From Horses to the Heart of Richmond
Jesse Galicz is vice president of development for Vanprop Investments, which owns Lansdowne Centre
Much more than a mall makeover, future plans for Lansdowne envision a vibrant village that servers as a gathering place for all.
Imagine fun pieces of public art placed in open air plazas. Pedestrian and 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.