Construction is set to begin on the New Horizon Mall in east Balzac, following a multicultural groundbreaking ceremony hosted June 23 at the site of the future Asian-themed shopping centre, directly across from the CrossIron Mills area.
According to a press release, the $200 million project will feature at least 500 unique stores – twice as many stores as Calgary’s largest mall, Chinook Centre. The facility will include a banquet hall, a traditional Chinese stage and a food court, with room for 300 shoppers.
“It’s real, this is it – we’re here and we’re pretty excited about it,” said Graham Wilson with Century 21 Bravo, the real estate agency selling units for the facility.
“New Horizon Mall is about to start, and this is an amazing mall. It’s going to be an awesome place to be and a fun place to shop.”
Developed by the Torgan Group and MPI Property Group, New Horizon Mall will be the first shopping centre in Alberta where retail stores are purchased, not leased. According to realtor Wasim Elafech with Century 21 Bravo, New Horizon Mall is already 90 per cent sold out.
“This is going to be an outstanding, phenomenal project – everyone’s talking about this mall and the activity it’s going to bring,” said Blake Richards, member of parliament for Banff-Airdrie.
“We’re talking about 500 businesses that will be created as a result of this mall, thousands of jobs, and a lot of visitors that will be coming in, too.”
New Horizon Mall will provide shoppers with an experience more like visiting an Asian or European bazaar, instead of visiting a traditional Western shopping centre.
To celebrate the multicultural theme of the facility, the groundbreaking ceremony featured a performance by the Jing Wo Lion Dance Team.
“The (dance) is designed to ‘awaken’ the lion and ask the gods to bestow blessings of wealth and happiness to the community,” said Russell Jacobson with MPI Property Group.
“I think it’s fair to say we have over 500 new store owners that have been awakened today, and we are all looking forward to providing Calgary shoppers with a unique experience when we open.”
Construction has been awarded to Ledcor Construction Limited, which built the nearby CrossIron Mills mall. According to the press release, construction is projected for completion in late 2017.
“This has been four years in the making, and it’s been a lot of hard work,” Wilson said. “We are really excited.”
For more information about the project, visit newhorizonmall.com
