About Sevenoaks

HISTORY

CELEBRATING OVER 40 YEARS TOGETHER

In 1972, Grosvenor International had a vision of developing a Shopping Centre in the eastern Fraser Valley. A few years prior to this vision, Grosvenor International developed Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, which was named after Guildford, a township in England.

Looking east of England’s Guildford they saw the bustling little town of Sevenoaks. Named after a fascinating place in England, dating back as far as 1114 AD when it was known to the locals as Seovenoca, this picturesque and rustic trading village was sometimes the home of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury and even members of the Royal Family. Like Sevenoaks in B.C., the original town is located in the middle of a rich agricultural area.

 

It was then that Grosvenor decided to go ahead with their plans and develop Sevenoaks Shopping Centre in beautiful Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Sevenoaks opened its doors on October 15, 1975 at 10am with their mascot Oakie, and their brand new tag line “A New Style of Shopping, In the Beautiful Fraser Valley”. On opening day Sevenoaks was pleased to welcome Eaton’s, Woodwards, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sevenoaks Coiffeurs (now Gismondi’s) and 48 other retailers. Today, Sevenoaks has grown to 110 retailers in the heart of Abbotsford and servicing all of the Fraser Valley.

 

Throughout the past 40 years, Sevenoaks has seen many changes from expansion and renovations to additions:

1989: Added Northeast Entry (by Shoppers Drug Mart), Upgraded interior of mall to include Skylights

1989: Extra Foods opened; replacing the Woodwards Food Floor

1991: Two Additional wings built (Centre Court to Kmart; and East Wing) with interior renovation and the water clock was installed

 

1993: The Bay replaced Woodwards Department Store

1994: Customer Service Centre added to provide individual attention and better serve customers

1999: Sears replaced K-Mart, 2nd Floor added to accommodate Sears, Addition of the 3 level parkade

2000: Demolition of Old Eaton Space to make room for Sport Chek and additional retailers. Food Court relocated and expanded from 300 seats to 500 seats

 

2004: Exterior Painting Program introduced dramatic new colour changes

2006: Contemporary interior painting colors replace the green vertical stripes in the Shopping Centre

2008: Soft Seating is added as an amenity to the Shopping Centre experience

2010: Sevenoaks welcomes Best Buy to the property

2015: CIBC opens its new location onsite