Simons moving into former Nordstrom location in downtown Vancouver

The stage is now set for a free fireworks show at English Bay this summer, for one night only.

Canadian department store Simons is moving into the former Nordstrom location in Vancouver’s CF Pacific Centre mall, the company announced Tuesday.

The new store will span roughly 92,000 square feet across three floors in the space Nordstrom vacated in 2023, and is scheduled to open in fall 2027.

Simons CEO Bernard Leblanc said the Quebec-headquartered company is investing $55 million into the project, which will be located at the intersection of Granville and Georgia streets.

“We’ll revitalize that corner, which is very key and dynamic in the downtown core,” Leblanc told CTV Your Morning Vancouver on Tuesday.

Other parts of the massive former Nordstrom space—which spanned more than 200,000 square feet total—will be occupied by Vancouver-based clothing company Aritzia and two other yet-unnamed retailers.

• Related: Aritzia to replace former downtown Vancouver Nordstrom

The Simons will mark the company’s 20^th location across Canada, and the second in B.C. after the one at West Vancouver’s Park Royal Shopping Centre.

“We’ve been very successful in Western Canada to date, so it’s very nice for us to have the privilege to serve the broader population here in downtown Vancouver,” Leblanc said.

The announcement comes just over one year after Hudson’s Bay began the process of liquidating its final six stores across the country—something Leblanc called a “sad story for everyone,” but one that also presented opportunities for other retailers.

In a news release announcing the Vancouver store, Simons boasted increasing sales that surpassed $830 million last year, as well as “consistent high double-digit” growth at the Park Royal location specifically.

“We are Canada’s oldest privately held company—we’ve been around since 1840,” Leblanc said. “We’re prudent and very thoughtful about how we expand, and this presence in downtown Vancouver is no different.”

The Pacific Centre store will be designed by McKinley Studios, with architecture by LemayMichaud—for a concept that “references Brutalism and 1960s aesthetics, expressed through a balance of raw materials, sculptural forms, and warm, modern accents,” the company said.

Retail strategist David Ian Gray has long been skeptical about old-style department stores moving into downtown locations, because of the large amount of space they require and the high-staffing levels needed to operate.

But he’s optimistic the Simons business model, which involves designing and producing much of its own merchandise and selling it in a smaller footprint, will be successful.

“It’s more cost efficient for them. It’s more manageable for shoppers,” Gray said.

“They don’t have to staff as much. The leasing costs are down and the inventory cost is down.”