, but they seemed to have their planning started on Eaton Centre awfully quick. So much for careful and taking time, I guess that only applies to some places lol...It just sounds like an excuse for lack of interest or priority, it's pretty clear this is just them. Correct me if Im crazy, but doesn't this line especially sound overly aggressive and shutting everything down:
Cadillac Fairview, the mall’s property manager and 50-per-cent owner, is in no hurry to redevelop or fill the space, its senior vice-president of retail Lillian Tummonds told BIV earlier this month. “Nothing is agreed to, like none of it,” Tummonds said. “It’s not like we’re even close to anything getting done.”
To have such a high executive in the retail division be so dismissive of this massive crater of empty space from Nordstrom, comes off badly. Their job is to find tenants and fill space, deleting vacant space by filling it with new tenants as soon as possible is what you do. The store has been closed for some time now. I'm not saying it should already be under construction or anything yet, there are lots of logistically steps before Renos start. They could have said "we have a huge amount of interest and are close to confirming potential tenants, but it will take time". At least that gives even a facade of trying...
And then there's the hotel fiasco, omg, it makes the Nordstrom laziness seem like a champion lol...
A similar project delay is happening at the former site of the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver.
Friction between Cadillac Fairview and the Four Seasons prompted lawsuits and the hotel chain’s 2020 departure from a 30-storey, Cadillac-Fairview-managed tower on Howe Street above CF Pacific Centre. The property had been a Four Seasons hotel for more than 40 years.
Inside reconstruction took place during the pandemic and is ongoing, but no new hotel brand has been announced.
Tummonds told BIV that her company’s stance is the same as it was in December 2023.
That was when now-retired Cadillac Fairview senior vice-president of retail Tom Knoepfel told BIV: “We haven’t finalized our plans for the building. There may be a residential component to it. I don’t know. We haven’t determined the final use for the building. I would expect that, ultimately, at least a portion of the building will be a hotel.”
The transpirings with the hotel have always been baffling and suspicious. They kick out a 40-year tenant, a globally renowned hotel name, who has won the top of the top in hotel and travel accolades? That's absolutely not something you would do if you were behaving normally, and didn't have ulterior motives. And then claim it was the hotel in the wrong?! We're talking a highly ranked property,
even if they started going downhill or weren't keeping up as much as they should, they would have to really put effort into trashing the property intentionally to bring it down that much. Look at this:
The Four Seasons was one of only two Vancouver hotels and one of six in Canada to earn a five-star rating in the Forbes Travel Guide. The Rosewood Hotel Georgia — just across the street — was the other Vancouver hotel to get a nod.
That's such an elite class, even if they ignored maintenance and care, that would be basically bring them to the level of most other upscale hotels in the country lol, there's no way they turned into crap that fast. CF definitely lied about the reasoning, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with this "The landlords sued in hopes that a judge would rule that the hotel violated its lease terms. If that happened, Cadillac Fairview would be free to bring a new hotel to the site.". That's the only reason they concocted that story, it's pretty slimy if you ask me. Four Seasons is one of the top brands in the world, highly coveted. They wouldn't ever go down to the levels CF is suggesting. How embarrassing for our city, this major chain that is a sign of prestige all over the world, now has to deal with a lying landlord accusing them of being so neglectful of the hotel that it can qualify for eviction. To degrade so bad that it can't even be open?! Four Seasons was probably laughing and screaming at the same time, it's so ludicrous that a freakin pension fund (CF) was basically judging a luxury hotel operators standards? They must've thought the landlord was a troll or utterly incompetent. And that basically sounds like the case... 4 years in, basically no progress on whatever it is they are even doing with that building, it's doing something at a snail's pace, but we barely know what (yes there was a DP but the final product can come out different, and they seem to be stalling or something. How does it make sense to boot out a paying tenant, just to have the space sit empty? And just like with the Nordstrom comments, this is their response "“We haven’t finalized our plans for the building. There may be a residential component to it. I don’t know. We haven’t determined the final use for the building. I would expect that, ultimately, at least a portion of the building will be a hotel.” So basically it could be anything and everything, maybe they will do a coin toss to decide lol. They are just working slowly away at a building that was still functional and operational and gave us a 5y+ window replacement project that looks derelict. Think I'm being too harsh on CF, or reading it wrong? Then how do you explain this part of the article?
Other Cadillac Fairview projects have sat idle in Vancouver.
Cadillac Fairview in 2000 bought valuable Vancouver real estate at 1133 West Georgia Street and left it untouched for years. The site at the time housed a concrete shell of a building, which had been left derelict since the 1990s.
The company eventually sold the property to Holborn, which developed it following a failed attempt to build a Ritz-Carlton hotel. The site now houses an Arthur-Erickson-designed structure that has condominiums above what was a Trump hotel and is now the Paradox Hotel Vancouver.
I had no idea CF was behind the infamous shell at 1133 W. Georgia. So they bought it and left it completely derelict for years, no use whatsoever?! That's really beneficial for the city eh?! So they did it with 1133, they're doing it with Nordstrom, and with the hotel. And then quoting in public saying they have no urgency, nothing in the works, and a completely aimless trajectory for their properties?! They aren't even giving it a glitzy PR treatment to make themselves sound good while not committing to anything. They don't even care that they are outwardly uninterested in putting the work into their properties,
I know something will happen and this isn't some doomsday prediction, the spaces are always going to have demand and are coveted. So I am not worried about lack of interest from buyers/tenants. I am worried about the lack of initiative from the owners to get things in motion. How dare you be so blasé about not caring to fill prime space, this is a city that people live and exist in, the City should be able to do something to slap them in the face. Get off your ass and make it a priority to not leave empty shells all over the city and then just brag about your lack of progress? #boycootCF lol
Sorry I got worked up and went on and on. I have my experience in urban land development, and have worked for 16+ years as a PM with clients such as CF. But it was difficult enough to lose Nordstrom because the chain was doing poorly in most of the rest of Canada, yet Vancouver was one of their best stores overall, including US stores. So an enormously successful store closes because it can't operate as a one-off, either they close all stores in Canada or nothing, there's no singling one out. But it was so frustrating to see it close when it was just pulled down by weaker places in other parts of the country. Then to lose that high performing store, and just leave it empty without urgency, it's like salt right in the wound....
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