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Originally Posted by CoryB
I haven't gone hunting size numbers on Future Shop (and Best Buy) but recall reading their "old" format which covers virtually ever store in Canada have footprints in the 60,000 sq ft range. That the St James store has and external, ground level entrance with a long wall facing St James makes it far easier to split the space than the mess that is Polo Target.
In terms of replacements, a combo Zara and Zara Home could potentially occupy the whole space but that brand seems more destined for the mall proper. Dave and Busters in a split of the space could make sense. Another possibility could be GoodLife Fitness. If they were serious about their Target based expansion story the Future Shop locations make more sense. They could then lease out some of the extra space to an exercise appeal retail (ie Lululemon or similar) and setup a health eats place.
In terms of the Garden City location, well that ship sunk about 35 years ago when Kildonan Place mall opened. KP is relatively far from both St Vital Centre and Polo Park. Garden City then had the unfortunate challenge of being caught between KP and Polo. The area was still able to holds its own for a while however the opening of the Chief Peguis bridge and the second floor addition to Polo Park sealed its fate. In terms of a replacement for Future Shop at Garden City the landlord should rush to their phone and get the Dollar Tree people secured. The space might be a little bug for them but it is the smallest of the common Future Shop store styles so that could help. Another long shot possibility is talking to Lucky's or Young's about opening a store there.
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I think Young's is moving into the Maples IGA, least that would make good sense for them. As for Lucky's, who knows if they want to open up another one, and in that case why not the old Safeway instead?
Seems like the owners of Garden City have pretty much given up which is ridiculous. Maybe if the owners showed some initiative and did something with their mall to make it more attractive it would help. They haven't even given the mall a face lift in like 20 years! And they have a major vacancy with the theater space that could allow for a good expansion to the mall. Maybe Good Life should or will move out of the mall and into the former Future Shop, allowing the mall to fix it's problems with the theater space.
As for Dollar Tree i'm not sure if they want another location so close to the Northgate location, if so there is always the former Bargain Shop across the street from the mall that is currently vacant.