Aberdeen Centre
 Present logo, with Chinese name | |
 | |
| Location | Richmond, British Columbia, Canada |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 1989 (original building) 2003 (current building) |
| Developer | Fairchild Development |
| Management | Fairchild Group |
| Owner | Fairchild Group |
| No. of stores and services | 150 |
| Total retail floor area | 380,000 sq ft (35,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Parking | Yes, covered |
| Website | http://www.aberdeencentre.com |
Aberdeen Centre (traditional Chinese: 時代坊; simplified Chinese: 时代坊; pinyin: Shídàifāng) is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia. It is located in the Golden Village district on Hazelbridge Way, bordered by Cambie Road to the north.[citation needed]
History
The original Aberdeen Centre was built in 1989. It contained about 50 to 75 stores.[citation needed] The original Chinese name was "香港仔中心", which refers to the Chinese name of Aberdeen, Hong Kong.
As new Asian malls such as Yaohan Centre and President Plaza opened, it soon became apparent that the original Aberdeen was too small to compete. It was demolished in 2001, and was rebuilt for approximately $130 million.[citation needed]
The current Aberdeen Centre, opened in 2003, is about three times the original mall's size and has around 100 stores.[citation needed]
The new mall's primary anchor store is Daiso, which is the company's first store outside of Asia. There are restaurants on its upper floors. An indoor musical fountain, similar to the one in front of Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas but smaller in scale, was built at the centre of the mall and performs shows every hour.[1]
In 2006, the mall became home to the operations of Fairchild Group's Chinese-language TV and radio operations in Vancouver. Fairchild Radio (CJVB AM1470 and CHKG FM96.1) now has studios on the second floor, while Fairchild TV and Talentvision have their news studios on the third floor.[2]
On August 8, 2008, the largest viewing party in the Vancouver area for the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the mall, with thousands of spectators, some of whom had lined up since 3:30 in the morning.[3]
Transportation
Public transit buses, serviced by TransLink, have connections to the mall, with additional routes to Downtown Vancouver and New Westminster. It is also served by SkyTrain's Aberdeen Station along the Canada Line with access to the station via Aberdeen Square through an overhead walkway to the east platform.
Incidents
On February 9, 2006, a knife battle between four men occurred in the upper food court area of the mall. One man was fatally stabbed in the heart and died at the scene. Another was seriously injured, suffering a knife wound at the back. The two remaining men fled the scene, leaving horrified shoppers. [4]
On October 26, 2008, a middle-aged Asian man committed suicide by jumping down from the third floor near the food court area. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Richmond RCMP ruled out any foul play and believed it was an isolated suicide incident.[5]
Gallery
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Exterior view of Aberdeen Centre -
Exterior view of Aberdeen Centre, at night -
Aberdeen Centre's entrance, at night -
Interior view of Aberdeen Centre -
Aberdeen Centre's exteriors
See also
References
- ^ Aberdeen Centre
- ^ "Fairchild Media Group" (in Chinese). Popular Lifestyle Entertainment Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Thousands flock to Olympic party". Richmond Review. Retrieved 2008-08-08. [dead link]
- ^ Shocked shoppers look on as man stabbed to death
- ^ Man jumps to his death at Aberdeen
Further reading
- "Aberdeen Centre expansion 75% sold" (Archive). Vancouver Sun at Canada.com. September 23, 2010.