Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/607779
DECEMBER 2015 | 77 Bayshore Shopping Centre Redevelopment PHOTOGRAPHY ROY GROGAN/COURTESY PCL CONSTRUCTORS CANADA INC. Bayshore Shopping Centre Redevelopment by ROBIN BRUNET W ith seven million customers com- ing through its doors annually, the Bayshore Shopping Centre has long been a popular fixture of Ottawa's West End. But unlike other types of buildings, the time to upgrade shopping malls is when they're at the peak of pop- ularity rather than when in disrepair, in order to attract new clients. That is exactly the story behind the massive, $200-million makeover of the Bayshore, which commenced in 2012 and now accommodates 56 new stores and a completely redone 830-seat food court. The mall concourses have undergone a makeover consisting of stainless steel fix- tures replacing brass, neutral wall colours and automatic sliding doors at entrances. But most obviously from a pedestrian viewpoint, the upgraded facility boasts a new five-level parking lot, replac- ing a 40-year-old, three-level facility, outfitted with LED lighting and more efficient ramping. Ivanhoé Cambridge, the Montreal- based property management and devel- opment firm that co-owns the shopping centre with KingSett Capital, decided that for the sake of minimizing disrup- tion to shoppers, the work would be done in three phases, employing nearly 1,000 construction workers for three-and-a- half years and becoming one of the most ambitious undertakings of its kind ever attempted in the Ottawa region. As a result, Apple has become one of Bayshore's most high-profile new ten- ants. "This investment reflects our stra- tegic plan to invest in our properties in order to provide an exceptional shop- ping experience for consumers and an optimal place of business for our retail- ers," says Kim McInnes, Ivanhoé's presi- dent, global operations. Ivanhoé worked closely with the provincial and municipal governments and local community partners to deter- mine how best to re-route construction vehicles to mitigate congestion on local streets. "The back and forth between us, the City and neighbourhood stakehold- ers was intensive," says Philippe Doyle, partner at Lalande + Doyle Architects. "That was also the case in creating new access points for the mall and other ele- ments; it was imperative that fire and safety standards were met," adds Doyle. One significant agreement reached was the appearance of the new parkade. "Bearing in mind that the length of the facility is half a kilometre long, we determined how best to make it as visu- ally appealing as possible, and in addi- tion to using elements such as glass to make it look less like a parkade, we set the entire structure back from the curb by about 80 feet to create an urban park and better access to public transit sys- tems," says Doyle. Given that each level of the mall is 18-feet high, Lalande + Doyle had enough space to create not three but five levels of parking – three levels connecting with each shopping mall level and two inter- mediary levels. As for the mall itself, demolition of the old parkade to the east provided the space required for new retail out- lets. "But then the challenge was how to encourage shoppers to that area, and to do so we relocated and expanded the existing food court and created massive glazing so that the court could be seen from the far end of the mall and draw people to it – and by extension closer to our new retail zone," says Doyle. Pappas Design Studio was retained to create the interior design of the new shopping space as well as renovate the existing retail zones. "Pappas and Ivanhoé have collaborated many times in the past, and for Bayshore outdated elements such as brass finishes had to be replaced along with the aging ceiling tiles, and the steel frame of the atrium skylight had to be repainted," says Doyle. The project's three main areas of work were carried out over three years, starting with the demolition of the north- east part of the parking structure and rebuilding it along with bridgework that accesses municipal roadways. To assist the mall in maximizing revenue retention while work was underway, PCL obtained permission from the City of Ottawa's bus transit authority to use existing bus lanes for construction vehicle access. Subsequently, other portions of the parking structure were demolished and PCL constructed the 240,000-square- foot, three-storey retail addition along with renovating the existing mall (which required new flooring, drywall bulkheads and skylight modifications carried out during night shifts to avoid disrupting the ongoing retail functions). The third phase consisted of demolish- ing the remainder of the parkade and rebuilding it. Of these phases, the parking posed the biggest challenge as about 20 per cent of the area was rock near the sur- face, and 80 per cent was sandy soil that would settle as much as 30 inches dur- ing an earthquake. Since pilings instal- lation would have been too lengthy and disruptive to undertake, PCL, execut- ing a plan by the structural consultants Dessau, built the new structure on a half-kilometre-long slab of steel-rein- forced concrete one-metre thick. Modern Niagara provided mechani- cal construction and upgraded the cen- tre's building controls system, including system upgrade and installation, zone controls and air handling unit controls, C02 sensors and snow-melt controls in the parking area, hard-wired rooftop units with BACnet interface, exhaust controls in the food court and monitor- ing of kitchen ecology units. Niagara's work was done in two phases. First, it helped in the renova- tion of a large portion of the exiting mall; next, it constructed the new food court and wing, working closely with PCL Constructors Canada Inc. to meet the unique needs of each tenant. The company also played an integral role in maintaining full operation of the mall during construction by implementing temporary services while new systems were installed. As of October, the upgraded Bayshore facility was finished and is more popu- lar than ever with shoppers and its new tenants. "This was a major achievement that we're very proud of," says Doyle. "The interior is magnificent, and for the exterior we had the rare chance to create a sophisticated urban facade for what is essentially a suburban concept." A LOCATION 100 Bayshore Drive, Nepean, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER Ivanhoé Cambridge / KingSett Capital ARCHITECTS Lalande + Doyle Architects Inc. / DIALOG CONSTRUCTION MANAGER PCL Constructors Canada Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANTS Dessau / exp Services Inc. MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT WSP Canada Inc. INTERIOR DESIGN Pappas Design Studio SIGNAGE Two Twelve TOTAL SIZE 1,365,000 square feet (five-storey parking) 240,000 square feet (retail) 90,000 square feet (common area renovation) TOTAL COST $200 million 8:43 AM