2.7K 
Yesterday's grand opening of Saks Fifth Avenue at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke marks the latest in a series of recent additions to the Cadillac Fairview-owned and managed mall, another phase of the massive $550 million expansion which is more than a year still from completion. Part of a recent shift in the Canadian retail market, the efforts now underway at Sherway Gardens reflect current trends in Canada towards a stronger preference for high fashion and luxury brands, alongside the usual mix of fast-fashion and other accessories. After the disastrous entry of Target to the Canadian market, and the recent departure of Sears from Sherway Gardens and many other locations, the opening of the first two Saks Fifth Avenues in Toronto—which will soon be joined at Sherway by Seattle-based department store Nordstrom—will go a long way to realizing this new trend in Canadian retail.
Having swallowed up about two-thirds of the former Sears department store, the new Saks has become one of the mall's most prominent anchor tenants, occupying just over 140,000 sq ft of space, including the Beaumont Kitchen, a 5,500 sq ft restaurant operated by Oliver & Bonacini, in addition to a 18,500 sq ft Pusateri's food hall located on the lower level, adjacent to the men's department.
Seen above, Beaumont Kitchen is intended to add a relaxed, luxurious atmosphere to the overall shopping experience. With the added bonus of Saks personal shoppers for hire, one could, presumably, indulge in cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while awaiting delivery of the latest in designer apparel. Below, next to the men's department, is the Pusateri's food hall, with take home fresh and prepared foods and more casual eat-in options. Menswear is open, but Pusateri's is not quite ready yet, set to open next month.
The significantly larger women's perfume, shoes, and accessories departments, along with Beaumont Kitchen, are all found at mall level. The store's top level is dedicated to womenswear. These two levels are comprised of a dazzling array of designer boutiques (stores within the store), with a full range of designer labels including Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and many more. Similar to its flagship locations in New York and elsewhere, the Saks at Sherway features a substantial Shoe Salon, featuring nearly every designer brand, along with a similarly sizeable accessories department complete with a full array of designer handbags, watches, and jewellery.
A glitzy centrepiece display greets customers at the top of the escalators on the womenswear level, offering an artful arrangement of the latest in fashion.
To access Saks from within the mall, customers will pass by John McEwen's striking art installation, The Miracle, featured in a previous UrbanToronto story, which consists of two equestrian statues (a mare and her foal), standing guard at either side of a fountain.
Outside, it can be clearly seen where construction is still underway on the remaining 75,000 sq ft of the former Sears. It will open this summer as a Sport Chek, a new flagship location to join fellow popular sporting goods store, Atmosphere, along with the recently opened Sporting Life store at Sherway Gardens.
Elsewhere in the mall, recent images capture the newly opened DeBeers store, the second such standalone retail location of its kind in Canada, along with a new Lacoste store. As for dining options, JOEY Sherway has recently opened. a new location of The Keg opened in late 2015, while early plans for the Sherway expansion mentioned that a P.F. Chang's might also be in the works.
Meanwhile, since the move of Sherway's food court to the new north-side Gourmet Fare, the previous south-side Gourmet Fair which was found under a unique, tent-like structure that was designed by Eberhart Zeidler in 1989, has been boarded off. It is making way for the arrival of a 138,000 sq ft Nordstrom department store set to open in March, 2017. Interior shots of the space reveal temporarily cramped quarters for the remaining several retailers on either side of the former hall here, until such time as the renewed hallway can be opened up.
Outside the mall, it is clear that much work is yet to be done before the Nordstrom is complete. The former south-side Sporting Life area has been torn down, and a new lower level just going into the ground now.
Once the current transformation are complete at Sherway Gardens, it will be home to a whopping, 1.2 million, square feet of modern indoor retail and dining space. UrbanToronto will continue to provide updates as progress continues at the site of this more than half-a-billion dollar renovation and expansion.
To see renderings of the plans for Sherway Gardens, visit the UrbanToronto dataBase file for the mall, linked below. If you want to see more images of the work underway, or get in on the discussion of the changes here, choose the associated Forum thread link. Of course, you may always leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
| Related Companies: | Isotherm Engineering Ltd., PCL Construction, Trillium Architectural Products |
