Burlington Centre celebrates 50th anniversary and a freshly renovated shopping centre with grand opening festivities

“We wanted the Grand Opening to be an occasion where we could celebrate with the community and collectively look forward to the next 50 years in Burlington. But it was equally important to recognize our history, and the role this property has played in the city over the last half century,” says GM Heidi McGaw. “When Burlington Mall opened its doors in October of 1968, the Teen Tour Marching Band was marching through the halls. We’re honoured to be continuing the tradition of welcoming the city’s leaders and the local community into our centre.”

“RioCan and our partners at KingSett believe Burlington Centre is a model for how community shopping centres can operate going forward,” says Gitlin. “As retail continues to evolve, it’s even more important for properties such as this to serve as a gathering place for the community. We were mindful to ensure the changes we made to our branding, tenant mix and physical space were reflective of the preferences of shoppers and changes in the community.”

As a result of the renovations, Burlington Centre has welcomed a series of new tenants into the property. Specialty grocery store Denninger’s, a new Indigo and Indigo Kids with a Starbucks, and the revamped Winners were among the first of the new stores to open. They will be joined by a series of new food offerings, including East Side Mario’s, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Blaze Pizza and Mr. Greek, as well as a new Freshii that just opened in the revamped food court.

The opportunity to re-think Burlington Centre’s retail and community offerings was presented when Target exited the market. Rather than pursue another large tenant, the team saw the benefits of redeveloping the property to better suit the changing needs of the community. New upgrades and amenities include, beautifully upgraded washrooms, including a nursing and family room as well as the addition of secondary washrooms, improved free Wifi, enhanced wayfinding and digital directories, new comfortable furniture with electrical outlets for charging, updated food court design with new furniture and charging outlets, enhanced Guest Services, including a new kiosk and the Community Hub.  The resulting renovations and curated tenant mix culminated in a re-branding to Burlington Centre, in August, 2018.

In the spring, Burlington Centre kicked off a year-long campaign supporting local organizations, hosting and participating in community events as part of ongoing celebration of its 50^th anniversary and the transformation of the property.  These efforts debuted with BurlingtonGreen’s, Clean-Up Green Up and ewaste event for Earth Day. Shortly after, Burlington Centre teamed up with Sound of Music Festival to host two pop-up concerts at the property ahead of the 2018 festival. Recently the centre helped launch the Gift of Giving Back’s summer campaign with BOMBA baseball and was present at the 2018 Terry Fox run in Spencer Smith Park.

“We are proud of our history here, and excited to provide what the community is looking for in the near and long-term,” says McGaw. “We look forward to being part of the continued growth and prosperity of Burlington.”