Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre opened 50 years ago today. To mark the occasion, construction will commence on the mall's 298,000 square foot, $331-million expansion that will include a 188,000 square foot Nordstrom store as its anchor. A series of events will also be held as part of the celebrations.

The mall recently saw its sales exceed $1 billion per year and it's forecasted that by the year 2018, it will be North America's top-selling mall with sales of $2 billion.

Interestingly, the CN Tower will be lit in gold this evening to commemorate the occasion. Yorkdale has used gold colour as part of its most recent advertising campaign which includes Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha.

"When Yorkdale first opened its doors in 1964, we were the largest shopping centre in the world," said Claire Santamaria, General Manager of Yorkdale Shopping Centre. "Fifty years later, we can say that Yorkdale has helped transform Canada's retail landscape by being the number one destination for international retailers entering the Canadian market. We want to celebrate our golden anniversary as we continue growing to meet with the demand of shoppers and international retailers."

Some of the anniversary events include (directly from the mall's press release):

The past celebrated. Your future styled: On February 26th, fifty years to the day since the shopping centre first opened its doors, Yorkdale will unveil an exclusive portrait series shot by iconic photographer and musician Bryan Adams. The series features Toronto’s top Style Makers, including former Fashion Television personality and fashion icon in her own right Jeanne Beker, Breakfast Television personality Dina Pugliese, actress Lisa Ray, Jagmeet Singh, philanthropist Suzanne Rogers and her daughter Chloe, TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey, bloggers Caillianne and Samantha Beckerman and fashion designer Lucian Matis.

Yorkdale Gold Collection: To celebrate Yorkdale’s Golden Anniversary, several retailers have contributed special edition commemorative products to the Yorkdale Gold Collection. The collection features items from Michael Kors, Ted Baker London, MAC Cosmetics, The Body Shop, Town Shoes and Purdy’s Chocolatier, developed exclusively for Yorkdale and available only at Yorkdale.

Anniversary Gown: Lucian Matis, one of Canada’s top luxury fashion designers, has created a golden anniversary evening gown exclusively for Yorkdale. Made of silk chiffon and French lace, the gown was delicately hand-sewn by Matis and took more than 85 hours to complete. Inspiration for the exquisite piece came from Yorkdale shopping centre itself. The gown was photographed on Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha, the face of Yorkdale Style, for a special campaign celebrating the 50th anniversary of Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The gown will be on display at Yorkdale’s Guest Services.

CN Tower: In light of Yorkdale’s Golden Anniversary: Yorkdale isn’t the only one getting into the spirit. The CN Tower, one of Toronto’s leading attractions, will be lit gold on the evening of February 26th to celebrate Yorkdale’s golden anniversary. As with every night, a standard light show will also occur for eight minutes at the top of every hour.

SOURCE: Yorkdale Shopping Centre press release