Retail sector displays economic strength
If the state of Calgary’s economy can be judged by the city’s retail sector activity, then we are firing on all cylinders.
Darryl Schmidt, who is responsible for national leasing at Cadillac Fairview in Western Canada, says retail here is very solid. “As good as anywhere in Canada.”
And he says that’s particularly true of sales and occupancy levels in major shopping centres.
Schmidt began his retail career with Melton Real Estate in Edmonton before moving on to Pioneer Properties where he looked after its Alberta and Saskatchewan retail portfolio. After Pioneer was bought by Bentall, he went to work for West Edmonton Mall, a move that gave him a lot of experience in dealing with the major owners.
In 1996, Schmidt accepted the position of director of retail leasing with Cadillac Fairview, which brought him to Calgary and an office in Market Mall. He’s still in the same office location but was promoted to vice-president and now oversees a team that is responsible for more than 5.1 million square feet of retail.
When he arrived in Calgary, Schmidt took charge of Market Mall and North Hill Shopping Centre plus properties in Saskatoon and Regina. North Hill was sold and then Cadillac Fairview made an investment into Chinook Centre in 2001.
In business since 1953, Cadillac Fairview now has more than 44 million square feet under management, comprised of 75 properties across North America valued at more than $23 billion, including retail giants Pacific Centre in Vancouver and the Toronto Eaton Centre.
The western portfolio that Schmidt cares for also includes the Richmond Centre in Vancouver and Polo Park in Winnipeg. The quality of its shopping malls is shown in the fact that giant U.S. retailer Nordstrom chose Chinook Centre as its first entry into Canada and it will be followed by four others in Cadillac Fairview malls in Vancouver, Ottawa and two in Toronto.
The company’s head office for Western Canada is in Calgary, from where his leasing directors manage the major malls: Marcia Grant, Chinook Centre; Nancy Ridley, Market Mall; Samuel Ham, Polo Park; and Karen Hachey, Pacific Centre and Richmond Centre in Vancouver.
Chinook Centre has been in a continuous expansion mode ever since it opened and with its latest expansion boasts 1.4 million square feet in size and is home to 250 retailers. Schmidt says it has become a destination regional shopping centre drawing shoppers from a wide area of southern Alberta and into B.C. The addition of Nordstrom, opening Sept. 19, will also bring others from as far away as Edmonton. The new wing will also see a relocation of Birks and add Microsoft’s first 7,500-square-foot store in Western Canada.
Free parking — and lots of it with 5,500 stalls — is a big bonus, as well as the opportunity for families to spend a day at the mall with shops, food and entertainment. Its food court is the busiest and highest grossing in Canada.
And lest we think Chinook Centre is at capacity, a new master plan is underway to check the viability of a mixed-use expansion on the property.
In his portfolio across the West, Schmidt has 700,000 square feet under development. And his team also leases all of the retail in Cadillac Fairview’s office buildings, including the new City Centre tower being built on 3rd Avenue S.W.
That equates to some 37 per cent of the Calgary enclosed retail market.
The National on 8th has opened on the Plus-30 level and the rooftop garden of the Scotia Centre. It’s the fourth location of the National pubs by the Concorde Group that also owns the recently opened 150seat Goro+Gun Japanese noodle house on the Plus-15 level of the centre.
My colleague Mario Toneguzzi wrote a fine piece this week about the sudden passing of “the energetic booster of Calgary business” Arlene Flock. That she was.
I would like to add a personal note to express my gratitude for Arlene also being a very caring and generous woman; the kind of person who was naturally kind to all.