An extant asset
The Vancouver area, specifically the suburb of Burnaby, has some interesting names for its shopping malls. I first visited The Amazing Brentwood and its aging retail corpse. Then there was the large and looming Metropolis at Metrotown. Finally, there’s this, the peculiarly named City of Lougheed.
The exterior of the Lougheed Town Centre component of The City of Lougheed.
The second largest of Burnaby’s shopping malls behind Metrotown, the City of Lougheed seems more like an American style enclosed retail facility than either of its nearby competitors within the city. Though a section of its surface lot has been given to vertical development, a good portion remains flat and sprawling.
Lougheed Town Centre lease plan ca. 2015. View the full PDF version here.
Located at the split between the Vancouver SkyTrain’s Millennium and Expo Lines, Lougheed is served rather well by rail transit. Once exiting the Lougheed Station, however, one must traverse the south facing car park toward what used to be a Hudson’s Bay outlet.
The façade of the former Hudson’s Bay store.
The former Hudson’s Bay has had the venerable retail nameplate replaced with renderings of the City of Lougheed’s future, which, much like its neighborhood is going vertical. There are a handful of high rises at the moment with a number to be added at a later date.
1 to 5- The fantastically googie dome over the court in front of the former Hudson’s Bay. 6 to 8- The food court and vicinity on the second level.
Just inside the mall entrance nearest to the former Hudson’s Bay space, I immediately found myself directly beneath what is perhaps the best feature of what is otherwise a run of the mill center, a googie styled glass and concrete dome.
Lougheed Town Centre lease plan ca. 2017. View the full PDF version here.
Barrel vaulted skylights hover above the main concourses, which run in a rectangular racetrack pattern. On the opposite end from the vacated Hudson’s Bay sits the second main anchor, a Bentonville based Wal-Mart store.
1 & 2- The lower level of the western concourse. 3- An installation for Lunar New Year. 4 & 5- The entrance to London Drugs. 6 & 7- The northern corridor. 8 to 10- The lower level of the eastern concourse.
Though some contrasting earth tones are found in places, the concourses of the City of Lougheed are mainly whitewashed and indistinguishable from most enclosed retail facilities of today. I did enjoy the Lunar New year’s displays, however, which brought some much needed color to the inside.
Lougheed Mall opened in 1969 in Burnaby abutting the border with the neighboring city of Coquitlam. It boasted original anchors Safeway supermarket, US based Woolco and Hudson’s Bay as well as a three screen cineplex under the Famous Players umbrella.
1 & 2- The southern hallway. 3 to 5- The upper level of the western concourse. 6 & 8- The northern corridor's upper tier. 9 & 10- The second level of the eastern arcade.
Lougheed Mall was enlarged in 1986, leading nearby Coquitlam Centre to embark on their own expansion. The 2010s brought the start of its latest redevelopment which will see a mixed use plan containing hundreds of new shops and restaurants, public greenspaces and offices. In 2019, the official change of name was made to The City of Lougheed.
The City of Lougheed Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
It’s been announced that the southernmost portion of the old Lougheed Mall, including what was once the first suburban location for Hudson’s Bay, will be redeveloped in the project’s second phase. New towers will stand between the main building and the Lougheed Station.
1 to 3- More shots of the east concourse upstairs. 4 to 9- Along the southern corridor and the third level rooftop parking access. 10- The mall entrance to the former Hudson’s Bay store.
An exterior lifestyle element will be added as well, though a roof will protect patrons from the elements. This Pedestrian Spine, as it is referred, will eventually be extended into the main complex’s footprint, thus taking away another piece of retail history.
