Lansdowne Centre: Celebrating 40 years

Cover illustration is a drawing of the Lansdowne Centre court that was published in the original Grand Opening in 1977.

40 YEARS AND STILL GROWING A chronological look at Lansdowne Centre I 28

BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS I 08

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NEW TENANT - T&T SUPER MARKET I 18

STARLIGHT THEATRE DRIVE-IN I 24

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HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY

LANSDOWNE CENTRE!

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hether you visit Lansdowne Centre to shop, to eat, to play, to exercise, to conduct business or just to enjoy our events, we are proud to be a part of your lives and a part of this amazing community. We offer a heart-felt congratulations to Lansdowne Centre for being at the heart of Richmond for 40 years. Going forward, Lansdowne Centre will see some new and exciting changes but we will always be part of and at the heart of this dynamic City.

Colliers International has proudly managed Lansdowne Centre for more than 15 years. We’d like to offer our sincere congratulations to all the devoted tenants and staff of the mall, and our deepest thanks to the many dedicated community members and cultural groups that have helped make Lansdowne Centre a truly special part of Richmond for 40 years.

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‘WOW! THIS IS A BIG DEAL’ Lifelong Richmondite recalls how arrival of Lansdowne mall morphed a laid-back neighbourhood into a Lower Mainland destination I 11

CONCIERGE OF THE MALL So many things have come and gone, but ON THE FRASER RIVER the customer service stays the same I 21

INDEX MACGYVER OF THE MALL Lansdowne Centre G.M. Gail Spurgeon brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the role I 19

What’s in a name

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OLD & NEW TENANTS

Maximillian

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T&T Super Market

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MORE THAN JUST A MALL

Charan Gill Carol Day Lorelei Guthrie Daisy Xiong Starlight Theatre

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CONTENTS FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Sitting in the centre of Richmond, Lansdowne Centre’s future is bright I 25 PUBLISHER: Pierre Pelletier PROJECT MANAGER: Rob Akimow WRITERS: Paula Carlson, Boaz Joseph, Daisy Xiong DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Gary Slavin PHOTOGRAPHERS: Boaz Joseph, Richmond News, City of Richmond Archives

‘BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS… AND HEARTACHE’

The thoroughbred life was tough but rewarding, recalls lifelong Richmond resident Sandy Wilson, whose grandparents lived and worked at Lansdowne Park racetrack I 8

Copyright 2017 The Richmond News.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or incorporated into any information retrieval system without permission of The Richmond News and Lansdowne Centre. The list of services provided in this publication is not necessarily a complete list of all such services available Lansdowne Centre. The publishers are not responsible in whole or in part for any errors or omissions in this publication.

PUBLISHED BY

200 - 8211 Ackroyd Rd. Richmond BC V6X 3K8

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Malcolm D. Brodie Mayor 6911 No.3 Road Richmond, BC V6Y 2C1 Telephone: 604-276-4123 Fax No: 604-276-4332 www.richmond.ca

GREETINGS FROM THE MAYOR

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n behalf of the City of Richmond, I’m pleased to provide greetings and congratulations to Lansdowne Centre on the celebration of its 40th anniversary.

The Lansdowne site has long been at the heart of Richmond. For many decades it was home of a legendary horse racing track that was a gathering place and important part of our City’s development. Since 1977, Lansdowne Centre has been an economic and social focal point for our community.

It was also an important component of our new City Centre that has grown

along the No. 3 Road corridor over the past four decades. It has been a catalyst in the development of the modern, urban and cosmopolitan Richmond downtown that we enjoy today.

Lansdowne Centre has been a significant job creator and generated substantial economic activity over its 40 years of operation. Lansdowne Centre has also been an active and committed member of the community, supporting and hosting many worthy civic events, activities and programs over the past 40 years.

Lansdowne Centre has undergone many changes over the past 40 years

and will continue to evolve. However, we are confident that it will continue to be a major part of our business community and a valued City partner.

Congratulations on a successful 40 years!

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IN LANSDOWNE… A LEGACY OF LOVE FOR CANADA

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ABOVE I Sir Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, was Canada’s Governor General from 1883-1888.

What’s in a NAME

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Lansdowne Park, was named after the former Governor General of Canada Sir Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice – WIKIPEDIA

ichmond’s racetrack from the early 1900s, Lansdowne Park, was named after the former Governor General of Canada, Sir Henry Charles Keith PettyFitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne.

A British statesman, PettyFitzmaurice was Governor General in Canada during turbulent times, from 1883 to 1888.

Sir John A. Macdonald’s government was in its second term and facing allegations of scandal over the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the economy was once again sliding into recession.

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 and the controversy caused by its leader, Louis Riel, posed a serious threat to the equilibrium of Canadian politics.

To calm the situation, Lord Lansdowne travelled extensively throughout western Canada in 1885, meeting many of Canada’s First Nations peoples.

While the railway to British Columbia was not completed, this did not stop the Governor General from travelling throughout the Rockies on horseback and by boat. On his second trip out to the West Coast, Lord Lansdowne took the new Canadian Pacific Railway and was the first Governor General to use the line all the way out to British Columbia.

During a visit to B.C. in 1895, he expressed his admiration of the natural beauty of the province.

In fact, his experiences in western Canada gave the Marquess of Lansdowne a great love for the Canadian outdoors and the physical beauty of Canada. He was an avid salmon fisherman and was also intently interested in winter sports.

His love of the wilderness and Canadian countryside led him to purchase a second residence on the Cascapedia River in Quebec.

After his government service ended, Lord Lansdowne reluctantly departed Canada, with fond memories of his time spent here: “With its clear skies, its exhilarating sports, and within the bright fire of Gatineau logs, with our children and friends gathered round us.”

In addition to Richmond’s Lansdowne area, Lord Lansdowne has numerous towns, schools, bridges, buildings, markets and transit stations named after him throughout Canada and India.

As well as being Canada’s fifth Governor General, he also served as Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He had the distinction of holding senior positions in both Liberal and Conservative party governments.

Source: Government of Canada archives; Wikipedia

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‘BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS… AND HEARTACHE’ THE THOROUGHBRED LIFE WAS TOUGH BUT REWARDING, RECALLS LIFELONG RICHMOND RESIDENT SANDY WILSON, WHOSE GRANDPARENTS LIVED AND WORKED AT LANSDOWNE PARK RACETRACK

BY PAULA CARLSON

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ou could say Sandy Wilson has got her life on track.

A visit to the 65-year-old’s Brighouse condo finds her sorting through mementos that belonged to her grandfather – a legendary jockey and horse trainer.

Old news clippings and black-andwhite photographs are scattered on the living room table while in the background, a Call to the Post rings out – the distinctive bugle notes that precede the start of a horse race.

Wilson keeps live races from around the world playing on her computer; they make her feel at home and besides, she likes to play the ponies.

“I’m a better handicapper than a

better,” she confides. “That’s the secret.”

Her grandparents – Richmond pioneers H. L. (Les) Robertson and his wife Bert (Bertha) – lived on a cottage at Lansdowne Park, the horse racing track that was situated where Lansdowne Centre is now.

Wilson and her parents (Alfred “Friday” Wilson and Gertie Robinson) lived nearby, and Wilson has many memories of mucking about at the track as a child.

The racetrack was originally built in 1924, the second to be located within the municipality.

According to the book Whispers From The Shedrows, A History of

Thoroughbred Racing in Richmond, “the Minoru Racetrack on the Samuel Brighouse property, built in 1909, was the first of the major tracks in British Columbia and more particularly in Richmond.”

When the provincial government restricted the length of the horse-racing season in 1920, Landsdowne Park was born.

The new track was built on 81 acres of land roughly bordered by No. 3, Garden City, and Lansdowne and Alexandra roads, and was named after the former Governor General of Canada – Sir Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne.

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“Where else could you be broke in the morning and have $5,000 in your pocket at the end of the day?”

– SANDY WILSON

Brighouse Park (built in 1909) was located slightly north, near Westminster Highway and No. 3 Road, and in the early 1900s, during the weeks of racing at both Lansdown and Brighouse, “it was not an uncommon sight to see trainers and grooms parading their steeds along the sides of No. 3 Road in order to participate in that day’s card,” the book notes.

At Lansdowne, life on the track was hard work, with physical labour an integral part of the daily routine, Wilson says recalling that her mother could barely lift the large stainless steel drinking water tubs for the horses.

The animals needed to be fed and watered three times a day, and the shedrows – the long walkways alongside the barns – had to raked every day.

“It was a rough life. Blood, sweat and tears… and heartache,” Wilson says.

However, the rough-and-tumble nature of the thoroughbred business, and its rewards, were addictive.

“Where else could you be broke in the morning and have $5,000 in your pocket at the end of the day?”

Wilson laughs. “My grandfather used to say it was the only profession you

were better at when you were 80 than you were at 18.”

It was a nomadic way to earn a living, too. As a top jockey and then sought-after horse trainer/owner, Robertson travelled up and down the Eastern Seaboard, as well as out West: Washington, Oregon, California and Tijuana, Mexico.

“Les was a crusty old fart,” a Vancouver Sun article once noted, “but a hell of a horseman.”

Wilson likens the lifestyle to a circus carnival, with the main players constantly taking the show on the road, chasing the gritty glamour and cash prizes of the racetrack circuit.

“There was lots of riff-raff,” Wilson recalls, “and the bathtub was always full of beer.”

In 1945, Lansdowne Park was sold to the British Columbia Turf and Country Club, whose owners were All McLellan, George Norgan and Jack Diamond. Following a brief closure in 1949, the racetrack re-opened with a grandstand able to host 5,000 patrons.

But the glory days at Lansdowne would only last about a decade more, when in 1960, all horse racing was moved to Exhibition Park in Vancouver. Lansdowne remained a training park and provided boarding for horses, but in 1973, tragedy /continued on page 10

LEFT I Sandy Wilson with a batch of mementos that belonged to her grandfather, Ho Lo (Les) Robertson, a top horse owner, trainer and jockey in the early days of Lansdowne Park.

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/continued from page 9

struck, with a fire breaking out in the barns.

“It was terrifying,” Wilson says of the blaze, which she witnessed as a little girl after she arrived on scene with her parents.

“It was completely bleak. We got out of the car and you could hear the horses,” she says. “You had to go through and let the horses out and shut the barn door behind them, otherwise they’d go back in out of fear.” Several horses perished and one barn burned to the ground.

That same year, Lansdowne Park was sold to a shopping centre conglomerate, which developed the land and built Lansdowne Park mall

on the original horse racing site in 1977. (The mall’s name was changed to Lansdowne Centre in 1999).

The thoroughbred days may have come to an end at Lansdowne, but racing remains in Wilson’s blood.

She’s worked at Exhibition Park for 51 years, currently as a cashier and ticket seller. In addition to listening to races on her computer at home, she enjoys travelling to tracks throughout North America.

She has three children “who never took to the track,” she says, but she wonders about her five-year-old grandson. “He wants to be a cowboy,” Wilson chuckles.

And his name? Ryder.

“I’m a better handicapper than a better,” she confides.

“That’s the secret.”

– SANDY WILSON

ABOVE I Early days at Lansdowne Park racetrack.

LEFT I Sixteen-year-old jockey Johnny Van Loan rode for Sandy Wilson’s grandfather, H.L. Robertson.

If you’d like to experience the thrill of the track, visit Lansdowne Centre’s centre rotunda, where an interactive “stroll through the park” will take you back to the area’s racing roots, complete with trees, historic panels and the full racing history of Landsdowne Park. The exhibit will be on display until Sept. 17.

The centre is hosting a special birthday celebration on Sept. 9.

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‘WOW! THIS IS A BIG DEAL.’ LIFELONG RICHMONDITE RECALLS HOW ARRIVAL OF LANSDOWNE MALL MORPHED A LAID-BACK NEIGHBOURHOOD INTO A LOWER MAINLAND DESTINATION.

BY PAULA CARLSON

MEMORIES OF A MALL Charan Gill

ABOVE I Charan Gill grew up near Lansdowne Park.

‘The racetrack was in our backyard’.

RIGHT I P.S. Gill (in white hat) with the racing team and winning horse My Crafty Run at Exhibition Park in Vancouver in 1993.

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haran Gill has early memories of the horses at Lansdowne nearly 70 years ago.

A retired teacher, Gill came to Richmond as a one-year-old in 1948, when her dad took to raising and racing horses at Lansdowne Park.

“The racetrack was in our backyard,” says Gill, who grew up on the backstretch – a fouracre lot on Alexandra Road. (The family later moved to Lansdowne Road). “One side of the road was houses, and the other was the racetrack.”

Her father, P.S. “Cousin” Gill, was a horse owner and trainer who followed his passion and lived his dream, Gill says, selling his trucking business in Langley to buy a house at Lansdowne. For his wife Betty, and children Charan, Vicky and Hardave, his choice made for an idyllic time. “It was a very innocent life,” Charan recalls. “Richmond was a very small community… everybody knew everybody.

It was friendly; neighbours were very important.” As a child, Gill remembers that her neighbourhood referred to itself as the “League of Nations.”

“There were so many families from so many parts of the world — Japanese, Dutch, German, Scottish, Irish. We were just kids growing up. We didn’t have hyphenated names. We weren’t IndoCanadian, Japanese-Canadian. We were just Canadians,” says Gill of an era prior to the multiculturalism push. Gill says everyone “had tons of fun,” playing baseball in the field and ice skating in the ditches and on the large ponds that were on the Lansdowne grounds when they froze over each winter.

Being outdoors was the pastime for kids, as “not everyone had TVs,” Gill says. “I remember going over to our neighbour’s on Sunday nights to watch Ed Sullivan.”

Gill went on to attend four elementary schools, including the old Bridgeport school.

She went to Cambie junior secondary and then Richmond High senior secondary, eventually becoming a teacher.

In the late-1970s, with changes on the way (horseracing at Lansdowne had ceased in 1960, when all racing was moved to Exhibition Park in Vancouver), Gill’s father sold the family property to the shopping mall developer. “Our house would have been near the entrances of where Zellers was,” Gill notes. She remembers the impact when Lansdowne Park mall opened to the public in 1977. “It was like, ‘Wow! This is a big deal’,” she says. “It was modern. It was new.

It had Woodward’s.” Gill says her mother purchased all the family birthday cakes from Woodward’s (“it was just what you did”) and her cousins from Vancouver would make Lansdowne a destination for the weekend.

She says Lansdowne really put Richmond on the map, with people coming from all over to shop, as there was no other mall that compared at the time.

Gill is retired from teaching now and lives in Westwind, a Steveston subdivision. “I grew up in Richmond, lived, worked and retired here,” she says. “Where else would I want to be?”

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LONGTIME RICHMOND COUNCILLOR CAROL DAY LIVED ACROSS THE STREET FROM LANSDOWNE AND HAS FOND MEMORIES OF MUCKING ABOUT THE TRACK – AND GETTING LOST IN THE MALL

BY PAULA CARLSON

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hich came first, municipal politics? Or the adventures of Tom Sawyer? For Carol Day, as a child growing up across the street from Lansdowne racetrack, the latter. “As a kid I’d run into the middle (of Lansdowne), there were two big lakes in there, with a couple of Model Ts submerged in them, and I built a raft and pretended I was Tom Sawyer and paddled into the water.” That’s just one of the memories Day – now a three-term Richmond city councillor - has of the iconic racetrack that is now home to Lansdowne Centre shopping mall.

Day, 58, first arrived in Richmond at the age of four when her parents emigrated from Europe. She has lived here ever since. Day grew up in a home on Lansdowne Road and Garden City.

“Where the gas station is now. That was our house.” In that area, in the 1960s, the track was all there was. “The whole block was just the racetrack,” Day recalls, “it was like a little village. It had roadbeds and stores… little concession stores where you could buy the basics.”

One of Day’s favourite pastimes, if a little mischievous, was to go to the track, hide near the raceway, and then run out ahead of the horses that were training. “The jockeys would get so pissed at you,” Day says laughing. The track was very soft – made from sand about four inches deep that had to be constantly raked smooth, so Day’s footprints were not a welcome addition.

She also remembers grabbing the big feed bags and collecting empty pop bottles from around Lansdowne and then cashing them in at the store for candy. The hijinks continued into her teen years, when Day and her friend bought an old car for $25 (“Can you believe that?” she says now) and ended up driving it into one of the moats at the track. “My dad had to bring in his backhoe and pull it out by the axle,” Day says. “It was wrecked. The windshield was broken.”

It was a fun rough-and-tumble childhood, but Day recalls the tragedy that struck in 1973, when the barns caught fire and a chaotic scene unfolded.

“My dad was directing traffic,” Day says. “A police officer told him, “let everybody out, but nobody comes in’.” The fire was raging, and “horses were screaming in their stalls.

They opened their doors and let them run out. They were terrified,” Day says. “One horse ran all the way to Oak Street.

They caught up to it on the Oak Street Bridge.” Many of the thoroughbreds recovered physically, but not mentally, and never raced again, she says. Day calls the fire “the beginning of the end for the racetrack.” At that point, it was already being used as a training facility, with all racing having moved to Exhibition Park, so the fire set the future in motion. Later that year, construction of the new mall began. Day’s father, an ironworker, found employment on the site. (“He loved the long commute,” Day quips, with her father having to just walk across the street to work).

Due to her inside knowledge – being able to view the construction plans her dad had at home – while attending R.C. Palmer high school, Day built a detailed 4’ x 4’ model of Lansdowne Park for a class assignment, and her teacher was impressed with the details.

There are some sad stories associated with Lansdowne, however.

Day’s father did have a close call while working there, falling 22 feet one day and breaking two ribs and an elbow. Another younger man also fell 15 feet from the same location and ended up in a wheelchair, Day recalls.

When Lansdowne Park opened in 1977 (complete with little horse icons as part of its logo), it was like no other mall, Day says.

“My girlfriends and I… everybody kept getting lost in it, because we were used to long malls with two exits.” Lansdowne was built with a circular, four-corners model. (Plans for the future of Lansdowne Centre are also based on a groundbreaking, original concept. See story, pages 25-27.)

The big department stores the mall brought – Eaton’s was an original anchor tenant – were welcome additions to the community Day says. The big deal, she remembers, was having a Woodward’s on board (see story, next page).

“My two aunts worked there, one in the spice department, and one in the meat department,” Day says. After her adventure-filled youth in Richmond, Day went on to graduate from Richmond Senior Secondary, get married, raise three children, run a business and volunteer.

She was elected as a Richmond Board of Education trustee in 2008, and after retiring from the position, was elected to Richmond City Council in 2011.

MEMORIES OF A MALL Carol Day

ABOVE I Carol Day (nee Nissen) and her brother Jan Nissen at an outdoor barbecue at their home near Lansdowne Park.

LEFT I Carol Day with her dad and her uncle on the deck of the family home near Garden City and Lansdowne roads in the 1960s.

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LANSDOWNE LOCATION BECAME ONE OF THE TOP-PRODUCING STORES IN THE 26-STORE CHAIN RICHMOND NEWS

W Woodward’s a fixture in Richmond

ABOVE I Woodward’s and Eaton’s were the big ticket stores at Lansdowne Park when the mall opened in 1977.

RIGHT I Woodward’s famous food floor was arguably the most popular part of the store.

oodward’s, the late, great Western Canadian shopping destination, helped give birth to Lansdowne Park mall when it opened in 1977.

Former employee Michele Adshead remembers the madness of Woodward’s monthly $1.49 Day sale, where oodles of items were offered at one low price.

“You learned really quickly never to look past the third person in line so you didn’t get overwhelmed. The days always flew by,” says Adshead, who worked as a cashier at the Richmond store in the early 1980s.

“I still remember the commercials on the radio and the jingle they always played.” That would be: “$1.49 Day, Woodward’s. $1.49 Day, Tuesday.”

The store was a fixture in Richmond until 1993, when financial troubles forced its sale to the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Lansdowne space was taken over by Zellers and Safeway – neither of which lasted.

Adshead told the Richmond News she never lost the people skills and work ethic she developed at Woodward’s.

“I’ve run into quite a few people that I worked with during the Woodward’s days. Everyone had enjoyed working there and missed the store,” she said. “It was a great place to work and I was always glad that I (had the opportunity).”

Charles Woodward opened his first store in 1892 in downtown Vancouver, according to the Woodpens Club, a group of former employees. The brand grew in B.C. and Alberta, and expanded to Richmond in 1977, when Lansdowne Park opened. Woodward’s took its place on the mall’s west side, as did its famous Food Floor.

The mall also opened with the chain’s discount outlet, known then as Woodward’s Bargain Store.

“We’ve got a style for you, a smile for you and the most beautiful store

filled with exciting new merchandise.

Woodward’s Lansdowne is a complete department store with everything you can think of for yourself, your family and your home,” touted a 20-page newspaper supplement promoting the mall’s opening.

Woodward’s invited both “discriminating gentlemen and dudes” to its men’s shop, according to the ad, while “fashion conscious” women were targets of its “ladies’ shop.”

The Woodward’s Food Floor was a fullservice grocery store that promised “a whole new adventure in food shopping with some terrific buys.”

Food could also be found within the department store’s full-service restaurant, the Grandstand.

Peter McIlwee was Lansdowne Woodward’s store manager in the 1980s, overseeing more than 700 employees.

The Lansdowne location was always successful, he says, and became one of the top-producing stores in the 26-store chain.

McIlwee started his 38-year career with the retailer as a valet at the downtown store’s parking garage. Soon he was working full-time in the paint department’s stockroom, and later, the sales floor.

He continued to climb the Woodward’s employment ladder and in 1983 became manager at Lansdowne, where he stayed until he retired in 1990.

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Food Court Food Court 1035 1035 A&WA&W 1025 1025 Bubble Bubble WafflWaffl e Café e Café 1045 1045 CurryCurry Express Express 1005 1005 FreshFresh Elements Elements 920 920 FreshFresh Slice Slice PizzaPizza 1050 1050 Grill King Grill King 1030 1030 Jimmy Jimmy the Greek the Greek 1020 1020 KFC KFC 924 924 My Coff Myee Coffee 1065 1065 R&H R&H Chinese Chinese FoodFood 1015 1015 Shogun Shogun 1060 1060 Subway Subway 1040 1040 Taco Taco Luis Luis 1055 1055 Thai Way Thai Express Way Express 1010 1010 Villa Vietnamese Villa Vietnamese

Home Home Décor Décor 930 930Artistree Artistree Picture Picture Framing Framing & Digital & Digital Imaging Imaging 636 636Forum Forum Home Home Appliances Appliances 946 946Home Home Elegance Elegance Design Design 846 846TheThe Clock Clock Gallery Gallery 408 408Ulferts Ulferts Furniture Furniture Jewellery Jewellery & Accessories & Accessories 414 414Bentley Bentley Leathers Leathers 904 904Joystone Joystone Corner Corner 838 838Mings Mings Diamond Diamond 226 226Sparkle Sparkle Crystal Crystal Fashion Fashion 938 9384 You 4 You Lingerie Lingerie 214 214Baby Baby ChuChu 422 422Infinity Infinity Fashion Fashion 225 225Kid’sKid’s NestNest Fashion Fashion 910 910Label Label Express Express 978 978LG Cashmere LG Cashmere 908 908Maximillian Maximillian for for Men Men 926 926Timbo Timbo Dino Dino 856 856Winners Winners 840 840ViviVivi Fashion Fashion

950950 Homecare Homecare 402402 ICBC ICBC Driver DriverLicensing LicensingOffi Officece 619619 InsureBC InsureBC 412412 IREP IREP Education Education 413413 IrisIris Optical Optical 100100 Lansdowne LansdowneAdministration Administration 814814 Lansdowne LansdowneDental DentalCentre Centre 824824 Lansdowne LansdowneShoe ShoeRenew Renew K1K1 Lotto Lotto BCBC Booth Booth1 1 K2K2 Lotto Lotto BCBC Booth Booth2 2 820820 M’sM’s Travel Travel 939939 New New Stitch Stitch Tailors Tailors 818818 Skylight Skylight Optical Optical K986 K986 Sutton Sutton Realty Realty -Seafair -SeafairRealty Realty EXT EXT Tangerine TangerineBank BankPop-Up Pop-Up 626626 TDTD Canada Canada Trust Trust 320320 Vegas Vegas Vacations Vacations 318318 West West Coast CoastDental DentalGroup Group Shoes Shoes 968968 Payless Payless Shoe ShoeSource Source 956956 Ronson’s Ronson’s Rack Rack 210210 Shoe Shoe Warehouse Warehouse Specialty Specialty Food Food 828828 Anna’s Anna’s Cake CakeHouse House 623623 Beverage BeverageStation Station 222222 Fair Fair Bee Bee Tea TeaHouse House 640640 Langley Langley Farm FarmMarket Market 816816 Mr.Mr. Ginger Ginger 424424 Purdy’s Purdy’s Chocolates Chocolates Van Cheong CheongTea TeaHouse House 212212 Van 841 841 YPYP Health HealthFood Food

Restaurants Restaurants 812 812#9 Restaurant #9 Restaurant 720 720Dolar Dolar Shop Shop HotHot PotPot 304 304Earl’s Earl’s Restaurant Restaurant 323 323Gingeri Gingeri Chinese Chinese Cuisine Cuisine 405 405Mongolian Mongolian HotHot PotPot Specialty Shops Shops 221 221TokuToku Japanese Japanese Restaurant Restaurant Specialty 602602 Dollarama Dollarama 322 322Tropika Tropika Malaysian Malaysian 310310 Green Green Town TownNutrition Nutrition & Thai & Thai Cuisine Cuisine 624624 InkInk oror Toner?

Toner?

868868 Liquor Liquor Depot Depot Services Services 614614 MyMy Box Box 420 420Appleseed Appleseed 954954 Nam Nam Bak Bak Hong Hong Children’s Children’s Playhouse Playhouse Herbs Herbs && Medicines Medicines 618 618BCAA BCAA 976976 Overdrive OverdriveAutotuning Autotuning 105 105Bikram Bikram Yoga Yoga 916916 Real Real Organics Organicsand and 220 220BMOBMO ATMATM Naturals Naturals House House 912 912CIS CIS Insurance Insurance 830830 Reluxe Reluxe Equipment Equipment Customer Customer Service Service 970970 Showcase Showcase 617 617Dental Dental & Implant & Implant Clinic Clinic 616616 Smart Smart ‘N‘N Save Save 942 942Express Express Lane Lane PostPost OffiOffi ce ce 918 918 Star Star Photo Photo 216 216Grace Grace Health Health Centre Centre 204204 Sunny Sunny Gifts Gifts - Dental - Dental 960960 The The Best Best Shop Shop - Optometrist - Optometrist Your Vitamin VitaminStore Store - Physio/Massage - Physio/Massage Therapy Therapy 826826 Your

OME RKET Y • HOME OUTFITTERS OUTFITTERS • HOMESENSE • HOMESENSE • JYSK • JYSK • TOYS • TOYS ‘R’ US ‘R’ US • WINNERS • WINNERS OPENING OPENING SUMMER SUMMER 2018: 2018:T&T T&TSUPERMARKET SUPERMARKET 28040 P3 Printing - Richmond Invest.indd 15

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‘I CAME INTO A VERY SADDENED STATE OF AFFAIRS.’ LANSDOWNE BOUNCES BACK AFTER SLUMP WITH FORMER GM LORELEI GUTHRIE AT HELM.

BY PAULA CARLSON

W

hen Lorelei Guthrie stepped into the role of general manager of Lansdowne Centre in 2001, she arrived to find a demoralized shopping mall.

Anchor powerhouse Eaton’s had just closed and the iconic Woodward’s was gone. Zellers was the sole large department store left.

“I came into a very saddened state of affairs.” Guthrie recalls. “Everyone thought Eaton’s leaving would be the demise of the mall.”

She had been approached by her employer at the time, Colliers International real estate company, which told her, “Listen, we don’t want to scare you, but…” Guthrie says.

Her response?

“I like to build.”

She brought in a “bold” merchandising plan and new anchors: Future Shop, Best Buy and HomeSense, as well as additional restaurants, such as Gingeri and Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot. By the time Guthrie left her Lansdowne post in 2006, the mall’s sales per per square foot had gone from $411 to more than $750 – “a spectacular

turnaround,” she says.

She went on to co-chair a business board that worked closely with TransLink and the City of Richmond over proposed rapid transit that was to come down the centre of No. 3 Road, lobbying for proper sightlines, levels, etc.

The Canada Line was completed in 2009.

Guthrie moved on from Lansdowne to oversee an overhaul of Vancouver’s Pacific Centre and a renovation of Holt Renfrew. She is now working on a makeover of Lynne Valley Centre in North Vancouver.

She wishes Lansdowne well in its 40th year.

“It was my very first shopping mall,” Guthrie says, “I cut my teeth on it.”

Guthrie is optimistic about the future of shopping centres, despite the rise of global Internet purchases and the shift to online shopping.

The success of malls in the future will be to make them a social experience, Guthrie believes.

“People still very much want to see, feel and touch things,” she says.

Future plans for Lansdowne include just that, with a revitalized shopping centre being just part of a larger residential village that will include open air community plazas, and arts and cultural features.

MEMORIES OF A MALL Lorelei Guthrie

ABOVE I Lorelei Guthrie General Manager of Lansdowne Centre from 2001-2006 turned the shopping centre’s fortunes around.

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Suits with staying power ‘FASHION HAS CHANGED CONSIDERABLY’ SINCE MAXIMILLIAN FOR MEN FIRST OPENED AT LANSDOWNE MALL IN THE ‘70S, BUT OWNER MAX MUELLER SAYS DRESSING WELL NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE

BY PAULA CARLSON

I

t’s a Saturday morning, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dress-down day for Max Mueller.

Sporting a navy Italian Zegna suit made from Super 130 high-quality wool, a pale yellow shirt imported from Germany, a Brioni silk tie and Oxford-brown leather shoes, the owner of Maximillian for Men arrives at his store in Lansdowne Centre dressed for success.

Mueller firmly believes that putting effort into what one wears every day –

not just for important events – pays off, and doesn’t have to cost a lot.

“Looking well put-together, it shows you are professional,” Mueller says, “it shows you care.” And he says it doesn’t have to break the bank. Instead of buying four cheaper shirts, for example, invest in two good-quality shirts. “Buy less clothing and invest in quality pieces,” Mueller says, noting you can purchase a beautiful suit for $400 – less than what is commonly spent on yoga wear these days.

A natty image has certainly resulted in staying power for Mueller. His Maximillian for Men store is the the oldest merchant in Lansdowne Centre, an original tenant since the mall opened in 1977.

“Fashion has changed considerably,” Mueller says with a laugh.

Originally from Munich, Germany, Mueller grew up in Richmond.

After opening a men’s wear store in Vancouver’s West End in 1969, he started Maximillian for Men at Lansdowne in 1977. He went on to open stores in Oakridge shopping Centre and on Hastings Street, but his location in Richmond is now the sole remaining store.

He says there are bonuses to being in Lansdowne Centre. There is lots of parking, for example, “and great Chinese restaurants,” he says. “Many times, (other malls) have asked me to come over, but I always say no,” Mueller says of his loyalty to Lansdowne.

He too, has committed long-term customers. “They call me and say, ‘Max, can you look after me? I’m going for a special occasion’.” Inspiring the younger generation, however, is a challenge. “It all started with casual Fridays,” Mueller says of the office trend that emerged years ago. “When people started to go casual, they got too casual.” Before you knew it, everyone was walking around in sweatpants and flip-flops, “wearing shorts and slippers in fine restaurants…”

Mueller sighs, a little frustrated at the lost art of dressing well.

“To me, it’s everything,” he says. “How you dress affects your attitude, your expectations, life…everything.”

Always think about the overall look, the shoes, to the pants, to the jacket, he advises.

Everything else will fall into place.

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T&T ‘a big breath of fresh air’ for Lansdowne MALL’S NEWEST TENANT WILL BE ASIAN SUPERMARKET CHAIN’S BIGGEST B.C. STORE RICHMOND NEWS

I

f you’ve noticed the giant, red balls and walls turning green outside Lansdowne Centre recently, you’re not seeing things. It’s a sign of things to come at Richmond’s oldest, existing shopping centre.

Opening next summer – and filling the southeast anchor spot vacated by Target in April 2015 – will be the city’s third and newest T&T Supermarket.

“Richmond is a hub for the Chinese community in the Lower Mainland and we are delighted to be celebrating the announcement of the store opening for Lansdowne Centre’s 40th anniversary and T&T’s 25th anniversary,” says Tina Lee, CEO of T&T Supermarket. The Richmond location will be the largest T&T store in B.C., Lee adds.

The deal to bring in T&T - a full-service grocery store which specializes in Asian produce - as Lansdowne’s latest anchor has been in the works for more than a year and is a huge boost to the centre, according to Bronwyn Bailey, marketing manager for Lansdowne.

“The deal was a long time in coming, so it’s great to see it finally happening,” Bailey says. “We’re really excited about this, as the unit has been vacant since April 2015.

It’s going to be a big breath of fresh air for the mall for the rest of its life.”

T&T - which has 23 stores nationwide, including at Richmond’s Yaohan Centre and Hollybridge Way – will occupy the 74,000-sq.-ft., first floor of the former Target and Zellers store.

The 50-acre Lansdowne Centre site is slated for huge residential and commercial development over the next few years, although it’s understood the early phases will be built around the existing mall. Bailey adds that the second floor of the unit in question is still vacant, saying that “nothing is certain yet; it will depend, perhaps, on who would like to fit in (with T&T).”

What is almost certain from the T&T

move is a major spike in customer traffic at the centre.

“The boost in traffic is going to be incredible for everyone; we expect it might attract other tenants,” says Bailey, adding that although the centre does have a relatively high occupancy rate, there are a few smaller units available.

T&T Supermarkets is the largest Asian supermarket chain in Canada, operating stores in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. According to Lee, T&T was founded in Vancouver in 1993 and is now led by a second-generation successor and CEO.

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‘MACGYVER’ OF THE MALL

Lansdowne Centre is in capable hands with General Manager Gail Spurgeon at the helm

ABOVE I Landsdowne Centre General Manager Gail Spurgeon bring more than 30 years of industry experience to the role.

BY PAULA CARLSON

W

ith more than 30 years of experience in the shopping centre industry, Lansdowne Centre General Manager Gail Spurgeon brings a wealth of hands-on knowledge to the Richmond mall.

Spurgeon has been working in the shopping centre industry for more than 30 years and was one of the first female shopping centre managers in Canada. She started out in mall marketing, and has since been working as a director of leasing and general manager in centres across the country.

She joined Colliers International as general manager of Lansdowne Centre in 2006, and thrives in the fastpaced, dynamic role.

“As a shopping centre manager, you become a MacGyver,” says Spurgeon, referring to 1980s TV character Angus MacGyver, a secret agent who was able to solve complex problems by making things out of ordinary objects.

“You figure out how to wire things together, keep things going, stop leaks… disgruntled customers, disgruntled merchants, you market shopping centres, you lease them, you manage them you collect rent,” she says.

While MacGyver frequently made use of a Swiss army knife, matches and duct tape, Spurgeon is more apt to rely on her management skills and experience to get the job done.

For Spurgeon, no detail is too small.

From the time a customer drives onto the parking lot of a shopping centre, to the time they leave, she believes their experiences are a reflection of how the shopping centre is managed.

“Lansdowne Centre has a wide variety of tenants, from large international and national tenants to independent local tenants,” Spurgeon says, adding

it’s a unique mix.

“We have strong electronics and home décor categories, as well as a range of services such as dental clinics, optometrists and insurance providers. And, of course, food.”

Lansdowne has 15 Food Court tenants and seven full-service restaurants, along with specialty food stores.

“With ever-increasing retail competition, we’ve also been able to stand out in the market as ‘Richmond’s community shopping centre’,” Spurgeon says.

“Lansdowne Centre is the community’s shopping centre – this is a family place, a place to spend time, meet with friends, shop and eat, and take care of the business of your life.”

In 2015, Spurgeon received one of four Trustees Distinguished Service Awards from The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) at RECon 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The award recognizes her outstanding advocacy and support, and her work as a leader in the industry and a specialist in the management and leasing of shopping centres.

As for the future, Spurgeon wants to bring more young talent into the shopping centre industry, especially in an era of mobile technology and e-commerce.

“The younger generation has answers to those questions,” she says.

For her personally, she sees mentoring as the next natural step in her career evolution.

“I think it’s important to give back, because I believe that’s where you get the joy in life,” Spurgeon says. “You’re here for a reason, and that reason is to assist and help other people.”

“My motto? Life is an attitude,” Spurgeon says. “You can accomplish anything if you have the right attitude.”

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CUSTOMER SERVICE Elsa Shepherd

RIGHT I Elsa Sheperd mans the customer service desk five days a week at Lansdowne Centre.

A lost cause - in a good way ELSA SHEPHERD IS AT YOUR (CUSTOMER) SERVICE AT LANSDOWNE CENTRE

BY BOAZ JOSEPH

F

or more than 10 years, Elsa Shepherd has pointed in every direction, gesturing the way to the shops, eateries, washrooms and exits at Lansdowne Centre.

Shepherd, manning the Customer Service desk five days a week at Richmond’s second-largest shopping mall, is a master of directions, ready to help shoppers looking for answers.

“It’s every few minutes, people asking a lot of questions,” she says in between, almost on cue, queries from customers.

Key-cutter? Down this hall, on the left. Toys “R” Us? That way. SkyTrain? Through those doors.

In trickier cases, she draws small maps on paper, because sometimes, when she points right, the customer listens but goes left. Still, Shepherd gets the occasional “It’s every few minutes, thank-you note from a customer later for people asking a lot of having helped give them directions.Their questions.” destinations can be as close as the mall’s 120-plus retailers or as far away as Stanley – ELSA SHEPHERD Park - questions about Vancouver and Burnaby pop up pretty often.

To help the geographically challenged, Shepherd has taken mental notes of local bus stop locations and bus routes in Richmond: 47, 401, 403, 410...

“That’s really useful for tourists,” she notes.

So is parking lot information (three hours max, and no overnight please), restaurant ideas based on customer whims (cozy or dim sum?) and the phone numbers of regional services (she is equipped with Google and a keyboard should the need arise).

In 2010, in her third year on the job, Shepherd was recognized during a Tourism Richmond Service

Awards gala event after a customer wrote in about Shepherd’s “calm, reassuring, informative” response when the customer was frantically searching for her daughter who was due to arrive at the mall via HandyDart.

Another shopper let Tourism Richmond know that “Elsa saved my day” over a lost set of keys and phone.

A lost-and-found is a feature of the Customer Service desk, as are gift-wrapping services, wheelchair and car-shaped-stroller loans (kids must be shorter than the counter), phone queries, taxi calls and the handling of complaints, including missing kids.

Shepherd notes that usable non-food items left at the lost-and-found over 60 days are given to charity.

As the public face of Lansdowne Centre, Shepherd, on her own time, is expanding her linguistic repertoire to help customers.

She’s working to improve her decent knowledge of Hindi and rudimentary Mandarin to supplement her English and native Tagalog.

At home, she recently asked her visiting in-laws to not speak English to her, just Hindi.

Shepherd is also tackling American Sign Language, just in case.

And with little fanfare, she recently became a movie critic of sorts.

During July and August this year, the mall ran a weekly outdoor Lansdowne Centre Starlight Cinema Drive-In in the parking lot - everything from Top Gun (1986) to La La Land (2016).

A few days before a showing of 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), a concerned mom phoned the desk and asked Shepherd if the movie was appropriate for small children.

Well, not so much.

All in a day’s work, providing information as needed.

“I call myself 411,” Shepherd says.

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OPPORTUNITY, LIFE LESSONS FOUND IN THE PERFECT BURRITO. MY CANADIAN JOURNEY STARTED AT A TACO STAND IN LANSDOWNE CENTRE.

BY DAISY XIONG

W

hen I walk into the food court often had special additions or at Lansdowne Centre, I often modifications for their orders, notice the aroma. It’s a mixture and remembering this before they of curry, fried chicken and dumplings. asked would make their day.

The smell takes me back to the time During my lunch breaks, I would when I immigrated to Canada four years frequent a Chinese restaurant ago and landed my first job in my new life within the same food court, which here. was owned by someone from The story begins one month after I northern China. I would have a bowl of earned my bachelor’s degree in journalism delicious sour and spicy beef noodles in China, when I came to Vancouver with or a plate of homemade dumplings. my family in July 2013.

Memories of my time in Beijing would To find my feet in the new country, I come flooding back. Every month when found employment I got paid, I would go to at a food court the Mongolian hot pot to “I was good at making restaurant called indulge myself. burritos, even though Taco Luis. At that After working at the I had never cooked time, I had never mall for four months, I much before.” worked at a paid left Taco Luis because – DAISY XIONG job in my life. But I I moved, and I began was soon praised working in a coffee shop. for my performance By then I was enrolled in and was promoted to work in its flagship the UBC Graduate School of Journalism. restaurant located in Lansdowne Centre.

I received top scholarships and bursaries My first day at that Taco Luis location at UBC, and interned and worked in was also the first time I had entered newsrooms including Global TV, CBC, The Lansdowne. In time, I established a Globe and Mail and Sing Tao Daily. routine, and each morning I would take Canada is a nation that’s willing to give the Canada line to Lansdowne Centre and opportunities to anyone, including new walk past the staff standing between the immigrants. But I always remember where mall and the Best Buy shop. They would I started when I first came. always say “have a good day.” Then I Life can be like a circle. After working in would go to the food court, get changed different newsrooms across the country, and start serving customers.

I became a reporter for the Richmond I was good at making burritos, even News, one street away from Lansdowne though I had never cooked much before.

Centre. Now in the morning I get on the Making burritos is a bit of an art in some Canada Line and get off at Lansdowne ways. You first need to fit all the food a Station – the same routine I had four years customer wants inside the wrap, not too ago. much, and not too little. Then you wrap One of my colleagues, a reporter at the it up with paper, keeping the wrapping News, told me that he was one of the paper smooth and without wrinkles. regulars at Taco Luis when I was working The burritos cannot be too big or too there. Sometimes after work I look at the slim, too short or too long. Making the people who are also waiting at the train perfect burrito comes with a big sense of station. I cast my mind back to my first achievement. experiences in Richmond and wonder There were the joys of those who came where life is taking them. to eat the work of our hands. These were And now, when I encounter difficulties sweet and kind people who would come or face challenges, I always remind myself: most days to order something, or found “If you can make good tacos, there’s us spontaneously. Regular customers nothing else you can’t do.”

MEMORIES OF A MALL Daisy Xiong ABOVE I When she first came to Canada, Richmond News reporter Daisy Xiong found work and a life philosophy at Lansdowne Centre.

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‘Lansdowne became an important part of all of this’ POPULAR CHILDREN’S PERFORMER CHARLOTTE DIAMOND HAS DEEP ROOTS IN RICHMOND

BY PAULA CARLSON

LEFT I Charlotte Diamond’s annual Holiday Delight Family Concert is a Christmas time favourite in Richmond.

I

t’s clear Richmond means a lot to celebrated children’s entertainer Charlotte Diamond.

Diamond – in Ottawa over the Aug. 26 weekend as part of official ceremonies ushering her in as a member of the Order of Canada – went out of her way to contact the Richmond News to talk about her connection to the city, and in particular, Lansdowne Centre.

“Lansdowne was the first shopping mall that approached me,” the popular performer says.

Diamond has become a staple during Christmas time with her annual Holiday Delight Family Concert at the mall.

This year’s event in November will be her 23rd annual performance at Lansdowne.

She’ll be appearing with her son Matt Diamond, and her bassist, Lee Oliphant.

The event also marks the arrival of Santa at the mall for the holiday season.

“It’s a great, wide open space,” Diamond says of the stage area, the kiosk court in the southwest section of Lansdowne Centre.

She adds the idea for the show got rolling when a friend of hers working in the mall’s events planning department back in the early 1990s asked her to come and perform.

“We had such a good crowd that first year that it’s been going annually ever since.”

Diamond has been entertaining youngsters and their families for three decades.

It was 1985 when Diamond debuted her Juno Award-winning album 10 Carrot Diamond.

“That was the beginning of my career,”

Diamond says.

It was really a second career for the lifelong Richmondite. Diamond started playing music professionally at age 40, after raising a family and winding down a career as a teacher.

She had a lifelong interest in music, singing with local folk groups and developing a preschool music program. This led to performances for her kids’ school, and soon she was being asked to entertain at workshops, school concerts and family shows

across B.C. When 10 Carrot Diamond was released and won the Canadian Juno Award in 1986, her songs went international.

“Lansdowne became an important part of all of this,” Diamond says of her Richmond roots. She and her husband raised a family and lived in a home near No. 2 Road and Blundell Road for 43 years.

“We had horses… That whole rural element

of Richmond. We just loved it,” Diamond says.

They recently relocated to Sechelt.

Diamond’s altruistic nature is what garnered her several prestigious honours in recognition of her work with organizations such as UNICEF, the Red Cross and B.C. Children’s Hospital.

She was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2016 “for her contributions as a children’s entertainer who, through song and music, helps to develop creativity and selfexpression in youth.”

In addition, she was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal “in recognition of her exemplary support of UNICEF,” and was also named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, “in appreciation of significant assistance given to the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.” Diamond says she’s been “a pretty proud Canadian through all this.”

Watch Diamond in action later this year during her free Holiday Delight Family Concert at Lansdowne Centre at 1 p.m. on Nov. 28.

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Fresh air and old-fashioned fun THE COMMUNAL EXPERIENCE OF THE DRIVE-IN DRAWS THOUSANDS TO LANSDOWNE CENTRE EACH SUMMER

BY PAULA CARLSON

ABOVE I Thousands of peopole

enjoy outdoor movies Drive-in style at Lansdowne Centre during the summer months.

L

ansdowne Centre may be on the brink of a modern makeover, but one of its more popular activities is rooted in old-fashioned fun.

Every Wednesday evening in July and August, hundreds of people show up wearing pyjamas, packing lawn chairs, or itching to hitch down the tailgate for the weekly outdoor screening of a drivein movie.

The Starlight Theatre DriveIn Movie Series is in its third summer at the mall, and its growing popularity has Russ

Davies grinning.

“It’s crazy, crazy,” he says of the turnout to recent showings of Beauty and the Beast and La La Land.

As senior event manager for Fresh Air Cinema, the company that puts on the drive-in shows at Lansdowne, Davies is well aware of the appeal of watching flicks outdoors. But the soaring popularity of the Richmond event has exceeded his expectations.

“It’s going great,” Davies says. “Every year has been

bigger and better. This year has been outstanding, with sellout crowds.”

The movies are digitally projected onto a giant (40-foot) inflatable screen, the biggest in the Fresh Air Cinema’s fleet, situated in the northwest parking lot of Lansdowne, with Dolby digital speakers outside.

The film is also broadcast on FM radio, so movie-goers can tune in from inside their vehicles.

There are spaces for about 200 cars or trucks, and an area near the screen can – and usually does – accommodate approximately 100 people with blankets or lawn chairs.

With about three people per vehicle, that means more than 700 people pack the parking lot each Wednesday to enjoy the show.

Fresh Air Cinema runs 175 outdoor events throughout B.C. each summer, Davies says, a result of there just being three drive-ins left in the province: in Aldergrove, Enderby and Prince George.

But Davies is partial to Richmond’s Starlight experience.

“We love Lansdowne.

It’s so nicely set up,”

Davies says, noting it’s not uncommon for people to “trick out the back of their pick-up truck or SUV” with mattresses or other comfort items. “I work at the gate, too, and a lot of times I see the same people returning again and again,” he says.

The mall hosts the Starlight Theatre events, so movies are free of charge to the public. Showtimes are at dusk.

A selection of movies are shown and it’s interesting to note that all of them are available on DVD or Netflix. The crowds aren’t coming for new releases, says Davies. He believes the appeal lies in the human connection.

“It’s the communal experience,” he says. “The scene is funnier when everyone is laughing, the movie is better when everyone one is there.” The Starlight Theatre Drive-In Movie Series will be back next year, Davies says. The final drive-in flick for this season took place on Aug. 30.

The movie? “Grease,” says Davies smiling, “of course.”

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FROM HORSES

TO THE HEART OF RICHMOND

BY PAULA CARLSON

MUCH MORE THAN A MALL MAKEOVER, FUTURE PLANS FOR LANSDOWNE ENVISION A VIBRANT VILLAGE THAT SERVES AS A GATHERING PLACE FOR ALL

ABOVE I Public spaces are a large part of the future plans for the Lansdowne area.

I

magine fun pieces of public art placed in open air plazas. Pedestrianand cyclist-friendly greenways that meander for kilometres. Rooftop decks atop towering “skyhomes,” iconic architecture crafted in wood, concrete and glass, and more shops and restaurants than you could possibly tackle in one epic spree.

It’s all coming to Lansdowne Centre, if the mall’s current owner sees its vision come to fruition.

According to The Lansdowne Legacy, a master plan crafted by Vanprop Investments, redevelopment of the 50-acre shopping centre property will see the current mall at 5300 No.

3 Road transformed into a vibrant, inter-connected hub that blends retail, residential, arts and entertainment, greenspace and restaurants with its surrounding neighbours – including Kwantlen Polytechnic University and bustling No. 3 Road.

In fact, the idea is you won’t know where the shopping centre ends and the community begins, says Jesse Galicz, vice-president of development for the mall’s owner, Vanprop Investments.

“This is not your 1970s covered mall,” he says of the concept.

Galicz expects “action on the ground” is about two to three years

away, with the entire project taking shape over the next 20 years.

Heralded as “a gathering place” for all of Richmond, the developer envisions space for all kinds of activities, both public and private.

Open spaces and public plazas are integral to the new mall design.

The shopping centre itself will undergo a major overhaul, resulting in more than 700,000 square feet of retail, commercial and office space. /continued on page 26

ABOVE I Jesse Galicz is vice president of development for Vanprop Investments, which owns Lansdowne Centre.

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BELOW I Plans for a In addition, the plan calls for new revitalized Landowne connections that will link Lansdowne will likely be ready for into the larger retail community. city council and public consultation by 2018.

“Lansdowne’s retail activity will migrate to a commercial node along No. 3 Road, from Alderbridge Way to Lansdowne Road, which will also feature food, services, entertainment and cultural spaces that will add energy and employment,” the plan says.

But Lansdowne won’t just be for shopping and eating anymore. A variety of housing choices for families and seniors are in the works – enough to house about 10,000 people.

In all, Galicz says about two dozen 14-storey towers will punctuate the site, along with mid- and low-rise units.

“The Lansdowne development will accommodate 3.75 million square feet of residential development, providing approximately 4,000 homes in a wide range of types and styles – from street level townhouses and courtyard skyhomes to terraced flats and tower apartments,” the plan says.

The homes will also include market rental units and an additional portion that fulfills the conditions of Richmond’s Affordable Housing Plan, as well as opportunities to create daycare and seniors’ living facilities.

“Singles, couples, families – people at all ages and stages – will find homes perfect for their purposes,” the plan says.

It’s all designed to fall in line with the pedestrians to seamlessly travel vision of the City of Richmond’s City Centre Area Plan, through the area.

There would crafted in 2008.

“The Lansdowne development be east-west Lansdowne represents will accommodate 3.75 million pedestrian greenways that link one-sixth of square feet of residential Richmond’s the Canada Line development.” station, the Civic downtown, or City – LANSDOWNE LEGACY MASTER PLAN Centre area, where Centre Plaza, a the city projects to Central Park and a have 31,000 residents living by 2041. greenspace called Kwantlen Green at the southeast corner. A 20-metre-wide “Once home to the region’s most popular racetrack,” the master plan linear park known as Lansdowne Road notes, “it once again will be the heart Promenade would also run the length of the development. Smaller walkways of Richmond.”

Connecting it all will be a grid would connect many of the residential complexes, while a broad greenway allowing vehicles, cyclists and

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would provide a main north-south link.

As for cars, the plan promises a new Cooney Road and Hazelbridge Way running north and south.

Green features such as urban gardens will be prominent, along with buildings sporting living roofs and a district energy system maximizing energy use and being made available to nearby properties. Stormwater and flood-management, as well as native plants and trees, will boost the “green” factor.

The architecture will include both “common and iconic” design elements, Galicz says. /continued from page 25

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6 7 key concepts for the Lansdowne area redevelopment:

7 “Singles, couples, families – people at all ages and stages – will find homes perfect for their purposes.”

– LANSDOWNE LEGACY MASTER PLAN

“It will be distinguished and distinct,” he says. “The goal is to set the bar high for architecture. It will be clean and modern.”

Development would take place in several phases, he says, with the last phase resulting in a “completely reinvented” Lansdowne Centre mall.

According to Richmond officials, The Lansdowne Legacy is still in the hands of city planners.

Richmond Coun. Carol Day believes it can be worked out “as long as there are enough amenities for everyone.”

Galicz expects the plan will be ready to move forward to city council and the public consultation process in late 2017 or early 2018.

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Civic Plaza

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Central Park

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Iconic architecture

Shops and offices Multitude of housing types Green promenade and streets Public art

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Lansdowne milestones through the years.

From racing to re-development.

1924 – Lansdowne Park becomes the second racetrack to be built in Richmond (after Minoru/ Brighouse Park).

• Lansdowne is built on 81 acres of land roughly bordered by No. 3, Garden City, Lansdowne and Alexandra roads.

• The racetrack is named after Sir Henry Charles Keith PettyFitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, a former governor General of Canada (1883-1888) who had visited B.C. and loved its natural beauty.

1936 – The memorable Vancouver Golden Jubilee Handicap takes place at

Lansdowne with a purse of $5,000, won by a gelding named Indian Broom.

1945 – Lansdowne Park is sold to British Columbia Turf and Country Club, whose owners are Jack Diamond, George Norgan and Al McLellan.

1949 – Lansdowne Park closes briefly, and is re-opened with a new grandstand that holds 5,000 visitors.

1960 – The racing season comes to an end in Lansdowne - permanently – as all horse racing moves to Exhibition Park in Vancouver.

Early 1970s – Lansdowne

continues to serve as a training facility for thoroughbreds and provides boarding for horses.

1973 – A fire breaks out in the barns just off No. 3 Road. Several thoroughbreds perish. Current Richmond Coun. Carol Day, who was a child at the time, says the fire was terrifying.

“Horses were screaming in their stalls. They opened their doors and let them run out,” she recalls.

“One horse ran all the way to Oak Street. They caught up to it on the Oak Street Bridge.”

1973 – The fire is the beginning of the end of horses at Lansdowne Park, as some thoroughbreds

never become well enough to race again. The site is sold to a shopping centre conglomerate.

1975-1976 – Construction of the new shopping mall is underway.

1977 – Lansdowne Park mall hosts its grand opening at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14 with General Manager Bobby Jones at the helm. Anchor tenants include Woodward’s and Eaton’s.

When the mall opened, “it was a big deal,” remembers lifelong Richmondite Charan Gill. “It was modern. It was new. People would come from all over (the Lower Mainland) to go there.”

1984 – Vanprop Investments Ltd.

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ICONIC MALL HAS GROWN UP WITH THE CITY OF RICHMOND buys the mall.

1997 – Lansdowne Park marks its 20th anniversary in Richmond.

1999 – Lansdowne Park changes its name to Lansdowne Centre.

2001-2002 – Lansdowne Centre undergoes extensive renovations to make room for new stores.

Now under the leadership of General Manager Lorelei Guthrie, the struggling shopping centre expands with a bold merchandising plan and new anchor tenants. When she leaves her post four years later, the sales per square foot have gone from $411 to over $750 – something Guthrie calls “a spectacular

turnaround.”

2009 – The Canada Line opens, with the new rapid transit line connecting both Vancouver International Airport and Richmond Town Centre - and Lansdowne mall - with downtown Vancouver. Lansdowne Station is located at the intersection of Lansdowne and No. 3 roads, and is able to serve the shopping centre and nearby businesses.

2011 – Lansdowne Centre launches its Twitter account: LansdowneCentre. The mall also has a social media presence on Instagram: @LansdowneCentreBC and Facebook:

https://www.Facebook.com/ LansdowneCentre/ 2017 – The shopping centre, now home to more than 130 namebrand retailers and specialty shops and services, celebrates four decades in the community.

Lansdowne Centre kicks off 40th anniversary celebrations on Sept.

16 with a birthday party at the mall from 12-4 p.m.

Also, until Sept. 17, the public is invited to fill out an entry form at the mall’s customer service desk for the chance to win a $500 shopping spree. The prize consists of a gift certificate or combination of gift certificates

from up to four Lansdowne Centre merchants as selected by the winner on the entry ballot.

For more information , visit http://Lansdowne-Centre.com/ 2018 and beyond – Over the next 20 years, Lansdowne Centre is slated to undergo a huge re-invention, with The Lansdowne Legacy master plan calling for 700,000 square feet of new retail, commercial and office space; a residential village of 4,000 homes for about 10,000 people; new parks and greenspaces; and public parks and plazas with room for arts, culture, food and entertainment.

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LIFE AT LANS

THANK YOU FO YOUR STORIES

40 YEARS MEMORIE LANSDOW CENTR

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ANSDOWNE

U FOR SHARING ORIES WITH US

YEARS OF MORIES AT NSDOWNE CENTRE

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