An extant asset
Soon after my first arrival into the Canadian city of Vancouver, I found myself among the sparkling towers of its downtown overlooking the shimmering waters of its harbor. After a quick ride across the body of water on the Seabus to Lonsdale Quay and back, it was time to explore the city.
1 & 2- Pacific Centre’s main entrance along West Pender Street. 3- The mall entry facing Dunsmuir Street. 4- The façade of anchor Harry Rosen. 5 & 6- Scenes of the area surrounding the mall.
After a quick look around Vancouver waterfront destinations Canada Place and Granville Square, I made my way further inland into the shadows of its skyscrapers. It wasn’t long before I stood across from the northernmost entrance to downtown’s enclosed retail destination, Cadillac Fairview Pacific Centre.
Pacific Centre lease plan ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
I entered through the confines of Canada’s own upscale department store Holt Renfrew. After traversing aisles of Coach and Gucci products I had worked my way through to the store’s mall entrance looking forward to what was just beyond that entranceway.
1 & 2- The Pacific Centre mall entrance and adjoining plaza at the corner of Georgia and Granville. 3- The mall entrance on the northeastern side of West Georgia. 4 & 5- The mall entrance at the corner of Granville and Robson. 6- The façade of Pacific Centre along Granville between Georgia and Robson. This building first housed Sears and most recently was occupied by Nordstrom. 7 & 8- The entrance to the Vancouver City Centre Station lying just beneath the mall.
Upon my first view, I could see that CF Pacific Centre was unlike most shopping malls located in a large city center. There were no grand atriums displaying several tiers stacked one on top another tied together with crisscrossing escalators reminiscent of stitches holding together layers of fabric.
The classic Hudson’s Bay flagship store of downtown Vancouver. So sad to see such a long running part of Canadian retail history gone.
What I did see was an extended, double level concourse with scant natural light due to a limited number of skylights. Several skyways and underground sections tied the complex together, which stretched over several city blocks.
1 to 4- Inside Pacific Centre’s main concourse. 5- The entrance to luxury retail anchor Holt Renfrew. 6- The Harry Rosen store access.
Although overall CF Pacific Centre isn’t extravagant or even noteworthy in many significant ways, one thing I did notice were the patrons. And there were lots of them. The crowds on this Saturday morning could rival any of its suburban competitors, and that was the most important thing.
Pacific Centre was originally opened in 1971 as a vehicle for Canadian department store Eaton's. The Eaton's store was noteworthy with its eight levels and its unrivaled selection of goods in western Canada.
The concourse of Pacific Centre’s portion between Dunsmuir and Robson.
Over the decades, it established itself as the anchor of downtown Vancouver’s commercial district and attracted both tourists and locals into its walls. Eventually, skyways were built connecting the original center to the neighboring Vancouver Centre Mall as well as to a Hudson’s Bay.
The concourse of Pacific Centre’s portion between Dunsmuir and Robson.
In 1975, Holt Renfrew was added to Pacific Centre’s portfolio and these three department stores anchored the facility for much of the ensuing decades. But the new millennium presented it with many changes. Eaton's vacated their original anchor spot in 2002 with Sears Canada soon taking over their digs.
The easternmost portion of Pacific Centre’s interior.
A few years later in 2007, Holt Renfrew was moved to where the former north wing of Pacific Centre was located. A half million square foot addition was added to CF Pacific centre in 2009 along with a new connection to the Canada Line of Vancouver’s SkyTrain system. This nearly doubled the gross leasable area of the mall.
Pacific Centre Mallmanac ca. 2025. View the full PDF version here.
Sears Canada vacated what was originally Eaton’s in 2012 just a few years before departing the country entirely. The space sat empty until it was occupied by US luxury retailer Nordstrom in 2015. Today, however, the building remains vacant after Nordstrom’s departure in 2023.
1 to 5- The Pacific Centre food court. 6- The underground access to the Hudson’s Bay flagship store located just past the food court.
As vibrant as CF Pacific Centre is to this very day, I expect this large vacancy to be filled in due time. And though many of its nearby city center peers like Edmonton City Centre Mall and Seattle’s Pacific Place have faltered, I don’t see Cadillac Fairview Pacific Centre going anywhere.
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