$200M mall project breaks ground north of Calgary

Extended: Lion Dance delights dignitaries at ground breaking event The groundbreaking ceremony at New Horizon Mall featured a performance by the Jing Wo Lion Dance Team on June 23, 2016.

The New Horizon Mall will soon take shape north of the city and will offer shoppers a unique experience and retailers the opportunity to own their own stores.

The Asian-themed shopping centre will have room for over 500 stores when it is complete and officials say more than 1000 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

On Thursday, dignitaries gathered at the site, east of Highway 2 across from CrossIron Mills, for the ground breaking ceremony.

“We are very excited to begin construction on New Horizon Mall,” says Eli Swirsky, President of Torgan Group, “This will be a shopping experience like nothing Calgary has ever seen.”

The mall will be the first in the province to offer business owners the chance to purchase a retail store instead of leasing.

The units are being sold by Calgary-based realtor, Century 21 Bravo, and realtor Wasim Elafech says demand for space has been excellent so far.

“New Horizon Mall is a really unique concept,” said Elafech, “It offers a modern stylish environment with the traditional Asian shopping experience. The sale of the stores was very successful as we are 90% sold out right now.”

The 500 retail units on the main floor range in size from 285 sq. ft. to 855 sq. ft. and are priced between $170,000 and $750,000.

Torgan officials say the project will not be negatively affected by the current state of Alberta’s economy.

“It affects it two ways. First of all, the construction, cost of construction is substantially better than it was two or three years ago but the other way it affects it, more importantly, people are looking at this more, not just as an investment but as a Plan B, in the event that things don’t go well in their existing job or with their existing plans whatever they may be. Actually you can take control of your destiny, this could be a good insurance policy for you or for your spouse to have a business and have a job and make a living regardless of what happens in the economy. So this is a good insurance policy, exactly in times like this,” said Swirsky.

The project will cost $200 million and Ledcor Construction Limited, who also built CrossIron Mills, has been chosen for the project.

“We are pleased to be given the opportunity to build this project. It is a very exciting development and we will be working closely with the Torgan Group, MPI Property Group and their store owners to bring the vision of the mall to life,” says Jim Beeton, Regional Manager of Ledcor.

The mall will also include a main stage for multicultural events and a food court that will feature Asian and international cuisine.

The concept is similar to the Pacific Mall in Toronto and construction is expected to be completed in late 2017.

For more information, visit the New Horizon Mall website HERE.