Ivanhoe Cambridge plans super-regional retail-entertainment center

Ivanhoe Cambridge says it plans to build a super-regional retail and entertainment center in Rocky View, Alberta.
The Montréal-based REIT is still working out details, including the name and the merchandise mix, says John Scott, vice president of development. The initial proposals call for 1.4 million square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, with 12 to 15 anchor tenants, each ranging from 20,000 to 150,000 square feet.

What makes this announcement especially noteworthy is that, with the exception of Toronto's Vaughan Mills, which Ivanhoe Cambridge and The Mills Corp. opened in 2004, there have been no regional malls, let alone super-regionals, rolled out in Canada since the early 1990s.

Plans call for a ground-breaking this summer and an opening in the fall of 2007, says Scott. Although these plans could change, Ivanhoe Cambridge is intent on creating a destination project in Rocky View, he says.

“We really are going to look at combining the best attributes of an enclosed regional shopping center, a power center, an outlet mall and an entertainment center,” said Scott.

Located just north of Calgary, Rocky View is a fast-growing bedroom community of 50,000, but it has very little retail outside of local service-oriented stores, says Scott. There is “much less in terms of destination retail, such as we are proposing.”

Ivanhoe Cambridge is coordinating its development schedule so that the center opens at the same time as a horserace track being planned nearby. The track is a project of the United Horsemen of Alberta, which promotes equestrian events in the province. It will go up on an adjacent 150-acre site and will contain dining rooms and a simulcasting area. According to published reports, the project is expected to cost about C$78 million ($66.6 million) and will feature a Las Vegas–style casino with about 5,000 slot machines.

“That will dovetail quite nicely with portions of the shopping center,” said Scott. “One of the really unique aspects of this is it will be associated with one of two class-A horseracing facilities in Alberta.”

Retail space: Calgary's hot new commodity
Pent-up consumer demand and more disposable income have merchants looking to expand
By CINDA CHAVICH
Tuesday, January 3, 2006 Page B6
Special to The Globe and Mail

When upscale kitchen retailer Williams-Sonoma opened in Calgary's Chinook Mall last summer, the resulting frenzy had the store staff focused as much on crowd control as on customer service.

The 4,500-square-foot store posted the second-highest opening-day sales in the company's history -- only the massive 22,000-square-foot store in New York did better when it opened, general manager Debra Horton says.

"The Calgary store is already in the company's top 10 in sales" among 260 stores, Ms. Horton says.

It's evidence of the pent-up demand for consumer goods in Calgary and the reason why retailers are keen to get into the market. Double-digit increases in retail sales in Calgary in the first half of 2005 -- more than double the growth in Ontario -- have led to an unprecedented expansion in commercial space.

"Calgary is leading the country in retail sales increases, staking its claim as the capital city of Canada's retail sector," says Michael Kehoe, a broker with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate who helps connect retailers with appropriate space in the city. "Retailers are looking for venues to expand," he says.

Three million square feet of retail space is under construction, with an additional 6.5 million square feet to be added in the next few years, says William Partridge, president of the Calgary branch of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada.

But even adding all of that new shopping potential to the city's 28 million square feet of retail space may not be enough. Vacancy rates remain extremely low, between zero and 3 per cent, and large retailers looking to move into the city have few choices.

"There is a shortage of sites," Mr. Partridge says. Retailers are setting up shop in such nearby towns as Airdrie and Okotoks, he says.

One of the drivers of retail sales is home ownership, and with more head offices per capita and a highly educated and salaried work force, Calgary has the highest rate of home ownership in the country. "Calgary is a unique opportunity for retailers because of the younger population and more disposable income," says Sandy McNair, president of InSite Real Estate Information Systems, a Toronto-based firm specializing in market research for the real estate sector. "Home ownership is significantly higher here, and that is material to retail sales."

Calgarians also have been "under-retailed," Mr. McNair says, with less retail space per capita compared with other Canadian cities.

But there has been a flurry of construction and renovation of shopping centres and big-box retail developments in recent years.

The latest retail behemoth to open in Calgary is Deerfoot Meadows, a "power centre" with 1.4 million square feet of retail space, including a 300,000-square-foot IKEA store and such retailers as EQ3, Ecco Shoes and luxury car dealers Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Construction on the 360-acre site, developed by Heritage Partners LP on reclaimed industrial land, is continuing. The next phase, to be complete by fall 2007, is the Village at Deerfoot Meadows, 500,000 square feet of outdoor retail, green space and restaurants designed to look like an old-fashioned town. "This style of development is one of the real innovations in retailing, and Alberta is at the centre of that hotbed," Mr. McNair says. "We will see a lot more of that type of retail happening."

The proposed First Pro Calgary East retail development at Barlow Trail and 16th Avenue N.E. will have the city's first Sam's Club, the wholesale membership arm of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. In the far-flung suburbs, at least seven new big-box retail developments have opened, are under construction or are in the preleasing phase.

At the same time, such established community shopping centres as Brentwood Village and Westbrook Mall have found new life by being repurposed to include such larger tenants as Linens 'n Things, Sears Home and Pier 1 Imports. North Hill Centre, the city's first shopping mall, built in 1958, has been rejuvenated with a $26-million retrofit that includes retail and office space, new tenants and two eight-storey residential towers with 175 luxury condominiums.

Cadillac Fairview Corp. and partner Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc. recently completed a $90-million renovation and expansion of Market Mall in the city's northwest quadrant, adding 150,000 square feet of retail space. And in the northeast, Ivanhoe Cambridge is in the midst of a $47-million facelift of Sunridge Mall, adding 30,000 square feet.

Cadillac Fairview's $300-million renovation of Chinook Centre has put the city's largest enclosed mall at 1.2 million square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.

Retail business is flourishing downtown, too, Mr. Kehoe says. He anticipates that an increase of 7,000 residential units in the downtown core by 2010 will draw more shoppers to a redeveloped Eau Claire Market and other inner-city shopping districts.

In Bridgeland, a downtown neighbourhood, the focus is on smaller, boutique-style tenants. A three-phase project known as the Bridges is being built on city-owned, reclaimed hospital land. It will combine high-density residential development with street-level retail in a pedestrian-friendly setting. The first phase has been completed, luring small retailers, coffee shops and service providers to the nearly 54,000 square feet of retail space. By the time the project is finished in 2010, with room for 2,500 new residents and more than 73,000 square feet of retail space, more small, boutique-style tenants are expected to follow.

"The goal was to revitalize the main street and the inner-city neighbourhood with new residents and businesses," says Colleen Roberts, project manager for the Bridges. To date, retailers include a wine boutique, a candy shop and a store selling healthful home products.

With the oil and gas business running hot and Calgary's population projected to increase by 83,000 over the next four years, most experts don't foresee an end to the city's commercial real estate boom.

Labour shortages, however, could eventually stall economic growth, Mr. McNair says.

"Calgary has momentum, and momentum drives confidence, but when everyone agrees that everything is perfect, it's often time to be nervous," he says. "The elephant in the room is a shortage of labour, both construction personnel and office workers. Labour may be the constraint to growth."

Mr. McNair cautioned builders at a recent conference in Calgary: "Everyone is going fast and wants to go faster, but we are going to have some bad years, so be careful. You can add to [real estate] inventory intelligently, but it takes quite a bit of discipline."

I saw this a week or so ago in the Herald. It is going up just on the opposite side (south side?) of the Balzac interchange (which is supposed to be in the area of future annexation by Calgary).

Not sure where RockyView is. Does it include Cochrane or Airdrie?

^ Yes, it includes both. Here is a map of the Calgary region.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/7778/20700crpmap0ki.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2535/20700zzzzzrockyview8yu.jpg
http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/statspack/20700.html#location

Calgary is in annexation talks with Rockyview... at least for part of it.

This mall is going to be right beside Balzac, which is halfway between Airdrie and Calgary on the QE2.

EDIT: Of course, cities like Cochrane and Airdrie have their own councels and aren't under the authority of the MD

man , Calgary is getting me all hot and bothered, lol

Here's the article from two weeks ago:
_____________________________
Saturday » January 21 » 2006

Mega mall set to rise north of city
Project dovetails with racetrack
Mario Toneguzzi and David Parker
Calgary Herald
Saturday, January 07, 2006

A massive multimillion-dollar indoor shopping centre is being proposed on a site north of Calgary adjacent to a racetrack development.

Ivanhoe Cambridge, in conjunction with the United Horsemen of Alberta, has applied to the Municipal District of Rocky View to rezone land at Highway 2 and the Balzac overpass to include a 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall.

John Scott, vice-president of development for Ivanhoe Cambridge, confirmed Friday to the Herald the application involves 81 hectares of land adjacent to the racetrack proposal.

"Our plan is to build a regional centre that's unique to the market and it's going to combine both retail and entertainment uses," said Scott. "It will be sort of a hybrid centre including outlets, large format type of uses and entertainment uses."

He said there will be themed restaurants and possible opportunities for other entertainment, such as bowling.

Scott said there would be about 12 anchor tenants, but stressed the project is still in the early stages.

He said the company hopes to have the centre open by late 2007.

While it is too early to project the total cost of the project, Scott said it was "unlikely'' to exceed $500 million.

Michael Kehoe, a retail real estate specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate in Calgary, said the project's size "would put it in the range of Chinook Centre and make it a regional destination."

"Certainly Chinook Centre is the reigning dominant player as far as size goes . . . It would be a dominant regional centre," said Kehoe.

Chinook is slightly more than a million square feet.

"It would split the pie that is shared in the retail market among the dominant shopping centres. But the Calgary-Edmonton corridor is the Alberta tiger of the Canadian economy right now and I think they have the foresight to capitalize on that. Quite a bit of the city's growth is to the north. That Calgary-Red Deer corridor is the golden goose right now . . . It shows their confidence in the Alberta economy for sure."

Ray Clark, the M.D. of Rocky View's chief administrative officer, said the district received an application about a week ago to redesignate land in the greater Balzac area to "accommodate a shopping facility in conjunction with the UHA (United Horseman of Alberta) project" for a racetrack.

"It's in the early stages. It's not approved. It's an application for rezoning so it will take some months to go through due process and the public hearing process," said Clark, a former City of Calgary alderman.

"There's no doubt that it's a very large commercial development in conjunction with the recreational activity of the racetrack," said Clark. "Certainly most fitting in terms of the zoning and the character of that area as it's been growing."

The Calgary-based UHA was not commenting on the proposal, referring calls to Ivanhoe Cambridge.

It has been previously reported that the horse racetrack proposal, complete with a hotel and casino and slated to open in the spring of 2007 on the corner of Highway 2 and the Balzac overpass just outside the city limits, will feature a one-mile thoroughbred track surrounding a seven-furlong standardbred oval.

It will include 1,200 barn stalls, seating for 7,850, a simulcast room for 500 people and 500 slot machines.

Clark said the application will be before council in the near future.

"It's extremely exciting that this is happening," said Clark. "The impact is going to be one of the considerations that will be undertaken through the planning process. Long before there is any decision, there will be proper review and analysis. We would involve Alberta Transportation in terms of the transportation component. We would involve the community at large. Council and staff will be involving as many agencies

as possible and as necessary

. . . Certainly the growth in the area was anticipated."

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2006

Giant suburban mall - how original. Calgary needs to get a hold on its sprawl

^ This isn't in the City of Calgary, and thus the city doesn't have any control over it. In fact it is several kilometers from the edge of the city, and several more kilometers from the edge of the city to the edge of development. Basically, it's going to be a giant mall in the middle of the countryside.

Giant suburban mall - how original. Calgary needs to get a hold on its sprawl

It is pretty original by Canadian standards, since Vaughan Mills in suburban TO is the only other Mills mall in Canada (this is going to be one as well, just to clarify).

Calgary doesn't sprawl as much as most cities in North America. This is one of the most frustrating myths about Calgary.

^
Calgary's good transit and especially the CTrain has helped lessen Calgary's sprawl.

^
Calgary's good transit and especially the CTrain has helped lessen Calgary's sprawl.
Actually, good public transit and access to LRT does not control sprawl. In fact, access to these types of facilities within a short drive (Park n' rides) can allow those to live further into the hinterland.

lame

It's strange, Mills Corp and Ivanhoe Cambridge had announced they wanted Mills in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, with Calgary being the first. This announcement seems like Ivanhoe Cambridge are going it alone, which is strange because I can't see Calgary opening a Mills and this new mall. Maybe Mills Corp doing so-so isn't means they don't want to build more anytime soon.

lame

What I find lame about this idea, is if this new mall pulls away retail opportunities that should be more central. Just as Deerfoot Meadows is "supposed" to get some exclusive high-end retailers - and Chinook has alreay landed Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn - I really wish these would locate closer to downtown (17th? 4th? Kensington?)...just like Vancouver's Granville Rise and Robson.

In fact, I'm really surprised those places didn't set-up shop in those areas first.

I went to one of the Mills malls in Mesa, AZ and if its anything like that, it might as well be in Balzac...as it struck me as just a larger version of Deerfoot mall (outlet mall).

What I find lame about this idea, is if this new mall pulls away retail opportunities that should be more central. Just as Deerfoot Meadows is "supposed" to get some exclusive high-end retailers - and Chinook has alreay landed Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn - I really wish these would locate closer to downtown (17th? 4th? Kensington?)...just like Vancouver's Granville Rise and Robson.

In fact, I'm really surprised those places didn't set-up shop in those areas first.

I went to one of the Mills malls in Mesa, AZ and if its anything like that, it might as well be in Balzac...as it struck me as just a larger version of Deerfoot mall (outlet mall).
I work with the developers of Deerfoot Meadows and I'll see if I can find out who they (the retailers) are trying to grab for their 'Lifestyle Center'.

As much as I too would have loved to see Zara, FCUK, Caban et al. come into downtown Edmonton or Calgary, the fact is that both cities have not yet established that critical mass of people and incomes (very important) in the downtown to support these types of endeavors. These retailers determine their store locations based on complex formulas. They basically have it down to a science. Given the amount of downtown development, redevelopment, infill and growing demand from middle/high income earners to live in the innercity, expect these places to start opening up in our downtowns soon.

In time, much like what occurs in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, these retailers will soon find the benefit of locating downtown first.

^Right. The Mills aren't all just outlet malls. I'm thinking of an example of like The Block at Orange, which has lots of entertainment options too. Even Vaughan Mills has the NASCAR Speedway and a Lucky Strike bowling alley.

the Vaughan Mills mall has also spurred some high rise condominium developments in the sprawling area, helping to densify, so i wouldn't say the building of that mall would be lame.

^ Its in Vaughn which has nearly 200k and in the heart of York region with 850k, not even remotely close as an analogy.

^ sorry about that... not really familiar with Calgary's suburban areas. Just very interested. ^-^

just to add... the Vaughan Mills mall also has a YRT/VIVA/GO Bus terminal to ease the congestion of the roads... but it doesn't really help.

Here's another look at the mall's location (I think, could be on the other side of QE2)

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/3088/mall7iw.gif

It is going to be pretty much in the middle of the nowhere. Forget suburban, the suburbs end well within the city proper. This is out in the countryside.

^Even Vaughan Mills has the NASCAR Speedway and a Lucky Strike bowling alley.

Those attractions unfortunately are pretty lame.

Calgary doesn't sprawl as much as most cities in North America. This is one of the most frustrating myths about Calgary.

Isn't Calgary's sprawl around the same as Edmonton's? That's the impression I had last time I was in Alberta.

^
Calgary's good transit and especially the CTrain has helped lessen Calgary's sprawl.

Or maybe it has to do with the lack of interconnected highways? 1 does not connect to 2, parts of 1 and 2 are not controlled access, & other places of the city you have to travel on artery roads (e.g. Glenmore). It sometimes feels like I'm driving in Vancouver.

It is going to be pretty much in the middle of the nowhere. Forget suburban, the suburbs end well within the city proper. This is out in the countryside.

That satellite shot probably needs to be updated a pinch - there has been continuous development on the Northern front. Keep in mind that Stoney Trail comes in North of Country Hills Blvd over the next while. This mall would be maybe a couple minutes North of Stoney Trail and Hwy2. That provides excellent access to a lot of people. The other thing is that half of Airdrie commutes to Calgary to work, passing this mall each day. In addition, I'm hearing that there will be a review of city limits on the North boundry West of Deerfoot, as development is already slated to butt-up against the current limit soon. Don't know when that would happen.

Hmmm ... With this location being smack between Airdrie and Calgary, that seperation will soon be collapsing!

That satellite shot probably needs to be updated a pinch - there has been continuous development on the Northern front. Keep in mind that Stoney Trail comes in North of Country Hills Blvd over the next while. This mall would be maybe a couple minutes North of Stoney Trail and Hwy2. That provides excellent access to a lot of people. The other thing is that half of Airdrie commutes to Calgary to work, passing this mall each day. In addition, I'm hearing that there will be a review of city limits on the North boundry West of Deerfoot, as development is already slated to butt-up against the current limit soon. Don't know when that would happen.

Hmmm ... With this location being smack between Airdrie and Calgary, that seperation will soon be collapsing!

That's true. The image is at least 2 or 3 years old. I'm not that familiar with the northern sprawl though, so I have no idea how much it has changed.

I've heard the annexation area goes right up to the Balzac intersection, so this mall would be right at the city limits. Airdrie is supposed to be annexing land from the north down towards Balzac, so it likely the city limits will be only a kilometer or two from each other.

I've heard the annexation area goes right up to the Balzac intersection, so this mall would be right at the city limits. Airdrie is supposed to be annexing land from the north down towards Balzac, so it likely the city limits will be only a kilometer or two from each other.

I was reviewing the city's web-site. Couple links of interest:

Open house presentation regarding annex:
http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/annexation_open_house_presentation.pdf

Negotiation map:
http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/annexation_negotiation_map.pdf

The map matches what you have suggested. The City of Calgary wants all the way up to that intersection. That is exactly half way to Airdrie from the current city limit. This map also shows perspective as to distance of this new mall from Stoney trail.

Note that there is a much larger annex planned for the E/SE almost right up to Chestemere Lake, and a small one in the NW also.

According to the presentation, the timeline shows January 2007 (11.5 months from now) as when the agreed to change will be implemented.

I was reviewing the city's web-site. Couple links of interest:

Open house presentation regarding annex:
http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/annexation_open_house_presentation.pdf

Negotiation map:
http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/planning/pdf/annexation_negotiation_map.pdf

The map matches what you have suggested. The City of Calgary wants all the way up to that intersection. That is exactly half way to Airdrie from the current city limit. This map also shows perspective as to distance of this new mall from Stoney trail.

Note that there is a much larger annex planned for the E/SE almost right up to Chestemere Lake, and a small one in the NW also.

According to the presentation, the timeline shows January 2007 (11.5 months from now) as when the agreed to change will be implemented.


Nice finds. That eastern annexation is rather large. I'm also surprised that it is going to happen so soon.

Calgary doesn't sprawl as much as most cities in North America. This is one of the most frustrating myths about Calgary.

You know taking a look at Calgary from Google Earth the place does look damn sprawly, and you're talking 5-10 km from the CBD!!

^^Hey, what's wrong with cosmic bowling and racecars?

You know taking a look at Calgary from Google Earth the place does look damn sprawly, and you're talking 5-10 km from the CBD!!

So does Toronto and Vancouver :)

It is natural growth that any modern North American city has gone through.

So does Toronto and Vancouver :)

It is natural growth that any modern North American city has gone through.

It's not natural. Sprawl is the result of poor planning and a lack of a pricing mechanism on automobiles and environmental destruction so that developers and people living in sprawl developments aren't paying the true cost.

So does Toronto and Vancouver :)

It is natural growth that any modern North American city has gone through.

Vancouver's sprawl has a lot to do with the NIMBY culture in the city. Sometimes, it's beyond ridiculous what the NIMBYs can pull out of their asses. For one, with the RAV line being built, we should be seeing some serious densification. That's how European and Asian cities recoup their investments in infrastructure, with the obvious example being Hong Kong/Singapore and its highly dense MTR/MRT neighbourhoods.

Balzac News
Mega-mall may be on the way
Brendan Wood
Staff Writer
Wednesday January 18, 2006
http://www.airdrieecho.com/story.php?id=208124

Airdrie Echo — The east side of Balzac could soon be the site of a 1.4 million square foot mega-mall project complete with entertainment and gaming facilities.
Ivanhoe Cambridge, in conjunction with the United Horseman of Alberta, has applied to the M.D. of Rocky View to build the single level shopping destination that will provide patrons with more than 200 shops and entertainment activities, which include bowling, mini-golf, go-carts and theatres.
The planned development is to be built southeast of the Balzac interchange and adjacent to a horseracing and gaming facility that had been approved by council last summer. Together with the additional retail space and entertainment facilities, it is hoped that the site will become a destination for travelers from within the region and beyond.
"A lot of their traffic will come from more than 20 miles away – from Edmonton and other outlying areas," said M.D. of Rocky View deputy-reeve Lois Habberfield. "Tourists that come from the airport may come out to spend some time there, convention people may go out to the race track and maybe do some shopping. It’ll become kind of a destination of its own, sort of like West Edmonton Mall is."
While still in the early planning stages, the development – if approved – would be set to open by the end of next year.
In order to allow the developer to meet that deadline, the M.D. of Rocky View recently revised its rates bylaw so that consultants can be hired to work exclusively on that project and others like it. While the M.D. would hire the consultant – who would make sure that the development meets the requirements and standards of the M.D. – the developer would pay for the additional staff.
Ivanhoe Cambridge – which owns Sunridge Mall, Market Mall, Deerfoot Mall and Southcentre Mall in Calgary and a host of others in Canada – chose the east Balzac location after studying the potential of the booming highway corridor.
"We have received an application that was made after what we understand was an amazing amount of study on the part of the applicants to choose a location," said M.D. of Rocky View chief administrative officer Ray Clark. "Their marketing study indicated to them that the best location in the region clearly was the Balzac corridor because of the zoning that was in place, the planning that is in place by Rocky View and the servicing that is under construction."
The M.D. has been working on infrastructure in the area with the aim of attracting industry, which is one of the reasons that Balzac east was chosen by the developer. Such infrastructure includes a waste-treatment line that will extend to a waste-treatment facility in Langdon.
"Rocky View is building a waste-water treatment line to take effluent – initially from the Rancher’s Beef plant and it’s going to be treated at the waste-water treatment plant down in Langdon," said municipal planner Hugo Haley. "That’s being built right now and the idea is that facilities like this mall and the horseracing track that are going in Balzac east would be serviced by that line."
Clark said that the prospect of such a development will help the M.D. and raise the profile of the entire region.
"The region is reaping the rewards of our work and from that perspective we’re excited," Clark added. "We’re extremely joyed over the fact that they chose that location. It does nothing but promote the region and Alberta and particularly the (Highway 2) corridor," Clark said. "The (Hwy 2) corridor is something that the province is promoting and this is just falling right into place."
Habberfield echoed Clark’s enthusiasm surrounding the potential impact of the project to the region.
"It’s quite a coup to have something like this interested in our area," Habberfield said. "It not only will provide lots and lots of jobs and bring shoppers and tourists to the area but I think when you get something like this in the area it attracts other businesses."
Although the race track was approved last year, before the mall development can proceed, the M.D. requires that the proposal be given a public hearing and then be approved by council at which time the fate of the development will be decided.
"It will go through due process, it will be evaluated through a regional impact assessment, from a transportation perspective and through a compatibility of land-use perspective," Clark said.
There will be two public open houses – Jan. 25, 4-8 p.m., and Jan. 28, 1-5 p.m., both at the Balzac Hall.
"That’s where the developer is going to trot out their proposal and solicit comments from interested members of the public and then those comments are anticipated to be used in further development of their proposal in advance of the public hearing," Haley said.

Mario Toneguzzi and David Parker, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, January 07, 2006
A massive multimillion-dollar indoor shopping centre is being proposed on a site north of Calgary adjacent to a racetrack development.

Ivanhoe Cambridge, in conjunction with the United Horsemen of Alberta, has applied to the Municipal District of Rocky View to rezone land at Highway 2 and the Balzac overpass to include a 1.4-million-square-foot shopping mall.

John Scott, vice-president of development for Ivanhoe Cambridge, confirmed Friday to the Herald the application involves 81 hectares of land adjacent to the racetrack proposal.

"Our plan is to build a regional centre that's unique to the market and it's going to combine both retail and entertainment uses," said Scott. "It will be sort of a hybrid centre including outlets, large format type of uses and entertainment uses."

He said there will be themed restaurants and possible opportunities for other entertainment, such as bowling.

Scott said there would be about 12 anchor tenants, but stressed the project is still in the early stages.

He said the company hopes to have the centre open by late 2007.

While it is too early to project the total cost of the project, Scott said it was "unlikely'' to exceed $500 million.

Michael Kehoe, a retail real estate specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate in Calgary, said the project's size "would put it in the range of Chinook Centre and make it a regional destination."

"Certainly Chinook Centre is the reigning dominant player as far as size goes . . . It would be a dominant regional centre," said Kehoe.

Chinook is slightly more than a million square feet.

"It would split the pie that is shared in the retail market among the dominant shopping centres. But the Calgary-Edmonton corridor is the Alberta tiger of the Canadian economy right now and I think they have the foresight to capitalize on that. Quite a bit of the city's growth is to the north. That Calgary-Red Deer corridor is the golden goose right now . . . It shows their confidence in the Alberta economy for sure."

Ray Clark, the M.D. of Rocky View's chief administrative officer, said the district received an application about a week ago to redesignate land in the greater Balzac area to "accommodate a shopping facility in conjunction with the UHA (United Horseman of Alberta) project" for a racetrack.

"It's in the early stages. It's not approved. It's an application for rezoning so it will take some months to go through due process and the public hearing process," said Clark, a former City of Calgary alderman.

"There's no doubt that it's a very large commercial development in conjunction with the recreational activity of the racetrack," said Clark. "Certainly most fitting in terms of the zoning and the character of that area as it's been growing."

The Calgary-based UHA was not commenting on the proposal, referring calls to Ivanhoe Cambridge.

It has been previously reported that the horse racetrack proposal, complete with a hotel and casino and slated to open in the spring of 2007 on the corner of Highway 2 and the Balzac overpass just outside the city limits, will feature a one-mile thoroughbred track surrounding a seven-furlong standardbred oval.
It will include 1,200 barn stalls, seating for 7,850, a simulcast room for 500 people and 500 slot machines.

Clark said the application will be before council in the near future.

"It's extremely exciting that this is happening," said Clark. "The impact is going to be one of the considerations that will be undertaken through the planning process. Long before there is any decision, there will be proper review and analysis. We would involve Alberta Transportation in terms of the transportation component. We would involve the community at large. Council and staff will be involving as many agencies

as possible and as necessary

Can someone show me on a map of Calgary CMA the four main existing malls in proximity to the new one?

Here are five maps that cumulatively provide the mall locations for the city.

Downtown
http://www.foundlocally.com/Calgary/Images/DtnMalls.gif

Four city quardrants ...
http://www.foundlocally.com/Calgary/Images/NW-Shopping.gif http://www.foundlocally.com/Calgary/Images/NE-Shopping.gif

http://www.foundlocally.com/Calgary/Images/SWMalls.gif http://www.foundlocally.com/Calgary/Images/SE-Shopping.gif

The SW quadrant map is out of scale unfortunately.

The proposed development is North on Hwy 2 a few km outside the city [the road heading North from the NE quardrant]. The mall would be somewhere North of the edge of the map, however, keep in mind that Stoney trail will be coming across approximately at the Northern edge of the current development North of Country Hills

Cool, thanks! How come there's no SW and SE mall (and only one in the South-central) like there are for the NE and NW?

^^ For SW, not too much past Chinook (though we should realize Chinook is a heavy weight mall). There is South Centre, of course.

For the deep SE, there isn't really any significant mall that I'm aware of. Given that the largest annex is going to be in that quadrant, there will be a lot more people to service in the years to come.

From ddimag.com:
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Deerfoot Meadows, 360-acre retail development in Canada, has more phases underway

JANUARY 27, 2006 -- Deerfoot Meadows, a 360-acre retail development in Alberta, Canada, is still growing as a shopping destination. FRCH Design Worldwide recently joined the project as the lead design firm, joining concept architects, Dorsky Hodgson and Partners, and project architects, Gibbs Gage Architects. "Deerfoot Meadows is a unique opportunity to create a community-focused lifestyle destination," says Paul Lechleiter, FRCH's chief creative officer, in a statement. "From shopping and dining to entertainment and a place where residents can interact with the community, the Calgary area will be well-served by this premier development." Deerfoot Meadows includes retailers such as IKEA, Best Buy, Loblaws Real Canadian Superstore, Sport Chek, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Linens N. Things and Pier One Imports. The first phase launched successfully in early 2005. Future phases will include unique fashion boutiques, restaurants, professional services and residential development.