Aberdeen Centre
時代坊
Aberdeen Centre logo
Exterior view of Aberdeen Centre, at night
Address4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Opening date1989 (1989) (original building)
2003 (2003) (current building)
2013 (2013) (Aberdeen Square)
DeveloperFairchild Development
ManagementFairchild Group
OwnerFairchild Group
ArchitectBing Thom Architects
No. of stores and services160+
No. of anchor tenants1
Total retail floor area380,000 sq ft (35,000 m2)
No. of floors3
ParkingYes, multi-leveled
Public transit access Aberdeen
Websitewww.aberdeencentre.com
Aberdeen Centre
Traditional Chinese時代坊

Aberdeen Centre is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia. It is located in the Golden Village district on Hazelbridge Way, bordered by Cambie Road to the north.

History

The original Aberdeen Centre
Old Aberdeen Centre logo
Aberdeen Centre atrium music fountain
Aberdeen Centre void

The original Aberdeen Centre was built in 1989. It contained about 50 to 75 stores. The original Chinese name was "香港仔中心", which refers to the Chinese name of Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Envisioned as an "Asian mall" in anticipation of the coming wave of migration from Hong Kong due to the impending 1997 Handover of Hong Kong, Aberdeen Centre's developer Thomas Fung had trouble finding tenants initially since there had been no Asian malls in North America in the 1980s. Fung offered to buy a 50 percent equity stake in any store setting up in Aberdeen with an option for tenants to buy back the shares with no interest if business flourished. Almost 95 percent successfully bought back the shares within a year of the mall's opening.[1]

As new Asian malls such as Yaohan Centre and President Plaza opened, it soon became apparent that the original Aberdeen Centre was too small to compete. It was demolished in 2001, and was rebuilt for approximately $130 million. The current Aberdeen Centre, opened in 2003, is about three times the original mall's size and has around 100 stores.

There are restaurants on its upper floors. An indoor musical fountain, similar to the one in front of Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas but smaller in scale, was built at the centre of the mall and performs shows every hour.[2]

In 2006, the mall became home to the operations of Fairchild Group's Chinese-language TV and radio operations in Vancouver. Fairchild Radio (CJVB AM1470 and CHKG FM96.1) now has studios on the second floor, while Fairchild TV and Talentvision have their news studios on the third floor.[3]

On August 8, 2008, the largest viewing party in the Vancouver area for the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the mall, with thousands of spectators, some of whom had lined up since 3:30 in the morning.[4]

Aberdeen Square opened in 2013.

The third phase of the development, Aberdeen Square, opened in 2013. It has three retail and three office levels.[5]

Transportation

Access to the Canada Line, run by the SkyTrain system, is available through the mall's third phase, Aberdeen Square. The mall is connected directly to the Aberdeen Station via an overhead walkway to the northbound platform.

Public transit buses, serviced by TransLink, have connections to the mall, with routes serving Richmond and New Westminster.

Incidents

On February 9, 2006, a knife battle between four men occurred in the upper food court area of the mall. One man was fatally stabbed in the heart and died at the scene. Another was seriously injured, suffering a knife wound at the back. The two remaining men fled the scene.[6]

On October 26, 2008, a middle-aged Asian man committed suicide by jumping down from the third floor near the food court area. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Richmond RCMP ruled out any foul play and believed it was an isolated suicide incident.[7]

On September 15, 2016, masked suspects wielding hammers broke several display cases at a jewelry store before escaping in a stolen pickup truck. No injuries were reported.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Campbell, Matthew; Pearson, Natalie Obiko (20 October 2018). "The City That Had Too Much Money". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "Aberdeen Centre". Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2007.
  3. ↑ "Fairchild Media Group" (in Chinese). Popular Lifestyle Entertainment Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  4. ↑ "Thousands flock to Olympic party". Richmond Review. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  5. ↑ "Aberdeen Square". Bing Thom Architects. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Shocked shoppers look on as man stabbed to death". Archived from the original on 14 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Man jumps to his death at Aberdeen". Archived from the original on 2 November 2008.
  8. ↑ Campbell, Alan. "Masked robbers raid Richmond shopping mall jewelry store". Richmond News.

Further reading

49°11′03″N 123°08′01″W / 49.184053°N 123.133639°W / 49.184053; -123.133639

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