By Devon Johnson

Cadillac Fairview's CF Masonville Place has lifted the curtain on an ambitious $77 million redevelopment, which has added 127,000 square feet of space to the London, Ontario shopping centre.

CF Masonville's new two-storey expansion is bringing in over 13 new retailers, including London's first Zara store, H&M, NYX Cosmetics, Hot Topic, and Browns Shoes. A joint Sport/Chek/Atmosphere location will be opening in early 2017. New food options from The Keg, Nando's, and Aroma Espresso Bar will also be located within the new two-storey expansion.

The shopping centre has remained profitable since its opening in 1985, but faced increased competition from nearby White Oaks Mall after the centre was renovated in 2013. During the same year, CF Masonville Place saw the closure of anchor tenant Sears, and in 2015 the closure of Target.

The two anchor closures sparked new investment in the shopping centre, giving the mall room to expand and a chance for a revitalization of the entire mall. In the last few years, Cadillac Fairview has since attracted the region's first Disney store, Sephora, Ivivva, Kiehl's, Lush and Saje Natural Wellness to draw shoppers back into the mall.

Gone are the aging interiors that hadn't been updated since the mall's opening. 1980's era brown floors have been replaced with modern Italian porcelain tiles. Newly installed glass railings also give the shopping centre's interiors a much more elevated look. Overall, the mall seems brighter, cleaner, and more sophisticated as all common areas have been renovated to reflect CF Masonville Place's new look.

Grand opening celebrations took place on the mall's second level on Friday, November 4th. The opening event included a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Cadillac Fairview representatives and local delegates in London. Nearby Western University students enjoyed a complimentary cab shuttle service to the shopping centre, so that students could join their student-focused shopping event.

*(Still some work to be finished. Photo: Eric Lewis)*

This new expansion won't be CF Masonville Place's last revitalization effort. Earlier in October 2016, Cadillac Fairview made a rezoning request to London city council to turn the former Target retail space into a “contemporary multi-purpose entertainment facility”. Details have yet to be announced publicly on uses for the former Target space.

CF Masonville is one of Canada's most productive shopping centres. In several weeks time, the Retail Council of Canada will release a study ranking Canadian shopping centres by a variety of metrics, including productivity per square foot. The study, which will be distributed to retailers and industry players nationally, has sponsorship opportunities available. For more information, email: advertising@retailcouncil.org.

See below for more photos.