Weihong Liu has several plans to overhaul Woodgrove Centre, including a public skywalk system surrounding a rooftop garden. Condo towers and more retail space within the mall are also envisioned. (NanaimoNewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Holmes

big plans

Public skywalk, rooftop garden and returning the clock tower envisioned by new Woodgrove Centre owner

Sep 28, 2020 | 5:22 AM

NANAIMO — Condo towers and a public skywalk system connected to a large rooftop garden are just a few development plans at Woodgrove Centre.

Vancouver Island’s largest shopping centre changed hands recently, with Chinese business woman Weihong Liu and her brother recently purchasing the valuable north Nanaimo property from the firm Ivanhoe Cambridge.

Speaking to NanaimoNewsNOW through a translator, Liu said changes at the retail level are planned for the next one to three years, featuring added retail space within the mall and a publicly accessible rooftop garden.

“This whole plan is to create a different kind of community that we don’t have now,” Liu said.

She’d like to add an extensive collection of multi-family residential housing, including condo towers and several four storey buildings after the mall’s interior is revamped. Liu said the residential vision she has includes affordable housing and dedicated units for seniors.

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The housing component is likely five to eight years away, Liu said.

“Living, working, shopping, services, dining and entertainment all together,” she said during an impassioned hour long discussion.

Expanded international dining options are also planned for Woodgrove Centre. Liu said the rooftop garden and skywalk system will be accessed near the Avalon movie theatre via elevators. She said rooftop amenities will include various public gathering and entertainment spaces.

Health and wellness facilities and a membership based hobby training centre for children is part of the short-term goal to shake up the mall’s interior within the next few years, Liu said.

“Those parents are set free because they have time for shopping and to enjoy their own time.”

Liu was made aware of the cherished clock tower which stood at the mall’s centre court for decades until it was removed during a 2016 renovation. An excited Liu was shown pictures of the clock and vowed on the spot to bring it back.

“If we can find it we’ll put it back. If not we will build one exactly like that.”

Liu has owned and managed shopping malls in China for the last two decades. She intends to invest all of her business interests on Vancouver Island, calling it “the most beautiful island with the world.”

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes.