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Nordstrom Vancouver Glass Building To Replace Sears Eyesore

Vancouver's Nordstrom Makeover

Glass and light will replace dingy tile in Pacific Centre’s redevelopment of the old Sears building to accommodate U.S. retailer Nordstrom in downtown Vancouver.

The mall unveiled plans for the multi-million dollar renovation on Monday which will mix retail and office space.

The building’s shell will be “re-clad in glass to provide maximum natural light,” said the company. James K.M. Cheng, best known for his Vancouver condo towers, designed the project. Cheng has designed the Shangri-La and the Fairmont Pacific Rim in the city.

Nordstrom will occupy 230,000 square feet on three floors including the ground floor. The top four floors of the building will be converted to 280,000 square feet of office space with 17-foot ceilings, two atriums and a landscaped rooftop. The space could hold up to 1,400 employees.

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Nordstrom Vancouver Makeover

"There is no other office space like this in the downtown core," said Tom Knoepfel, senior vice-president of mall owner Cadillac Fairview. "These are very large floor plates which are not currently available in the heart of the city."

Construction is slated to start in November and take 18 to 24 months to finish. Nordstrom and the office space are scheduled to open in early 2015.

Here at The Huffington Post B.C., we found a common dislike for the tiled eyesore when we looked for the region's ugliest buildings.

The original building at Granville and Georgia was built for Eaton’s in 1973 when car culture ruled, reports the Globe and Mail.

Architect Michael Heeney told the newspaper the large blocky structure saps nearby Robson Square of its energy and "repels pedestrians," so a makeover will be a drastic change to the area.

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