River Market

Since 1892, New Westminster has had bustling markets on the riverfront that served farmers and merchants from across the Fraser Valley. In 1986, the building opened as Westminster Quay Public Market, accompanying SkyTrain construction and alongside residential development on the City’s riverfront. Over the years, it declined steadily like many market halls in North America. In 2008, after a major renovation, it reopened as River Market to reconnect it to the water that feeds much of our commerce and culture. With a vision dubbed Food 360, River Market's revitalization is to create a culinary playground where guests can engage with all the activities related to food.

Revitalize a market without becoming a mall

Our hypothesis with the market's revitalization is that public markets need to become a place for activities, beyond commerce. A “market” is where one buys and sells things. But commerce by itself does not distinguish a public market from a shopping mall. We believe “public” means cultural and communal activities; and in our project these activities are centred around food.

River Market's revitalization aimed to be a prototype for the future of retail. During the past decades, academics and practitioners observed our society’s shift from the “Service Economy” to the “Experience Economy.” We saw another shift to what we call the “Activity Economy.” If value in the Experience Economy came from how a customer felt about a brand, then value in the Activity Economy came from customers and neighbours doing things together in a place. We applied this thinking to building a market around the activities of food. Then, we developed the spatial design and programs to support this focus.

In this model, we paid special attention to creating synergy. For instance, second floor retail is challenging. Thus we looked for school and office uses on the Market’s second floor that complemented the restaurants and shops on the first floor. For example, parents could drop off their children for classes at the Vancouver Circus School on the second floor, and then go to the first floor to grocery shop at City Avenue Market. We called the first floor The Hungry Floor (food for the body) and the second floor The Curious Floor (feeding creativity).

River Market’s revitalization received Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia Land Award, 2012.

After undertaking River Market's revitalization, Tomo Spaces managed its operation. In 2021, River Market transitioned to a new ownership and management group.