Park Royal Shopping Centre
49°19′34″N 123°08′13″W / 49.326°N 123.137°W
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| Location | West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1950 |
| No. of stores and services | 280 |
| Total retail floor area | 1.4 million square feet |
| No. of floors | 1 (Park Royal North), 2 (Park Royal South) |
| Website | http://www.shopparkroyal.com/ |
Park Royal Shopping Centre, opened in 1950, is a shopping mall located in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Park Royal is officially Canada's first covered shopping mall.[1][2] Park Royal currently markets itself as five star shopping and has undergone significant changes to attain this. The shopping centre was originally anchored by Woodward's.
The Centre was started alongside the Guinness family's British Properties developments nearby, and was named after the London suburb of Park Royal where a Guinness brewery stood. The Guinnesses sold it in 1986.
The mall is physically divided into two locations by Marine Drive, a major thoroughfare on the North Shore. The two sides are aptly named North Mall and South Mall, and are connected by overhead vehicle overpasses spanning over Marine Drive. The North Mall is the original part of the mall, and had the anchor store Woodward's (on the East end) and Woodward's Food Floors (on the West end). Expansion to the South Mall occurred in the late 1960s with a further development in the mid 1970s. The expansion in the 1960s added The Bay and Eaton's as the anchor stores on the South Mall. Further expansion in the mid-70's added a second floor to the mall.
In the 1980s when Woodward's closed, The Bay moved into the location previously held by Woodward's, and the Food Floor was converted into a Government Liquor Store, London Drugs and Roger's Video (now closed).
The entire mall covers roughly 990,000 square feet (91,974 m²).
The Village
In late 2004, The Village was opened as an expansion of the South Mall, allowing for more stores and retail services. The Village was designed as a joint venture by the architectural firms, F+A Architects (Pasadena, California) and Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership (Vancouver). The 238,000 square foot (22,111 m²) expansion cost approximately $30 million Canadian dollars. The Village is Canada's first lifestyle centre specifically designed for the affluent West Vancouver market, where all the retail locations offer mid to upscale lifestyle services. The Village is unique in that it aims to replicate the experience found at Whistler Village, where consumers are predominantly in the open-air (outside) to browse the stores. A bowling alley and a golf practice range were demolished to make way for The Village. Home Depot's first Canadian urban concept store is located at The Village. It features pre-built fully furnished rooms and other customizable household furnishings for consumers to choose from.
Shops and services
Park Royal South anchor stores include Sport Chek, Atmosphere, Future Shop, Winners, The Brick, Osaka Supermarket and Staples. As part of Park Royal's brand re-positioning into five star shopping, in April 2006, it re-opened its newly designed re-located food fair. The food fair, which features modern contemporary architecture, offers restaurant-like amenities (such as bussers), multiple high definition plasma screens, and a fireplace.
Park Royal also offers complimentary WiFi service in the Food Court located in Park Royal South.
Anchor Stores: (Park Royal North) The Bay, London Drugs, H&M
(Park Royal South) Winners, Staples, Future Shop, Sport Chek/Atmosphere, The Brick, Indigo Books, Osaka Supermarket,
(Village) Whole Foods Market, Michael's, HomeSense, The Home Depot (urban concept store), Old Navy, Shoppers Drug Mart,
(Former Anchor Stores) Eaton's, Woodward's, Woodward's Food Floor, Linens n' Things, Marks & Spencer, Extra Foods
Transportation
Park Royal also acts as an area transit hub, with various TransLink buses and West Vancouver Blue Buses serving this location.
See also
- List of largest shopping malls in Canada
- List of shopping malls in Canada
- Capilano Mall
- Norgate shopping centre - first mall in Canada
