Wedged into Yorkville, Hazelton Lanes retrofit poses challenges
Painstaking work put into facelift of 1970s-era mall. 'Anyone who has renovated an old house knows that every time you open up a wall, you can find something you didn’t expect,' says First Capital Realty CEO
Hazelton Lanes, once Toronto’s premier luxury mall, opened in 1976. First Capital Realty Inc., the mall’s new owner, is in the midst of giving it a major renovation that will cost more than $100-million.
Its previous entrance on Avenue Road was difficult to find and required walking either up or down flights of stairs to get inside.
An aerial view of the property in Toronto’s Yorkville area. About 265,000 people live within a kilometre of the mall with an average family income of $106,000.
“Our vision is to create a much more modern layout and more connection to Yorkville,” says Dori Segal, First Capital’s president and CEO.Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail
A broad two-storey glass entryway will improve accessibility and create a new presence along Avenue Road. The mall, redesigned by Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Ltd., will be rebranded Yorkville Village.
Whole Foods Market will continue to anchor the mall. Yorkville Village will also feature 25 boutiques, a food hall with quick-service outlets and at least two sit-down restaurants.
The old façade along Avenue Road and layers of flooring have been removed. Construction began last year with completion set for 2017.Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail
The mall’s location within a tight residential area has posed significant problems. Material from the demolished north-facing Avenue Road façade, seen here, has had to be hauled through the gutted south end of the mall to dumpsters.Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail
Former maze-like corridors of stores will become straight shopping streets that will converge at a glass-roofed oval atrium.Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail
The former skating rink, scrapped in the 1990s, will become the oval atrium.Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail
The work is being done in phases, requiring many of the mall’s tenants to move to temporary quarters. Here a finished store faces hoarding where work continues.Wallace Immen/The Globe and Mail
Once renovations are complete, escalators and elevators will take shoppers from street level to the upper and lower floors.
“It may cost tons of money to redo a mall like Hazelton Lanes, but I’m sure they’ll get their money back,” says Ross Moore, director of research, CBRE Ltd. Canada. “It’s absolutely a great location and the trends are all in favour of the area.” Read more at link below: Vintage Hazelton Lanes getting more than a facelift.