Bower Place Shopping Centreâs multimillion-dollar renovation
project has earned the Red Deer mall an award from an industry
association and accolades from an architectural and design
magazine.
The International Council of Shopping Centres has named Bower
Place a 2008 Maple Leaf Gold Award winner in the design and
development category for shopping centres with 400,001 to
750,000 square feet of retail space.
The ICSC praised the Red Deer mall for creating “a venue to
celebrate the visual arts and showcase regional themes of
history and culture.”
A news release issued by the New York-based council — whose
77,000 members include shopping centre owners, developers,
managers and retailers — said the award was based on overall
design qualities and creativity in development.
The Red Deer mall now qualifies for ICSCâs Global Awards, which
will be presented in May.
The renovations also attracted the attention of Award magazine,
which focuses on sustainable architecture, construction and
interior design.
The Canadian publication featured Bower Place Shopping Centre in
its October issue.
It described how the mall was “transformed from an ordinary
shopping centre into an upscale community gathering place that
showcases both western heritage and the arts.”
The five-year renovation project involved extensive cosmetic
changes, the relocation of about 50 stores and the food court,
and the creation of new corridors, entrances and a centre court.
A number of new tenants, including Sears Canada, were added.
Bower Place Shopping Centre is owned by bcIMC Realty Corp. and
Bower Place Property Corp, and managed by Vanreal Ltd.
When Vanreal president John van Haastrecht visited Red Deer in
August to celebrate the completion of the renovation project, he
said the work cost about $45 million.
“Red Deer people take it for granted, but weâre actually a very,
very unique centre for the shopping centre industry,” said
Joelle Brown, Bower Place Shopping Centreâs marketing director.
This uniqueness extends beyond the mallâs architectural design,
she added.
“There are very few themed centres that have the extensive
artwork that we have.”
Brown said she has received inquiries about the shopping centre
from as far away as Europe.
“Weâve got operators and owners and presidents of brands and
companies that come to the facility to see it and check it out
and the feedback from them is that this facility, in the
shopping centre industry, is like no other.”
Contact Harley Richards at
hrichards@reddeeradvocate.com