Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/734400
OCTOBER 2016 | 85 CF Toronto Eaton Centre/Nordstrom PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY QUEEN'S QUAY ARCHITECTS INTERNATIONAL INC. CF Toronto Eaton Centre/Nordstrom by ROBIN BRUNET E ven before it was renamed CF Toronto Eaton Centre after its owner, Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited, the Eaton Centre was a key retail destination, attracting almost 50 million visitors annually. It was also Toronto's top draw for tourists, who would gape at the mammoth interior containing over 230 shops and stretching two city blocks along Yonge Street. As is the case with the best Canadian malls, CF Toronto Eaton Centre also regularly underwent upgrading, most significantly in the early 2000s, when Queen's Quay Architects International Inc. developed a design that replaced the original monolithic exterior with stores that open directly onto the street and a series of facades that create the perception of an urban streetscape. But the September 2016 opening of a new Nordstrom in part of the former Sears space at the north end of the facility builds on CF Toronto Eaton Centre's reputation as a world-class destination: it comes on the heels of the February launch of Saks Fifth Avenue at the southeastern end and is the first Canadian shopping centre to feature both these venerable institutions. Equally important, the 163,000-square-foot, four-level Saks and the 213,000-square-foot, three- level Nordstrom (which boasts 300 feet of Yonge Street frontage), coincides with further development of the surrounding downtown core, with residential intensification expected to create additional larger format retail opportunities in the foreseeable future. Wayne Barwise, EVP, development, for Cadillac Fairview, explained his company's sequencing of upgrades in early 2014, after it was confirmed that Nordstrom would be coming to the city. "Over the past three years we've spent $120 million in enhancements," he told the press. "This second phase of redevelopment will include an additional $400 million. We are delighted to have Nordstrom be part of this exciting venture as we continue to bring a premier urban retail shopping experience to the city." Apart from the careful co-ordination required due to Nordstrom using its own design team, Queen's Quay, PCL Constructors Canada and a host of sub trades were faced with huge challenges due to timelines. "It was only 17 months between us commencing basic layout concepts to turning the finished space over to Nordstrom," says Queen's Quay president Maris Luksis. "Plus, we were working with a 40-year-old structure that had not been substantially altered since it first opened for business." The former Sears occupied one level of below grade space and seven levels up to the roof of the building. Queen's Quay rearranged the layout so that Nordstrom would occupy the ground plus second and third levels, with Sears offices occupying levels four to seven; below grade would be redeveloped as a seamless extension to the existing mall. Luksis describes his firm's work relationship with Nordstrom as "very productive, but the project and process to turn the space over was challenging. For example, we allocated services in our design based on as much information as was possible from the Nordstrom architects, who of course were extremely busy determining all the components that would define their new store. When the final requirements came in, substantial changes to our design had to be made, mainly to elements such as the placement of elevators and other access and egress points." Tackling the exterior design was considerably less complicated. "However, it was still subject to an aggressive schedule," says Luksis. "We started work in January 2015 with completion in May of this year. Fortunately, Nordstrom had a complete exterior design based on the template for its other stores, with extensive street-level glazing and signature off-white stone cladding affixed to aluminum back panels." PCL commenced demolition in the spring of 2014, and redevelopment of the interior was complicated by the fact that the upper level offices had to remain operational throughout. "It was a total gut job for the Nordstrom space, with all the electrical and mechanical LOCATION 220 Younge Street, Toronto, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited ARCHITECT Queen's Quay Architects International Inc. ARCHITECT (INTERIORS) CallisonRTKL GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCL Constructors Canada GENERAL CONTRACTOR (INTERIORS) Govan Brown & Associates STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT The HIDI Group TOTAL SIZE 213,000 square feet (Nordstrom) TOTAL COST $400 million (second redevelopment phase) systems having to be removed," says Dario DiCarlo, base building electrical engineer for The HIDI Group. Luksis notes, "Not surprisingly, given that this was a 40-year- old structure, many things were discovered by PCL during the course of the demolition, which resulted in a lot of on-site consultation." The "gut job" also had to retain a certain degree of services redundancy for the Sears offices. "Essentially, we had to build the new systems for Nordstrom while keeping the old systems running for the office space, and then we sequentially phased out the old systems as the new ones were completed," says DiCarlo. "We left the risers in place until the Nordstrom infrastructure had been installed, and then we just patched in." Extending the mall below grade posed its own challenges. "We had to match the new floors and ceiling with the old components, and then we dismantled the new ceiling once again for the installation of the new escalators," says Luksis. HIDI's lighting group, Alula Lighting Design, implemented new technology that had to complement existing mall lighting. "That took a lot of effort, as the spacing of the lights, the colour temperature and rendering of the fixtures had to match," says DiCarlo. "We also worked with Nordstrom architects on the exterior, specifically, we ensured that all of Nordstrom's material requirements met local practices. Given the frontage at a prime intersection in the downtown core, we also located drivers indoors due to avoid issues with limited exterior access." For Luksis, this project represents what professionals at the top of their game can achieve. "I'm very proud of the outcome," he says. "By necessity, everything had to come together very quickly, and what we have now is a beautiful new destination that raises the bar of the retail experience." A 4:17 PM