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Upon inquiry, a spokesperson for QuadReal Property Group, told Daily Hive Urbanized these 2,000 free stalls will be on a three-hour limit basis.

In contrast, prior to the pandemic and the demolition of the previous mall, there were approximately 3,000 parking stalls serving all uses. Mall visitors could park for up to four hours free of charge, with parking spread across multiple underground levels and expansive surface lots.

How does Oakridge Park’s parking stack up compared to other major shopping malls in Metro Vancouver? Metropolis at Metrotown has over 6,000 stalls, Park Royal in West Vancouver has 5,000 stalls, CF Richmond Centre offers over 2,000 stalls, and Aberdeen Centre has 1,400 stalls. The recently opened Amazing Brentwood in Burnaby has more than 2,000 surface and underground stalls, with pay parking — generally $2.00 per hour — applying to the underground parkade and curbside street parking along Brentwood Boulevard.

But unique to Oakridge Park will be the offering of a valet parking service option, which will be provided to all residents who opt into the program and visitors for a nominal fee.

“The valet program is designed to optimize the parkade to meet demand while preparing for a future with diverse transportation options, including transit and various electric modes of transport. The valet configuration at the residential level allows for efficient utilization of parking spaces throughout the day, recognizing the differing usage patterns of residential and commercial users,” said the spokesperson.

“Ultimately, the goal of the parking program is to create a welcoming arrival portal for visitors, ensuring an efficient vehicle processing experience while minimizing unused stalls and wasted space.”

Earlier this month, it was also announced that North Vancouver-based Hypercharge Networks provided 500 Level 2 battery-electric vehicle charging stations to the mall project, including 300 wall-mounted, single-port chargers and 200 overhead single-port chargers to more efficiently serve multiple stalls in the high-density valet parking areas.

“Redefining what urban redevelopment can look like, Oakridge Park sets a new benchmark for large scale EV charging infrastructure with an innovative approach tailored for one of Canada’s most significant redevelopments,” said David Bibby, president and CEO of Hypercharge in a press release.

Hypercharge is working with Precise ParkLink, which will manage the parking lot operations at the complex.

“With a unique parking model, the project demands a smart, space-saving charging setup that maximizes efficiency while maintaining seamless accessibility,” continued Bibby.

On the other side of the transportation coin, mobility improvements are also focused on public transit — specifically, the major upgrades underway to expand the capacity of SkyTrain’s Oakridge–41st Avenue Station. These enhancements include two additional escalators and a new elevator from the redesigned street-level entrance, and a new underground secondary entrance connecting a mall retail corridor directly to the station’s ticketing concourse.

With the mall’s opening and the gradual move-in of residents and office workers, ridership at this Canada Line station is expected to surge. This follows several years of lower passenger volumes, driven by broader pandemic-related impacts across the TransLink network and the closure of the previous mall.

Some relatively minor construction work on the mall redevelopment first began in 2018. When construction was already well underway in September 2020, the mall fully closed to enable an expedited development.

TransLink statistics show Oakridge-41st Avenue Station’s ridership previously peaked at 2.9 million annual boardings in 2018, with averages of 8,600 on weekdays, 7,300 on Saturdays, and 5,800 on Sundays/holidays. This represented a year-over-year increase of about two per cent in 2018, before falling by 2.3 per cent in 2019 against systemwide upward ridership trends.

Based on the latest available ridership statistics, the station saw 2.31 million annual boardings in 2023, marking a strong rebound from the previous pandemic lows but still considerably behind the pre-pandemic/pre-construction high. In 2023, it averaged 7,000 boardings on weekdays, 5,600 on Saturdays, and 4,500 on Sundays/holidays. It ranked as the 23rd busiest SkyTrain station in 2023 — essentially unchanged from its position prior to the pandemic.

Some of the pandemic and construction-related ridership losses were likely offset by the operation of the R4 41st Avenue RapidBus since January 2020. Since it was first launched over five years ago, the R4 has quickly grown into TransLink’s second busiest bus route, just behind the 99 B-Line, with a substantial number of passengers transferring between the Canada Line and R4 at Oakridge-41st Avenue Station.

This station also stands to see a ridership increase from the other high-density, mixed-use residential developments in the surrounding area outside of the mall.

As for the opening of the first phase of the new mall, the latest visual progress on exterior and interior construction suggests that a late Spring 2025 debut is increasingly highly unlikely. This likely pushes the potential opening to sometime in Summer 2025 at the very earliest, perhaps even in the Fall. QuadReal was unable to comment on the precise opening date, noting that this will be revealed in a forthcoming announcement.

Construction on the mall’s common areas is nearing completion based on recent photos, while numerous retailers are actively moving forward with their own tenancy improvements, with crews working on outfitting their individual commercial spaces.

It was also previously noted that the upgrades for the Canada Line station will reach completion in Fall 2025.

The first mall phase approaching full completion will provide 650,000 sq. ft. of leasable retail/restaurant space within an indoor mall setting. Overall, upon the future full buildout of the future second phase of the mall, the new mall will be significantly larger than the one it replaces. Some of the most notable and anticipated tenants include Canada’s second Time Out Market food hall, Sporting Life, and the return of the community-serving Safeway grocery store, along with a wide range of mid-tier and luxury retailers.

Apart from the significant new space previously set aside for Hudson’s Bay’s return to the property, which will be repurposed into retail space for other potential tenants, the first phase of the mall is essentially fully leased.

The first phase also includes the opening of most of the nine-acre public park on the indoor mall’s rooftop, a 100,000 sq. ft. City-owned and operated community centre and public library branch, and a City-owned social housing tower.

There will be over five million sq. ft. of total building floor area, including 10 mixed-use residential towers with over 3,000 homes for more than 6,000 residents under strata market and secured purpose-built rental housing tenures, and 700,000 sq. ft. of office space for about 3,000 workers. QuadReal and Westbank are pursuing this project together.

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