The renovated Toronto Eaton Centre will feature better food court and a dramatic new lighting sculpture suspended from the iconic glass ceiling. A lighter and more airy feel will be created throughout the 33-year-old mall.
The officials have announced that about half of the total estimated budget will be devoted to refresh the glass-domed upper floor, referred to as the Galleria. The Galleria will feature a striking new light sculpture created by the British design firm United Visual Artists. It will be hung suspended from the glass dome, starting above the fountain and stretching 100 feet in either direction. The new sculpture will not dominate over the existing light sculpture created by the Canadian artist Michael Snow, which is a flock of Canadian geese suspended at the south end of the Galleria.
The rest of the amount will be spent to improve the two food court areas – the north food court and the south food court. The north food court will be designed to accommodate local restaurateurs such as Mercatto, and national chains such as A&W. The south food court will be served by one tenant, Richtree Inc., spanning about 18,000 square feet. The food at all the restaurants will be served on real china plates, instead of plastic, paper and Styrofoam.
The Toronto Eaton Centre renovation scheme, which will begin on July 2, 2010, will also include new glass and stainless steel finishes on escalators, floor railings and elevators. The entire project is expected to take 24 months to complete. The renovation scheme is the biggest facelift scheme undertaken by the mall since it opened in 1977.
The Toronto Eaton Centre is named after the now-defunct Eaton’s department store chain that once anchored it. It is also the largest shopping mall in Eastern Canada and fourth-largest in Canada.
