LIFESTYLE CENTRES

A trend to be conscious of: The emergence of mixed-use and lifestyle centres. They are appearing everywhere and are quickly becoming the heart of new communities. These centres combine attractive retail tenants, dining/entertainment options, and, in many cases, residential and office components. People can shop, dine and see a movie all within walking distance to the condo/townhome without driving to multiple locations.

These planned, vertical communities are created to provide a unique shopping experience without having to leave the neighbourhood. For example: an open air plaza, the sidewalks shaded from the sun by flowered trellises, and the streets narrowed at the corners to give pedestrians an implied right of way. An urban plaza appears around a corner with a good café and a band shell providing a central gathering place. The concept is more than just a retail environment. This new urbanization is a collision of many disciplines: architecture, psychographics, retailing, and community planning all combined to create a unique urban village, and a pleasing, vibrant place where community takes shape and public life happens.

In 2000, there were 697 more shopping centers operating in the United States than in 1999.

•    California has the most shopping centers—6,034.

•    Wyoming has the least—52.

•    40 million people a year visit the largest mall in the United States—the Mall of America.

•    Southdale Center in Edina, Minn., opened in 1956 as the first fully enclosed mall. It had a two-level design and two competitive department stores as anchors.

•    Consumers spent approximately 76.4 minutes per visit at malls in 2000 and visited 1.3 stores.
 

Spring into Summer at the Madison Centre

The Madison Center is a Central Burnaby shopping center anchored by Save-on-foods, Winners and VanCity Savings Credit Union. Red Rocket was instrumental in organizing an open house for the local community which took place on Saturday May 13. We developed the event theme “Spring into Summer” and coordinated a day full of activities for all ages and interests.  Toddlers through to seniors discovered informative and fun aspects of their community, while being entertained by a range of artists. 

The activities included: performances by a local dance academy, the Gentlemen of Distinction barbershop group, a fashion show (sponsored by Winners); interactive story-telling by local author, Segway demonstrations (yes, you could take one for a test drive), magic shows, face painting, Harley Davidson motorcycles on display, prizes, product sampling, the RCMP, the Willingdon Community Centre, Girl Guides, local high schools, and Garden Works.

Red Rocket promoted the event using targeted direct mail, newspaper ads and a public relations campaign; plus the event was covered by radio powerhouse CKNW who broadcasted remotely from the shopping centre for the day.

The event came together seamlessly and was a tremendous success in raising the centre’s awareness in Burnaby’s competitive retail environment.