GALLERY: Yorkdale reveals its flashy new expansion
Yorkdale Shopping Centre’s swanky 145,000-square-foot expansion opens today, marking the next phase in the North Toronto mega-mall’s quest to corner the upscale market (a fancy food court already opened in June). Among the 30-odd new or expanded stores are the first Canadian installations of Loft (the younger, hipper label from Ann Taylor), Ted Baker London and Kate Spade New York, as well as Microsoft’s first-ever retail location outside the U.S. The suburban mall’s ability to draw buzzy retailers from abroad suggests its upmarket strategy is working.
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Apart from the new stores, the estimated $185-million renovation also adds 800 new parking spots and 65,000 square feet of green rooftops. The main atrium of the new wing features two major installations by Toronto-based artist Ed Pien, as well as a massive skylight that floods the space with natural light (in case shoppers need a reminder of the outside world after they’ve been holed up in the mall for hours). See below for the full list of new and expanded retailers.
• Stores new to Canada: Kate Spade New York, Loft, Microsoft, Ted Baker London and Tesla Motors. • Stores new to Yorkdale: Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, Best Buy Mobile, David’s Tea, Diesel, the North Face, L’Occitane, Papyrus, an exclusive Rolex boutique at Raffi Jewellers, Ta-ze, and Wilfred Boutique. • Existing Yorkdale stores that have expanded: Apple, Bell, Bluenotes, Champs, Club Monaco, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Lululemon, Mappins, Starbucks and TELUS. • Opening soon: Holt Renfrew (will be re-opening in a much larger space in 2013) and AllSaints (opening in 2013).
