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MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) has broke ground on a new flagship store at the eastern gateway to Olympic Village. The three-storey, 60,000-square-foot building replaces the current store at 130 West Broadway, where the Vancouver-based outdoor gear retailer occupied since 1995.
The site for the development was cleared in July ahead of the official groundbreaking. The milestone was marked by a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday that was attended by Mayor Gregor Robertson, the president of Beedie Development and MEC CFO Sandy Treagus.
"Today marks a milestone in the 46-year history of our co-op in Vancouver," said Treagus. "In two years, MEC's stunning new flagship store will serve our 450,000 local members from an area that is teeming with outdoor spirit, as well as target environmental and conservation standards that align with our brand."
Proscenium Architecture & Interiors is pursuing a LEED Gold standard for the building, which will contain two levels of retail, a third floor office and amenity space, and three levels of underground parking. Beedie Development will lease the site to MEC for at least 20 years once it opens in mid-2019. The developer has owned the site at 2nd Avenue and Quebec Street since 2007.
"It's exciting to break ground on MEC's new flagship store in Olympic Village, which will give a boost to one of Vancouver's core green and active neighbourhoods," said Mayor Gregor Robertson. "MEC has long been a cornerstone of Vancouver's green economy, creating jobs for people who live and work in Vancouver, and contributing to our efforts as we strive to become the greenest city in the world by 2020."
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