More than 800 fashion lovers descended on Park Royal Wednesday evening to celebrate the opening of the first Simons store in B.C.
The Quebec-based retailer treated invited guests to wine and nibblies inside its new 100,000-square-foot location at Park Royal South. The two-storey building, with an offset second floor and glass atrium entrance, was designed by architecture firm Lemay Michaud.
Party guests also got to admire installations by local artists. West Vancouver novelist Douglas Coupland's striped Bow Tie sculpture is suspended high above the elevators. Coast Salish artist Jody Broomfield's piece, Kayachtun, meaning welcome, is a sandblasted granite relief located on the exterior south entrance. And in the women's wear department is Innocence Disobedience, a wall sculpture comprising blue ceramic flowers created by West Vancouver's Bobbie Burgers.
Simons has been a family-run business since 1840 when it opened as a dry goods shop in Quebec City. Currently under the helm of brothers Peter and Richard Simon, who were both in attendance Wednesday night, the department store is undergoing a major Canadian expansion. The new West Vancouver location features women's and home fashions on the ground floor with menswear, a French café and customer service on the upper level.
The official public opening and ribbon cutting took place yesterday morning. Representatives from the Squamish Nation led a traditional ceremonial blessing of Kayachtun and Peter Simons made some remarks.
The opening of Simons coincides with the opening of Park Royal South's revamped west wing. The North Shore News was recently invited to tour the 30,000-square-foot fashion wing with Rick Amantea, Park Royal's vice-president of community partnerships and development.
"The concept has been from day one to link this new mall entrance way and of course the new Simons store and this portion of the south mall with The Village (at Park Royal)," Amantea says outside the main doors of the new wing.
He motions to a public plaza and the site of a soon-to-be water fountain - one of several fountains planned for the shopping centre.
"The idea behind the water features is to create these public gathering spaces - water seems to attract people," he says.
Though the wing is now open to shoppers, not all the retailers are in place quite yet.
"A number of stores will open at the same time as Simons, some will follow in November and some will follow in December, and then we've got a couple that will be opening in the new year," Amantea says.
The retail mix includes well-established chain stores such as Aldo and American Eagle Outfitters, as well as specialty brands like Plenty and European footwear purveyor French Sole.
The goal of the redesign, Amantea says, was to create a cohesive and connected space with a clean, modern look. "Now you'll be able to walk from Simons all the way down through to Indigo without having to go over stairs or walk up and down ramps," he says. "It's become a much more friendly walk and a much more accessible walk than it ever has been in the past, and obviously a brighter walk," he adds, gesturing to the new ceiling lighting.
One major change regular shoppers will notice is the relocation of the food court from the ground floor to the upper level. Dubbed Picnic, the new dining zone, complete with an outdoor patio, is set to open Oct. 23 and will feature a mix of existing food vendors and brand new tenants, including what will soon be the very first Tim Hortons in West Vancouver.
On the second floor, looking down at the renovated centre court, Amantea notes the former heavy wooden railings, hunter green colour scheme and brick columns have been ditched in favour of stainless steel and glass.
"Park Royal is really moving to a much more modern contemporary feel and one that's more timeless than we've ever had before," he says.
The old food court area will be replaced with new retailers, including Dollarama.
With so many changes taking place at Park Royal South, customers often ask Amantea what's happening with Park Royal North.
"We haven't forgotten about the north side," he says. "We're investing a lot of time, effort, money and creativity into making it as important a part of Park Royal as the Village, as the Main Street, as the south end, so we have not abandoned it."
Currently, work is underway on the new Loblaws City Market, the exterior facade and the landscaping on the north side. Amantea expects to make some tenant announcements for Park Royal North in the new year.
"It will be the last piece of the puzzle," he says.
