Shoppers, gawkers flock to Royalmount mall opening

Article content

They came, they shopped, they gushed.

“It’s beautiful, it’s unique, and Montreal doesn’t have anything like this,” said Fernando Salvo, who drove in from his downtown home to witness the grand opening of the Royalmount mall on Thursday.

“I mean, when was the last time you went to a beautiful mall like this in Montreal?”

Salvo and his wife, Francesca Mandato, were among thousands who flocked to the city’s newest shopping mecca, part of the vast Royalmount complex of office towers, residential buildings and entertainment venues developers are pledging to build over the next decade.

Article content

Many came by métro, walking to the mall via the glass-enclosed $50-million skyway that was so bright it somehow managed to make the perennially clogged Décarie Expressway coursing below look attractive.

Gawkers started arriving at 8:30 a.m., even though stores didn’t open till 10, wandering through the wide concourses bathed in natural light via massive skylights. Families with children in strollers took pictures in front of the 20-foot-high Wishing Bear sculpture by local artist Chun Hua Catherine Dong, while at the Fou Fou food court, diners lined up at higher-end restaurants not normally found in a mall food court and sought out tables located indoors and at outdoor terraces.

While many of the high-end luxury stores like Gucci, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton still had “opening soon” signs out front, others like Versace were welcoming customers, and mid-brand stores like Aldo and a massive Sports Experts were doing brisk business. Roughly 50 per cent of the stores were open, a number projected to rise to 75 per cent by Christmas.

“This is the vision of an entrepreneur who knew the area and who basically said, ‘Hey, this is what Montreal needs,” Salvo said. “We need to stop thinking that this city is falling behind. We need to tap ourselves on the back and say, ‘Hey, we could do this.’

Article content

Article content

“I came here today because I wanted to see the impossible become possible.”

The crowds came as a vast relief to Andrew Lutfy, the CEO of developer Carbonleo and the lead investor in the Royalmount development. There are four “mega-stages” to the project, he said on Thursday, while taking videos on his phone of crowded stores to send to the owners. “The fifth one is ‘Will the customers actually show up?’ So I’m feeling a lot better about that.”

While some are skeptical of Montreal’s ability to support an 800,000-square-foot mega-mall housing 170 stores and 60 cafés and restaurants, Lutfy, the owner of 300 Garage and Dynamite clothing boutiques across North America, is certain the need is there. The mall is situated in the epicentre of one of the most densely populated cities on the continent, a 20-minute drive or short métro ride away for the majority of the population, he said. It will have a blend of low-, medium- and high-brand stores, and will fill a gaping hole in Montreal’s luxury shopping availability coveted by local consumers and international travellers, he said. Toronto has 45 luxury stores like Gucci and Versace, Lutfy said, Vancouver 30. Montreal only has one: Tiffany and Co. Yet the city is also home to four of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada.

Article content

At the same time, Lutfy said the mix of stores and outdoor green spaces and a refrigerated rink in the winter will make it inclusive for everyone.

“This is an environment where you’ll feel great,” Lutfy promised. “Where you will want to come to.”

Those who came on Thursday appeared to agree and expressed little concern over possible traffic issues or a lack of housing presently earmarked for the project. It helped that traffic on the Décarie on Thursday morning was mercifully light.

“I find it super nice,” said Nathalie Kyriakos of Town of Mount Royal, who came to check out the upscale brand name stores like Jimmy Choo and Versace. “The design, high ceilings, the sense of space. It’s very, very modern. I was impressed by that. We don’t have that here.”

Asked whether the city can support a grouping of high-end stores, Kyriakos noted that Holt Renfrew recently underwent a large expansion that has proven successful. “That shows it can work,” she said.

For others, the appeal was all about the space. Tiffany Brotto of St-Laurent came with her nine-month-old daughter, Lily, and two-year-old son, Alexandre, because her mother and father wanted to see it.

“It’s so bright, and so nice,” she said. “We’re definitely coming back in the winter.”

rbruemmer@postmedia.com

Article content

Article content