Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver, Canada

LeTourneur has been actively involved in the terminal retail strategy for Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on an on-going basis.

The team's work with YVR has gone beyond simply performing a study, but also by providing assistance with introducing retail tenants and addressing issues such as implementation of optimal duty free retail concepts.

As the gateway for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, YVR successfully rolled-out its Olympic Stores, embracing the theme of the Pacific Northwest. YVR has also been recognised for the sense of place established through its unique features around which the retail activity is organised, including the stream, aquarium and Haida Guaii First Nations sculpture, which frame the passenger shopping and dining experience.    

The success of the YVR strategy is reflected by recent awards presented to the airport for its retail facilities by ACI and IATA.

Over the past decade, YVR's retail sales per enplaned passenger have more than tripled as a result of the enhanced next generation travel and experiential retail strategy, moving their proportion of non-aeronautical revenues higher than that of aeronautical revenues (the objective and trend at most international gateway airports is to achieve at least 60% of revenues from non-aeronautical sources).

MXD has also assisted Vancouver International Airport with its strategic master planning and development strategy for its groundside commercial land to establish the framework for creating lifestyle retail, employment centres, business parks and recreation facilities.

MXD is supporting other Canadian airports such as Edmonton and Calgary international airports with their airport development and marketing strategies.

LeTourneur prepared the development strategy to develop a major entertainment and office complex at the gateway to Las Vegas on land owned by Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, completing the missing link between the Las Vegas Strip and Las Vegas.

MXD is currently leading the multi-disciplinary team that is preparing the airport city master plan, commercial development, marketing and branding strategy for the new Muscat International Airport in Oman, which will feature a series of functions that support the airport while introducing new economic and commercial clusters to serve and diversify the national economy.

In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, MXD has provided guidance for the evolution of a major mixed-use sports and cultural city near the evolving Jeddah airport city. In parallel, MXD has also been advising the Urban Development Company (UDC) on the evolution of the entire Jeddah Central District, including enhancement of the waterfront and historic sectors of the city.

MXD team members have prepared commercial development strategies to generate revenues at other transportation hubs including cruise ship terminals (Singapore Habourfront, Greenwich Reach London, Port Royal Jamaica and Vancouver Canada Place Cruise Terminal), ferry terminals (British Columbia Ferries Tsawwassen Terminal Retail Street and Washington State Ferries Seattle Waterfront Terminal) and rail stations (Azteca, El Rosario & Martin Carrera Rail Stations in Mexico City, Zlote Tarasy in Warsaw, Poland and Olympic Plaza in Kiev, Ukraine).

MXD has recently completed preparation of the mixed-use commercial development strategy for the major Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) retail spine project in Dubai. A successful parternship with His Highness Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah of Kuwait to develop the Villa Moda luxury retail concept, as it relates to DIFC was another important project.

MXD recently prepared the city centre development strategies for Westown and Eastown Cairo in Egypt for Solidere International and MXD continues to act as the commercial development advisors to Solidere on the planning and re-construction renaissance of Beirut's city centre. MXD is currently working with the Turkish mega-construction company, ENKA to plan and develop multiple mixed-use city centre projects throughout Moscow, Russia, where ENKA has been responsible for almost all of the next generation new residential, office, retail and commercial development.

MXD also recently completed waterfront commercial development strategies for two separate properties in Sochi on the Black Sea, the forthcoming host city of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

MXD is active in India and Asia, where it is monitoring the latest trends in mixed-use commercial development, resort development, urban and suburban town centres and travel retail/transportation development. In the flourishing markets of India, China and Korea, team members have assisted major mixed-use commercial development companies including DLF, Pioneer Urban, China Glory, Longfor and AMM/Morgan Stanley and helped prepared the commercial development strategy and programme mix for the Solana at Chaoyang Park - China's first lifestyle retail centre.

In India, MXD recently completed a sustainable commercial mixed-use development strategy for the new Pioneer Park community, situated in the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, near the new Delhi International Airport in India's 'silicon valley'.

MXD's core strength lies in its ability to understand the complex interface and opportunities that occur in the space where airports and transportation hubs meet the regional economy to foster commercial and mixed-use development.