Urban Format Retail Unfolds in East Village

    · 4 min read

    Urban Format Retail Unfolds in East Village
    RioCan’s 5th & THIRD urban shopping centre reaches major construction milestone

    (CALGARY, AB) • Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) – master developer of East Village understands the importance of creating a vibrant retail environment in the community and now as East Village continues to welcome new residents, its largest retail centre is rising skyward and will provide residents with all the services they need without having to leave the community.

    RioCan’s 5th & THIRD East Village urban retail centre, anchored by Loblaws City Market and Shoppers Drug Mart, broke ground in 2016 and since that time has been a hive of construction activity. The 2.75-acre site represents a strategic partnership between commercial real estate firm RioCan and BOSA – one of East Village’s founding multi-family developer partners. The project, anchored by RioCan’s two-storey retail podium of 180,000 square feet of retail, will include two spectacular residential towers of 500+ homes being delivered by BOSA.

    Construction of the four levels and 300 parking stalls of dedicated underground retail parking is now complete, marking the next stage in construction cycle. The ample underground parking is easily accessed from 6th Avenue SE and will allow future visitors to connect directly to the retail stores.

    “RioCan sees communities for what they are, what they could be, and what they need to get there,” says Stuart Craig, vice president of developments, RioCan. “We are proud to bring this retail development to Calgary. It satisfies the community’s need for retail, and delivers it as part of a master-planned, mixed-use, transit oriented project. Completing the underground infrastructure is a significant milestone.”

    Construction on the retail centre will now move above ground to focus on the development of the two-storey retail podium scheduled to open to the public in Q1 2020. The Loblaw’s City Market will offer 82,000 square feet of urban-format grocery on the second floor, including a Shoppers Drug Mart, and Joe Fresh – critical neighbourhood amenities to service East Village’s growing population – along with another 70,000 square feet of retail space at street-level.

    “A grocery store has always been the number one question we hear from visitors coming into the East Village Experience Centre, says Susan Veres, senior vice president of strategy & business development for CMLC. “We knew early on that finding the right retail tenant to deliver an urban-format grocery store was key to creating a complete neighbourhood experience for our residents, and RioCan is now well underway with delivering that vision.”

    5th & THIRD is located at the intersection of 5th Avenue SE and 3rd Street SE, is directly serviced by the CTrain LRT line and easy walking distance for EV and surrounding area residents. Confirmed tenants for the centre include Olympia Liquor, Shoppers Drug mart and Loblaw’s City market. An additional 75,000 square feet of retail space is still available for lease.

    About RioCan

    RioCan is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust with a total enterprise value of approximately $13.9 billion at September 30, 2017. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. Our portfolio is comprised of 294 properties, including 16 development properties, with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 45 million square feet. To learn more about how we deliver real vision on solid ground, visit www.riocan.com

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