South Edmonton Common: A local success story celebrates 20 years
Twenty years ago, Edmonton’s South side more or less ended at 23 Avenue.
There was some residential development, and the Edmonton Research Park was under construction, but 23 Avenue was predominantly capped of by hundreds of acres of land.
In 1998 a large portion of that land was purchased by Cameron Development Corporation, a commercial development business founded by Jerry Naqvi. Over the years, Naqvi had built a reputation as a reliable businessman, someone who kept his promises.
With this new development opportunity, Naqvi decided to shoot for the stars. He envisioned a large scale, retail development with dozens of different stores and shopping amenities, drawing people from across Edmonton and beyond.
“It was visionary; but it was risky. Our peers in the industry questioned our thinking, even laughed at us a bit,” says Tina Naqvi-Rota, Jerry’s daughter and current president of Cameron. “It was a big, empty field, essentially in the middle of nowhere. They said there’s no way there would be enough demand to fill this up.”
Undeterred, Cameron secured its first two tenants, Home Depot and Walmart, for what would become South Edmonton Common, and each built large format stores on the site. Success came quickly for the two retailers, and others started to take notice. Before too long, brands like Cineplex Odeon, Real Canadian Superstore, the Brick and Canadian Tire were lining up to take advantage of the large-scale footprint offered by South Edmonton Common.
One brand that was a significant feather in the cap was Swedish furniture giant, IKEA.
“Generally, there’s only one per city,” Naqvi-Rota says. “It’s 300,000 square feet. That really opened up and kickstarted the west side of the development.”
South Edmonton Common kept expanding, and at a remarkable rate. It now contains over 2.3 million square feet of retail space. It will soon mark the opening of the first Nordstrom Rack in Western Canada. Over its 20-year lifespan, it has attracted an average of 42,000 visitors a day.
Much of South Edmonton Common’s success can be attributed to long-term vision. Even in the project’s early days, Jerry Naqvi took an enduring view on the future of the area, and Cameron Corporation today retains that same approach to what gets built.
“Because we’re familybased and held, we look at things for the long term,” says Tina. “Because we’re not merchant builders, we try to take a lot of care in the way our buildings will look 5, 10 years from now.”
Now established as one of Edmonton’s premier, locally-owned retail destinations, South Edmonton Common continues to evolve. These include some environmentally friendly features, like charging stations for electric vehicles, LED Lighting, and concerted efforts to make the centre more walkable.
On August 18, the development will celebrate its 20th Anniversary with an outdoor festival featuring a live fashion show and music from local artists.
If past results are any predictor of future performance, it likely won’t be the last time South Edmonton Common celebrates a major milestone.