Toronto’s Yorkdale has a 55-year history as Canada’s leading super-regional shopping centre. With productivity at about $2,000 per square foot and $2-billion in annual sales, it ranks amongst the world’s most successful shopping centres. Yorkdale’s sustained success is a story of continual reinvestment, innovation, insight and expansion—with the customer at the centre of every decision.
Our investment, asset management, leasing, marketing and property management teams all play key roles in making Yorkdale a much-loved retail experience—not to mention one that consistently delivers above-market financial returns. Since acquiring the property in 1998, we have invested over $500 million improving and expanding the property. We’ve introduced leading-edge smart technologies and advanced analytics, sophisticated air filtration and cleaning systems and protocols, sustainability features like a green roof, solar panels and centre-wide natural day-lighting and facilities and programs to accommodate customers with special needs and nursing mothers and young families. These features have helped to not only create sustainable social value but also to achieve LEED Gold certification under the Existing Buildings 4.1 rating system as the first enclosed retail shopping centre over 1 million square feet. At the same time, we’ve almost doubled the footprint, tripled both the sales volume and net operating income, quadrupled the asset value and generated industry-leading dwell times and customer loyalty.
Our commitment to excellence at Yorkdale is paying off. Our customers vote with their time and their wallets, and our industry-leading performance on both metrics tell us we’re getting it right.