Interesting article on a revamp to Montreal mall Galeries d’Anjou. The mall will be getting a new Target (replacing Zellers) and a new Simons (an additional department store). While in the past, the Bay probably would have chugged along with few changes to its store, hoping to skim some dollars from the increased crowds attracted by other retailers, it looks like they are using this opportunity to launch a new concept store. A sign of what we might expect at some suburban GTA stores?
Also interesting that there do not appear to be any changes forthcoming to the Sears store, except for a new exterior.
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Galeries d’Anjou gets makeover
By Robert Gibbens, Special to The Gazette
July 18, 2011
MONTREAL - The landmark Galeries d’Anjou shopping centre in east-end Montreal is getting an $86-million expansion and remake that will include a new two-level Simons store, a completely redone Bay and a Target store to replace the existing Zellers.
The 50-50 joint owners, Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. and Ivanhoe Cambridge, a property arm of pension fund manager the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said Monday the Simons store with 100,000 square feet of selling space will open late in 2013 and the Target store slightly earlier in 2013.
The construction and finishing work will be done in phases starting this fall and extending over the next two years. The program will bring Galeries d’Anjou’s total floor space to 1.14 million square feet, or almost as big as Fairview Pointe Claire, and comparable with Les Promenades St. Bruno and Carrefour Laval – the four are known as the “Montreal Fashion Centres” and together they make up a network of 926 stores.
The Galeries d’Anjou, originally built in 1968 by Cadillac and investors later absorbed by the Caisse, is located at the intersection of Highways 40 and 25 and already has annual traffic of 8 million shoppers.
“The new project will boost this with more shoppers coming in from fast-growth towns such as Mascouche, Repentigny and Terrebonne, besides east-end Montreal, and transportation access is rapidly improving,” said Normand Blouin, senior vice-president of Cadillac’s Eastern Canada Portfolio and the centre’s manager. “The $86 million is evidence of our confidence in Quebec’s future growth.”
Blouin said studies confirmed an expanded shopping centre with a new Simons store and other major improvements would significantly boost traffic.
“When Les Galeries d’Anjou opened, he recalled, east-end Montreal had five or six oil refineries and the Vickers shipyard and new industry was only just moving in.
“We’ve seen a tremendous transformation with the massive growth of Repentigny. Saputo brought in its head office and several big firms chose the area near Les Galeries for their provincial headquarters.
“Les Galeries will continue as a regular-price, full-service shopping centre offering a host of amenities that can’t be found in power centres,” he said. “We welcome competition ... Les Galeries is fashion-oriented and the expansion will enable us to redo our tenant mix.”
The Target store, one of several being built by U.S. retail giant Target Corp. across Canada, will replace the existing Zellers. A new food court will be located nearby.
The existing Sears store will have a new exterior facing geared to the centre’s overall redevelopment plan.
“We’re excited about bringing a big Simons store to Les Galeries and our success in Montreal shows how people buy into our unique value offerings,” said Peter Simons, president of Quebec City-based Maison Simons. “We provide the hottest fashions combined with our legendary service.”
CEO Bonnie Brooks said The Bay will work with a leading design firm to build a new store concept that will showcase top international brands from contemporary to high fashion.
Cadillac Fairview is one of North America’s biggest investors, owners and managers of commercial real estate from office properties to shopping malls, with a combined value of $19 billion U.S. It has been fully owned by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board since 2000.
Ivanhoe Cambridge is part of the Caisse’s Ivanhoe Cambridge Group, one the world’s ten largest property companies with assets of $30 billion as of Dec. 31.
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