The Core Shopping Centre (Calgary)

The CORE Shopping Centre

The new skylight at The Core
Location  Calgary
 Alberta
 Canada
Coordinates 51°02′48″N 114°04′07″W / 51.04667°N 114.06861°W / 51.04667; -114.06861
Address 510 - 8 Ave SW
(Holt Renfrew)
751 - 3 St SW
(Calgary Eaton Centre)
317 - 7 Ave SW
(TD Square)
Opening date 1977, 1990
Management 20 VIC Management Inc.
No. of stores and services 160
No. of anchor tenants 4
Total retail floor area 55,742 m2 (600,000 sq ft)
No. of floors 4
Website Core Shopping

The Core Shopping Centre (styled as CORE), which consists of TD Square, the Holt Renfrew building, and the former Calgary Eaton Centre, is the dominant shopping complex located in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It spans three city blocks and contains approximately 160 retailers on four levels. The property also contains four major office towers (TD Canada Trust Tower, Home Oil Tower, Dome Tower) and the historic Lancaster Building. It is the hub of downtown Calgary’s +15 skywalk system, and as such is the busiest shopping centre in the City by pedestrian count, with around 250,000 visitors passing through each week.[1] The centre's architectural focal point is a vast suspended glass skylight which spans the length complex. As of October 29, 2010, The Core offers free evening and weekend parking at its underground lots.[2]

The Core is bounded by 8th Avenue SW (Stephen Avenue pedestrian mall) on the south, 7th Avenue SW (LRT Corridor rapid transit line) on the north, and extends above 3rd Street SW (Barclay Parade) and 4th Street SW. The mall is directly connected to the neighbouring retail complexes of Bankers Hall (south) and Scotia Centre/Hudson’s Bay Store (east) via the +15 skywalk system. It also contains the Devonian Gardens, a unique 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) glass-enclosed indoor botanical park, which reopened to the public on July 27, 2012 after a complete renovation.[3]

History

Historic Eaton’s façade still remains.

The T. Eaton Co. opened its original department store on the site in 1929. In 1977, it was joined by TD Square (originally named Oxford Square) to the east. TD Square, an office and shopping complex, covered four levels over an entire block and contained the original Devonian Gardens indoor botanical garden. In 1990, Eaton's store was relocated into a new building one block west and a four-level shopping centre, the Calgary Eaton Centre, was built on its original site. Following the closure of the Eaton’s chain in 2002, Sears acted as an anchor store until 2008 when it was closed to make way for Holt Renfrew's expansion. The combination of the two centres resulted in the property being rebranded “The Core”, however the property is still referred to as "The Core - TD Square".

Redevelopment

Installation of the new skylight.

The centre has just completed a three-year, multimillion-dollar redevelopment project which has unified the complex under a continuous 85-foot-wide (26 m), 656-foot-long (200 m) suspended glass skylight. The skylight was completed in November 2009, and is the largest point-supported structural glass skylight in the world.[4] The new skylight creates the feel of an outdoor streetscape on the third floor, which incorporates two-storey retail facades with exterior grade materials. Heavy construction work forced numerous retailers to close or relocate during the renovation, most of which have renovated or expanded. The renovation also widened the concourses, replaced all interior finishes and facilities, expanded the food court and added a structural glass bridge on the fourth floor of the complex. It also added several 'living green walls' near the entrances to the Devonian Gardens space. In 2009, WestNet City Wi-Fi blanketed the centre with Wi-Fi.[5]

Anchors

Grand opening of Hermès Calgary.

The Core Shopping Centre is anchored by:

Junior anchors include Banana Republic (carrying shoes and the upscale 'Monogram' line), Gap/Gap Kids, HMV, Indigospirit Books & Music, and Shoppers Drug Mart.

Luxury Goods & Apparel

The Core Shopping Centre is Calgary’s destination for high-end luxury goods and apparel.[6][9] Brooks Brothers contains the only Canadian locations for the 'Black Fleece' designer shop and 'Fleece' for boys and girls.[8]

The main shopping area taken from the fourth floor, December 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Calgary Eaton Centre/TD Square" (PDF). 20 VIC. 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ Valerie Fortney (October 28, 2010). "Fortney: Free parking keeps city's core flowing". Calgary Herald. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ "The City of Calgary: Devonian Gardens". The City of Calgary. 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  4. ↑ http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/CORE+project+finishes+installing+massive+skylight/2234926/story.html
  5. ↑ http://www.westnet.ca/coverage.htm
  6. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20091004203032/http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Holt+Renfrew+confident+Calgary/2058159/story.html. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ Calgary Herald (October 6, 2008). "Harry Rosen announces major Calgary expansion". Canada.com. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  8. 1 2 "Legendary American clothier Brooks Brothers to open three-storey location in Calgary". CNW. August 17, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ Mario Toneguzzi (September 2, 2010). "High-end clothier Harry Rosen to open new, expanded store in Calgary". Calgary Herald. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
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