Opening date March 16, 1983 Management Cindy VanBuskirk Opened 16 March 1983 | No. of stores and services 180 Phone +1 613-236-6565 Number of stores and services 180 | |
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Total retail floor area 739,842 sq ft (68,733.6 m) Hours Open today · 9:30AM–9PMThursday9:30AM–9PMFriday9:30AM–9PMSaturday9:30AM–7PMSunday11AM–6PMMonday9:30AM–9PMTuesday9:30AM–9PMWednesday9:30AM–9PMSuggest an edit Similar St Laurent Centre, Bayshore Shopping Centre, Parliament Hill, Rideau Canal, Place d'Orléans Profiles | ||
Downtown ottawa rideau centre mall 2016 expansion
The Rideau Centre (French: Centre Rideau) (corporately styled as "CF Rideau Centre") is a four-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street (and the ByWard Market), the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street in Downtown Ottawa. Over 20 million people visit the mall annually.
Contents
- Downtown ottawa rideau centre mall 2016 expansion
- Rideau centre redevelopment project
- Anchors
- Majors
- Former anchors
- History
- Features and surroundings
- Controversy
- Redevelopment project
- References
Rideau centre redevelopment project
Anchors
Majors
Former anchors
History
When it was built in 1981 and 1982, the Rideau Centre was controversial: a whole block of stores was torn down to make room for the Rideau Centre, and many people were opposed to their destruction. Others feared the impact of increased traffic and buses on the area. The Eaton's department store chain, one of the partners in the development, caused further controversy when it attempted to rename the mall the "Rideau Eaton Centre" while it was under construction; the company backed down in the face of local opposition to the name change. This mall was officially opened on March 16, 1983. On the morning of June 8, 2016, the Rideau Centre was evacuated after a sinkhole opened up on Rideau Street.
Features and surroundings
The Rideau Centre complex has approximately 180 retailers, the 487-room Westin Hotel, a rooftop park, and the Ottawa Convention Centre (Old Congress Centre). At 740,757 sq ft (68,818.6 m2) in size, it is the fourth-largest shopping centre in the Ottawa-Gatineau area (behind the St. Laurent Centre, Les Promenades Gatineau and Bayshore Shopping Centre).
The Rideau Centre and the adjacent National Defence Headquarters building are served by OC Transpo's Mackenzie King Transitway station, which is served by several major bus routes.
Controversy
Rideau Centre security and maintenance staff have been the subject of a number of controversies. In 2002, security staff handcuffed and detained two men for carrying an Israeli flag to enforce a mall rule prohibiting political signs. The men claimed that abusive comments were made towards them as Jews, but a police investigation was unable to sustain the allegations of anti-semitic abuse. In 2011, security staff handcuffed and detained a man who was attempting to cancel a gym membership. The man was released when police arrived, and the Rideau Centre's tenant GoodLife Fitness suffered a media backlash over the incident. That year, nine people, including a former Speaker of the House of Commons and other dignitaries, were trapped for more than an hour and a half in the mall elevator. A former Senator criticized the Rideau Centre for its slow response time.
Redevelopment project
On September 26, 2013, Cadillac Fairview announced its plans to expand the 30-year-old shopping centre. The redevelopment project will expand the Rideau Centre by 230,000 square feet and renovate retail and dining spaces. A key feature of the redevelopment project was a 35,000-square-foot dining hall that will offer have 16 premium eating establishments, seating for 850 people and introduce reusable dinnerware, glassware and metal cutlery. The projected cost of the redevelopment project is $360 million. As part of the renovation, three major retailers will enter the centre. New tenants in the high-end market will include Tiffany & Co., Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman. Large retailers set to increase the centre's size and outreach to different clientele include Nordstrom, which is a new entry to the centre as of March 6, 2015 consisting of 157,000 sq. ft. The Hudson's Bay Company announced plans for major renovations following the announcement of Nordstrom's opening; the 335,000 sq. ft. downtown flagship will be completely overhauled. Lastly in the large store additions, Simons announced plans to enter the Rideau Centre as a new tenant as of August 2016 in a store planned to be larger than 80,000 sq. ft. This expansion has prompted many retailers already in the Rideau Centre to pursue renovations. Stores such as Harry Rosen have undergone major renovations, capitalizing on the Ottawa area's density of high income salaried government employees. While the Rideau Centre does not have plans to focus on high-end luxury, the company says that the city is more of an “aspirational luxury” marketplace, one step removed from shops such as Louis Vuitton and Prada. Aside from the retail and interior space additions and renovations, the redesigned centre will include significant façade enhancements along Rideau Street including a refurbished Ogilvy Building heritage façade, and a complete interior renovation that will feature new quartz flooring, enhanced lighting, glass guardrails and modern amenities.
The expansion at the Rideau Centre opened to the public on August 11, 2016, bringing the total retail floor area to over 969,000 sq. ft.