The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[whatnext]

Oh, that’s too bad it would have looked great.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

It's not entitlement, it's public safety.

Oh, it was entitlement alright, based on the excessive reaction and aggressive language used by the nazi to exert his dominance over the small stretch of seawall. The whole thing was like inverse of the steamroller scene from Austin Powers. Simply hilarious.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Oh, it was entitlement alright, based on the excessive reaction and aggressive language used by the nazi to exert his dominance over the small stretch of seawall.

Again, consider what your reaction would be if a pedestrian was standing in the middle of the street. Would you restrain your reaction?

[hollywoodnorth]

apparently Tsawwassen Mills has been sold to Central Walk. who ever that is. their chair(wo)man is ummm interesting to say the least I have never seen a Chairman "sit down" to an interview quite like this before

Central Walk's Board Chairman Weihong Liu shares their vision for the future of Tsawwassen

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=24410...dskw4wVDSzeVxZaA6OoKuh3YJMeWA2vzMpvjfE9w

[s211]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

apparently Tsawwassen Mills has been sold to Central Walk. who ever that is. their chair(wo)man is ummm interesting to say the least I have never seen a Chairman "sit down" to an interview quite like this before

Central Walk's Board Chairman Weihong Liu shares their vision for the future of Tsawwassen

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=24410...dskw4wVDSzeVxZaA6OoKuh3YJMeWA2vzMpvjfE9w

Central Walk? More like Long March?

[djh]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

apparently Tsawwassen Mills has been sold to Central Walk. who ever that is. their chair(wo)man is ummm interesting to say the least I have never seen a Chairman "sit down" to an interview quite like this before

Central Walk's Board Chairman Weihong Liu shares their vision for the future of Tsawwassen

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=24410...dskw4wVDSzeVxZaA6OoKuh3YJMeWA2vzMpvjfE9w

So in 1 year's time, I'm betting:

- The mall will be very obviously aimed at the Asian population (signage, cultural indicators, food outlets, clientelle)

- A significant number of the mainstream stores will have been replaced by Asian brands

- The remaining stores will be uncomfortable about the behind-the-scenes pressures they are being forced to adapt to, but they will just be holding on to see if their bottom-line is improving or not. If not, they have to make the hard decision to pull out, and if so, where to go? McArthur Glen? Oakridge won't be ready in time? Pacific Centre as a last resort?

At best they want to bring in some quality brands that aren't already here, from around the world. At worst...this becomes another International Village. But there's no chance that they want to continue with the status quo.

[Changing City]

One news story on chek said Central Walk sold a large mall in China. Weihong Liu and her brother moved to Vancouver Island in 2014, and in 2020 bought the Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, and indicated that they would add catering service and children entertainment facilities. They bought the Mayfair Centre in Victoria in June 2021, also from Montreal’s Ivanhoe Cambridge. The Times Colonist story said "Central Walk owns some of the largest and most successful regional real estate projects in Asia, under a different name, and it is a multibillion-dollar commercial real estate company, the statement said." The two Vancouver Island malls have a combined value of around $500m.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by djh

So in 1 year's time, I'm betting:

- The mall will be very obviously aimed at the Asian population (signage, cultural indicators, food outlets, clientelle)

- A significant number of the mainstream stores will have been replaced by Asian brands

Woodgrove remains a typical mainstream commercial mall.

The other factor for Tsawwassen Mills is that the majority of its customers seem to be East Indian / South Asian from Surrey.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by djh

So in 1 year's time, I'm betting:

- The mall will be very obviously aimed at the Asian population (signage, cultural indicators, food outlets, clientelle)

- A significant number of the mainstream stores will have been replaced by Asian brands

- The remaining stores will be uncomfortable about the behind-the-scenes pressures they are being forced to adapt to, but they will just be holding on to see if their bottom-line is improving or not. If not, they have to make the hard decision to pull out, and if so, where to go? McArthur Glen? Oakridge won't be ready in time? Pacific Centre as a last resort?

At best they want to bring in some quality brands that aren't already here, from around the world. At worst...this becomes another International Village. But there's no chance that they want to continue with the status quo.

Fat chance of anything from your list happening.

They just can't break leases with existing tenants and the only way Asian brands make any sense is if they had a clientele. Unless they want to be the second coming of that Aberdeen extension or Tinseltown with no retailers. If they were smart they would hire good management like Park Royal and be hands off.

Look at the directory for the mall it has every other shop that exists in the city so no one is moving. Beyond Bass Pro Shops what else do they have that you can't find anywhere in the city.

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

If they were smart they would hire good management like Park Royal and be hands off.

Is Park Royal thought to have good management? I haven't paid much attention to that aspect of the mall, but as a lifetime resident of the North Shore my feeling is that the mall has doen a remarkable job of making itself less and less attractive (as a destination) over the years. I used to enjoy gonig down there but now it has become "only if necessary" for one of a handful of specific retailers.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

Is Park Royal thought to have good management? I haven't paid much attention to that aspect of the mall, but as a lifetime resident of the North Shore my feeling is that the mall has doen a remarkable job of making itself less and less attractive (as a destination) over the years. I used to enjoy gonig down there but now it has become "only if necessary" for one of a handful of specific retailers.

I mean their new extension seems a bit weak with some retailers leaving but they've done a fairly good job with getting new stores and revamping sections of their mall.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Yes it will be 'interesting times' at Tsawwassen Mills-perhaps others here remember how prominent the Bass Pro name was when the place was first conceptualised & then built it was going to be 'Bass Pro and it's little brothers' like so many US malls with a Bass Pro.

I mean Xmas with Bass Pro, Thanksgiving with Bass Pro everything with Bass Pro until you want to scream (!)

And I'm told by ex-employees that the store made money from Day One quite unlike some other tenants.

The real winner here are of course is the Tsawwassen band who no longer have to bother with the place just check their bank balance a few times a month (!)

I bet I'm the only person here who has actually seen band members hanging out there- there aren't many of them and they keep a low profile.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

apparently Tsawwassen Mills has been sold to Central Walk. who ever that is. their chair(wo)man is ummm interesting to say the least I have never seen a Chairman "sit down" to an interview quite like this before

I was most surprised that the interview needed to be dubbed in English in a very cringey way. It does indeed feel like Tsawwassen Mills is in for a quite different style of leadership, possibly not for the better .

[WarrenC12]

Curious if the band made out well financially on this. The mall was a bit slow in it's first few years, then COVID. Did this company swoop in and make a cash offer and they took it just to get out of the hassle?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Curious if the band made out well financially on this. The mall was a bit slow in it's first few years, then COVID. Did this company swoop in and make a cash offer and they took it just to get out of the hassle?

I assume there's a lease payment for the land ownership. Ivanhoe Cambridge would have paid it to the band when they owned the land, and now the new owners will be making the payments. It would be unusual for the lease payment to be affected by the success or otherwise of the mall in terms of mall sales revenue - that risk is on the mall owner/operator. It's interesting that Ivanhoe chose to sell it after only 6 years, but they're shifting their ownership mix across their portfolio, and maybe they don't see a great future for retail malls long-term - at least not in terms of any future increase in value.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Changing City

I assume there's a lease payment for the land ownership. Ivanhoe Cambridge would have paid it to the band when they owned the land, and now the new owners will be making the payments. It would be unusual for the lease payment to be affected by the success or otherwise of the mall in terms of mall sales revenue - that risk is on the mall owner/operator. It's interesting that Ivanhoe chose to sell it after only 6 years, but they're shifting their ownership mix across their portfolio, and maybe they don't see a great future for retail malls long-term - at least not in terms of any future increase in value.

Ahhh yeah that makes more sense.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It's interesting that Ivanhoe chose to sell it after only 6 years, but they're shifting their ownership mix across their portfolio, and maybe they don't see a great future for retail malls long-term - at least not in terms of any future increase in value.

They did get out of Oakridge and seem to be cooperating with Burnaby in the "revisioning" of Metrotown.

I think they also own Guildford Town Centre.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by officedweller

They did get out of Oakridge and seem to be cooperating with Burnaby in the "revisioning" of Metrotown.

I think they also own Guildford Town Centre.

Indeed, they have retained Metrotown, which is in something of a different category than the Nanaimo, Victoria and Tsawwassen malls that they sold off (and as you note, they sold Oakridge too).

They apparently sold off a 50% interest in Guildford and the adjacent development site last year to the LaSalle Canada Property Fund.

[C3YVR]

Retail has held up far better here than in downtown Seattle, and it looks like Seattle retail is about to take another huge blow. Hudson Pacific looks to purchase the just renovated Pacific Place and will likely remove much of the retail.

www.djc.com/news/re/12148595.html

FYI in Vancouver Hudson Pacific looks to be doing the opposite and just this week submitted plans for an additional entry to retail at Bentall between towers one and two.

[s211]

Originally Posted by C3YVR

Retail has held up far better here than in downtown Seattle, and it looks like Seattle retail is about to take another huge blow. Hudson Pacific looks to purchase the just renovated Pacific Place and will likely remove much of the retail.

www.djc.com/news/re/12148595.html

FYI in Vancouver Hudson Pacific looks to be doing the opposite and just this week submitted plans for an additional entry to retail at Bentall between towers one and two.

I saw that Seattle mall about three weeks ago. I wondered why it was even open. I couldn't see a single open store. At least the parking cost was reasonable.

And downtown Seattle has turned into a San Fran wannabe poopshow. After decades of loving to go there, I now ask myself what would I possibly want to go there again, so much has evaporated away.