Project Summary

Retail appraisal/strategy
Re-zoning submission, Plaza of Nations, Vancouver

Llewlyn Davies Yeang Architects, London
Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corporation, Vancouver/Singapore

Patty Xenos Design, Montreal

Vancouver in Canada, is one of the world�s most affluent cities. Keen to maintain its deserved reputation for quality of life, the local government seeks to support innovative and original urban development and the Plaza of Nations mixed-use waterfront scheme aims to be part of this vision. The site was originally part of Vancouver�s Expo campus and the owners wished to seek planning permission to radically re-develop the area, with a focus on entertainment and leisure.

Llewelyn Davies Yeang were retained by Plaza of Nations to prepare the re-zoning submission with a strong emphasis on LDY�s renowned signature eco-design. Ken Yeang at LDY appointed dq|dx as sub-consultants to advise on the retail aspects of the scheme. dq|dx worked with Montreal-based consultancy, Patty Xenos Design, on the assignment.

�Plaza of Nations is a challenging opportunity to create an iconic landmark in a city already blessed with an impressive urban fabric,� says Adil Khan, Director of Investment and Research at DQDX. �However Vancouver lacks a key entertainment district and Plaza of Nations, with its prestige location on the waterfront and close to the CBD, is ideally placed to meet this need. In terms of retail proposals, the key is to develop a strategy which is commercially sustainable as well as delivering a genuinely different and exciting shopping experience in an already highly competitive and well-served retail market. These are very different challenges to an emerging market where the retail sector is often under-developed and commensurately less competitive. This is our first project outside our core Turkish markets but working with Patty Xenos Design who is an expert on Canadian retail has enabled us to deliver transferable business strategies whilst ensuring they are focused on the local target market.�

Plaza of Nations aims to capitalise on the world attention which will focus on Vancouver when it hosts the Winter Olympics in 2010.