1.1 Billion! Another Famous Shopping Mall in Beijing Upgrades and Renovates, Sam’s Club Remains

Recently, the Beijing Public Resources Trading Service Platform announced that the Yizhuang Creative Life Plaza (Huizhan Center) will officially begin an upgrade and renovation project with an investment of approximately 1.14 billion yuan. The project is being developed and invested by Beijing Economic-Technological Development Investment Co., Ltd. and has already completed project approval, entering the design bidding phase. Notably, the renovation plan clearly specifies that the current area of Sam’s Club will be retained, while the remaining sections of the plaza will undergo large-scale demolition and functional reconstruction. This move has sparked widespread industry attention regarding the upgrading of the regional commercial landscape.According to the tender documents, the demolition scope of this renovation mainly focuses on the first and second floors of the Huizhan Center’s main building (excluding the Sam’s area), as well as all areas on the third and fourth floors, and facilities such as the studio and cinema. During the renovation, Sam’s Club will be protected by barriers and partitions while remaining operational. As a rare warehouse-style retail flagship in the region, Sam’s Club’s stable customer base and brand influence have become the cornerstone of the plaza’s long-term foot traffic.The project plan shows that after the renovation, the total building area will reach 114,900 square meters, with 109,400 square meters above ground, and a building height limit of 45 meters.

The design bidding covers scheme design, construction drawing design, and specialized in-depth design, requiring a systematic upgrade of commercial functions through spatial restructuring. As for the demolition details, existing surface finishes and non-essential facilities will be removed to create a “white-box” space for new commercial content. This move suggests the project may shift towards a transformation into “experience-based retail” — optimizing flow layouts, introducing diverse business formats, such as curated retail and immersive entertainment, to form a complementary consumer ecosystem with Sam’s Club.According to data from Winshang, the total commercial inventory in the Yizhuang business district currently stands at 390,000 square meters, with market competition largely focused on the iteration of existing projects. Within a 3-kilometer radius, there are several retail-led projects such as Beijing Longyue City (150,000 sqm), BHGMall Beijing (73,000 sqm), and Beijing Dazhu Plaza (65,000 sqm), all of which face significant homogeneous competition. From the perspective of Yizhuang’s commercial development trajectory, the revitalization of Creative Life Plaza is a key part of the area’s business district evolution. In recent years, the Economic Development Zone has promoted commercial upgrades through the “One Circle, One Policy” approach, with Longyue City transformed from Chengxiang Century Plaza, attracting over 110,000 visitors on its opening day.Amid fierce market competition and clear consumer demands, whether Yizhuang Creative Life Plaza (Huizhan Center) can break through with the dual-track strategy of “retaining Sam’s Club + upgrading the ecosystem” will provide an important model for the iteration of suburban commercial spaces in first-tier cities.