Calgary's Chinook Centre is planning for yet another expansion. The south-east corner of the mall's site will eventually be redeveloped and could include an anchor retailer as part of the expansion. The entire project would include retail, office space, a hotel and residential space.

The redevelopment would coincide with proposed transit-friendly development around the nearby Chinook Station light rail transit ("LRT") hub. The mall expansion, specifically, would see parking moved underground and a more 'pedestrian friendly' environment created at ground level.

The proposed mall expansion will go to vote by the Calgary Planning Commission this Thursday (June 6th) and we'll let you know the outcome. We have been informed by one of our Calgary insiders that it is expected to pass, given that Calgary's Corporate Planning Applications Group has recommended that it be approved.

Diagram showing proposed mall expansion area, as well as proposed Chinook Station LRT area redevelopment.

In September 2010, Chinook Centre saw the opening of a $277 million, 180,000 square foot expansion. The mall has since firmly established itself as Calgary's premier suburban shopping destination. It secured the future opening of Calgary's only Nordstrom location, which is expected to open late September 2014. It has also scored first-rate retailers such as Burberry, Tiffany & Co. and Tory Burch. We have been following the mall's expansion proposal for several months and we're expecting renderings and more specific proposal information in the coming days.

Chinook Centre is one of North America's most productive malls. It has sales of almost $1,100/square foot and by 2016, it is expected to boast sales of close to $1 billion with non-anchor sales of about $1,200/square foot. These numbers come from this Calgary Herald article.

We'll update you on Chinook Centre's expansion proposal as we get more information.

[Top Image adapted from a diagram by Nordstrom]

[Chinook Station Area Plan (.pdf)]

[Chinook Centre website]