One anchor tenant is now open and a second will follow suit in the coming weeks as the D’Arcy Crossing shopping centre continues to take shape at the north end of Okotoks.
Shoppers Drug Mart, which has the second biggest footprint at 17,000 square feet, opened June 22, while Safeway, the largest tenant at 47,000 square feet, is scheduled to open July 20.
According to Jeff Pockett, a senior director with Anthem Properties Group, tenants will continue to open at the Northridge Drive centre throughout the remainder of 2023.
“Like any other property owner, we'd like to have a grand opening to celebrate the opening of our tenants, but we're probably going to push that into the spring of 2024,” Pockett said.
He said the retail portion of the centre is more than 80 per cent leased with another 10 to 15 per cent of the square footage under negotiation.
“We've had a lot of interest in the project right from the get-go,” he said, “so we're down to the last few availabilities.”
In addition to the two anchor tenants, there will also be a 10,000-square-foot Dollarama, a 6,000-square-foot Safeway liquor store, which is expected to open shortly after the supermarket, as well as a Pet Valu, Starbucks and Popeyes, among others.
Anthem has recently secured a lease with one restaurant, Morning Brunch Co., and is looking for another eatery to fill a prime spot — a 3,300-square-foot space with a 1,500-square-foot patio — in the southwest corner of the development.
“We've been picky on what restaurant to put in there just because we really want somebody that's going to be able to take advantage of that patio,” Pockett said. “It'll be beautiful and with southwest views, you'll be able to see right to the Rockies. It's the perfect place for a summer glass of wine or a summer beer and some good food, so we're still looking for that right group.”
The 150,000-square-foot centre will feature nine buildings, including a two-storey, mixed-use building on High Street in the northwest corner, that will surround a central parking lot. Anthem is about to launch an office marketing campaign for 20,000 square feet of second floor professional space.
The commercial component of the D’Arcy development was originally scheduled to open April 1, but construction challenges pushed that date back.
“It's been an interesting 24 months in the development world, but we've managed to kind of weather the storm,” Pockett said. “There have been a few hiccups, which is not dissimilar to any other development across Canada, but our team is experienced and knows the right buttons to push when we can push them, and we managed to get through it and get us to this stage.
“We're excited about the Darcy development as a whole, the community of Darcy, and really excited to add the commercial to it as well.”
