What you need to know
- There are big changes afoot for Apple in Vancouver.
- Apple plans to relocate its Oakridge Centre store in Vancouver.
- Apple may have to close its current store meantime whilst the mall it resides in is rebuilt.
Apple's Oakridge Centre store in Vancouver may close temporarily whilst the mall it resides in undergoes a reconstruction.
According to 9to5Mac and Retail Insider, nearly all retailers in Oakridge will close at the end of September until 2024:
Almost all of the retailers at Vancouver's Oakridge Centre will close their doors at the end of September until 2024 to help accelerate the process of the mall's incredible overhaul. When Oakridge reopens, the mixed-use 'city centre' will be unlike anything in Canada and will be the single biggest development in Vancouver's history.
Only a "handful of retailers" will remain open during the process. Apple already has plans to relocate to a "large new" flagship store covering more than 10,000 square feet:
QuadReal said that it is working with key retailers including Harry Rosen, Apple, and Tiffany & Co. to create flagship stores that will be aligned with its future thinking for experiential retail. Plans shown to Retail Insider last year showed a large new Apple Store spanning more than 10,000 square feet that would be located alongside luxury brand stores in the mall's "luxe run".
Given that the timeline for the new store is unclear, it may be that September sees Apple's operations in Vancouver closed temporarily, as 9to5 notes, the closest alternative store is Apple Pacific Centre on West Georgia Street.
The new Oakridge Centre will be a 4.5 million square foot "hub or retail, residential, workspace, parks, and civic space" including a new "community centre, public library, performance facility, dance academy, daycare, culinary experiences, a park, office space, and residential towers that will house about 6,000 people in more than 2,600 homes."
