The recent opening of Qualico's Willoughby Town Centre would be big news in any city, but for the Township of Langley it's yet another signal that the fast-growing suburb is maturing into a major retail destination for the entire Lower Mainland.
Willoughby Town Centre has nine distinct phases, with the first three phases comprising retail and office space and 65 residential units either completed or under construction. At build-out, the centre will boast approximately 100,000 square feet of retail space and up to 1,200 homes, according to Hugh Carter, Qualico's vice-president of community and commercial development.
Carter said the 20-acre Langley site represents a "a rare opportunity" to develop an entire community with a "walkable" retail village at its core. "Langley's growing population and the demand that this places on local services presented us with the opportunity to replicate our success of developing communities within communities."
The September 21 opening celebrated the first phase of the "High Street," which includes not only big brands such as Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart and RBC Financial, but also homegrown storefronts such as Noma Sushi, Mattu's Coffee and Tea and Town Centre Liquor.
The eclectic mix of big and small is no accident.
"This is a community, not a regional, retail centre," Carter said, comparing it to "lifestyle centres" such as Morgan Crossing in South Surrey and Park Royal South in West Vancouver.
Others may see the township, named one of the top western Canadian cities for real estate investors by both Western Investor and the Real Estate Investment Network, as a regional shopping centre.
Outlet in?
Rumours are swirling that a large U.S.-based retail developer is planning a mega-outlet shopping centre near 200th Street and Highway 1 at the commercial heart of the township. Insiders say the developer persuaded the township that such a centre could be developed without adding to traffic woes at one of the Lower Mainland's busiest interchanges. Township zoning now allows for a large outlet centre, but the developer has yet to step forward.
The 200th Street intersection would appear to be an "excellent location" for a large outlet-style mall, said retail consultant Ian Thomas. The president of Thomas Consultants said outlet centres are currently "the darling segment" of the retail industry.
He pointed to the success of such centres in Toronto and Washington state and said Langley Township has the right formula of a large catchment area and excellent access along a major highway.
When Premium Outlets – a joint venture of Simon Property Group and Calloway Real Estate Investment Trust – opened Greater Toronto's first mega-outlet mall at Halton Hills August 1, it drew long lines of shoppers before the doors even opened. The centre boasts 85 stores, including Coach, Calvin Klein, DKNY and Restoration Hardware.
Outlet centres differ from other retail in that they attract brand-name manufacturers that offer their merchandise marked down 30% to 60%.
Gary McKinnon, Langley Township economic development officer, confirmed the outlet centre zoning is in place but could provide no details on any negotiations.
However, McKinnon added that top-tier U.S. retailers are already moving into the township, including Target, Army & Navy, Olive Garden and Harley-Davidson.
"Langley appears to be the testing ground for a unique type of stores," he said.
Building boom
Even without a big new shopping centre, the township is seeing strong commercial construction. In the first seven months of this year, total commercial building permits reached $24.6 million, well above the five-year annual pace of $21 million.
But another number might be as important to retail developers: new home construction in the first seven months of this year totalled $200 million as more than 620 new homes broke ground in the township.
Such residential growth is attracting the attention of big institutional investors. This spring Manulife Real Estate bought the 91,517-square-foot Aldergrove Village Shopping Centre in the township for just under $30 million. The multi-tenanted shopping centre is anchored by Save-On-Foods and Shoppers, which occupy 46% of the retail space.
More recently, Dean LaPointe of Coldwell Banker confirmed two separate developers are inking deals to buy a 34-acre parcel of land along the 200th Street corridor in the township, directly across from the Langley Events Centre and close to the park-and-ride bus transit station. LaPointe noted that the site is zoned for high-density commercial and residential. •
Western Investor (www.westerninvestor.com) is a division of Business in Vancouver Media Group. Published monthly, it focuses on commercial real estate in Western Canada.
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