Quote:
Originally Posted by wmemeadusjr
With Bowring and Bombay on Stavanger Drive both closing up as well, Stavanger is starting to resemble a graveyard more than a shopping centre. Hopefully the rest will hang on. There are still thousands of people on the doorstep of Stavanger Drive, and the need for a local shopping area certainly exists. The area was always super busy when Costco was open but pretty quiet otherwise. A Walmart employee told me that the Stavanger location is the least busiest of the four in metro. A Sport Chek employee also told me that the Village location has over double the sales of the Stavanger location.
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My beef with Stavanger was that the infrastructure never supported the amount of traffic it drew to the area. The roads were always congested and nothing was really done as more and more stores set up in the district. It got to the point, at least for me, that going to Stavanger meant going to Costco and leaving directly afterwards, with a quick stop to Walmart every once and a while. Having Costco move to Galway could (in the long run) be a blessing in disguise for Stavanger area. There'll be some adjustment period for sure. It won't draw the crowds like it used to but there's definitely enough population living in the area to support the remaining businesses. Plus, the ability to get around without having blood pressure readings of 200/150 will be a good thing.
I think another big hit for the area was Cineplex's buy out of Empire and shutting down the theatre expansion for Hebron. There were quite a few businesses setting up there with the intentions of Empire theatres anchoring the area. Businesses such as Verifin moving into the area sure helps out. But evenings and weekends there seem pretty dead.
Stavanger power centre has been around for 25 plus years now. I think this is a part of the evolutionary change of the retail market. I don't think you'll see Stavanger completely die, just going through a re-adjustment phase.