Plans for an ambitious shopping centre were
unveiled last month.
Tai Foong Property Development Limited
Partnership launched the biggest indoor shopping centre in
the gta to cater to the unique needs of South Asian and other
commu-nities. Spread over 240,000 sq. ft., the shopping centre
claims to be the only one of its kind in North America.
Called The Sitara, which means star in
Hindi and Urdu – sitara also stands for brightness, which
symbolizes this unique shopping centre as a shining new star for
the South Asian commu-nity – it is designed from the ground up
with modern archi-tecture and cultural elements. The Sitara
promises to be an ec-lectic confluence of eastern shopping and
western trends.
Speaking on the subject of tai-loring the
shopping centre to South Asian tastes, the developer of the
project, David Lam, said: "The South Asian market
seg-ment is the fastest growing in the gta. We found that this
community has unique shopping needs which are currently being
met by stores scattered across the city. We felt the time is
ripe for the community to have their very own shopping centre."
The Sitara has unique features that would
appeal greatly to South Asians.
"The Sitara will have one of the largest
convention centres in the city for multi-purpose functions such
as grand banquets and entertainment shows, etc." said Raja
Mahendran of Home-Life GTA Realty Inc., exclusive
sales agent for the project. "It’s spread over 46,000 sq.ft.
with a maximum of 40-ft. ceiling and can accommodate more than a
thousand guests. This would be the perfect venue to host a
lavish wedding reception as well as exhibitions and trade shows.
The Sitara will also have an atrium soaring two floors high that
can comfortably seat 300 and accommodate 500, a place from where
they can watch entertainment on stage."
While the younger patrons will be entertained
with star concerts, seniors can savour cross-cultural cuisines
in the spacious food court or stroll along its comfort-able
boulevards.
Investors and entrepreneurs are keen to
explore the business opportunities The Sitara has opened up for
them.
Located at the busy inter-section of Markham
Road and McNicoll Avenue, The Sitara is situated in a growing
multicul-tural neighbourhood near comm-unity spots like temples,
mosques and churches, only a short drive from major highways.
"The Sitara invites everyone to play a
leading role in building a landmark that will shape the South
Asian cultural landscape in the gta," says Lam.
A glitzy advertising campaign was kicked off
with teaser ads that will be followed by full-blown exciting
advertising in the coming days.
The campaign includes tv commercials produced in Mumbai, home
to the Bollywood stars.
SITARA SHINES
Incorporated in 1997, Tai Foong International
Ltd. (tfi) is one of the leading seafood importers in North
America.
It has used its expertise to build a vast
network of trusted suppliers, processors and business partners
globally to offer a wide range of seafood and Japanese and Asian
specialty products at competitive prices.
tfi is headquartered in Toron-to and has
branches in Vancou-ver, Calgary and Montreal and an extensive
sales and distribution network across Canada and the us. tfi
distributes under North-ern King, Thai Gold, Jasmine Delite and
Oxhead brands and customers include mainstream grocery chains as
well as Asian food stores, high-end Japanese restaurants and a
wide variety of foodservice operators.
Owned and managed by David Lam, tfi has
experien-ced business expansion and diversification over the
last 30 years growing from a one-man operation into an
international company. Lam strongly believes that business is
ever-changing and the company should keep on pursuing new
opportunities.
tfi moved to the current location in 1986
and has wit-nessed economic growth in Scar-borough.
This is a great business opp-ortunity to
develop a shopping centre that serves the growing South Asian
community.
Tai Foong Property Develop-ment Limited
Partnership’s first project, the biggest South Asian indoor
shopping centre in the gta – The Sitara Shopping Centre – was
launched on September 15.
