St. Laurent Shopping Centre

[J.OT13]

What was the name of the one that closed? I think Herzing College took over that space.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

What was the name of the one that closed? I think Herzing College took over that space.

I think it was Everest or something like that. The space seems to still be vacant (or it was the last time we went to that theatre).

[J.OT13]

Oh yeah!

[kevinbottawa]

"Morguard eyes Ottawa’s St. Laurent mall for new development"

https://renx.ca/morguard-ottawa-st-laurent-mall-new-development/

[J.OT13]

Likely the best option for the Sears space is to demolish and replace with offices and residential rentals.

Surprised to see lease rates go down considering the tight office market and surge of private companies move downtown. Doesn't look like we'll get any new office builds downtown any time soon based on that article.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Doesn't look like we'll get any new office builds downtown any time soon based on that article.

Especially if folks are more willing to build in suburban locations thanks to LRT...

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with this, per se; creating more nodes of employment and residential isn't a bad thing. Ottawa is fairly spread out but its spread-outedness could use some higher levels of density. I don't dislike the idea of adding a few residents to St. Laurent's area and perhaps allowing more people to work there long-term.

[Harley613]

I have been expecting an announcement about major changes at St. Laurent for a long time. Still nothing about saving the mall itself with a major investment. This looks like more of a Gloucester Centre plan, let the mall slowly die while building out the land.

[eltodesukane]

And while St Laurent mall was sleeping, Rideau and Bayshore malls had massive renovations,
and the Ottawa Train Yards grew from nothing to become a major shopping center.

[wingman]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

And while St Laurent mall was sleeping, Rideau and Bayshore malls had massive renovations,
and the Ottawa Train Yards grew from nothing to become a major shopping center.

Agree with you and don't forget Les Promenades Gatineau did the same. That place was a disaster, and is now a destination that keeps a lot of the folks who live on the QC side on that side more than pre-renovation.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

And while St Laurent mall was sleeping, Rideau and Bayshore malls had massive renovations,
and the Ottawa Train Yards grew from nothing to become a major shopping center.

And yet St. Laurent had plans to complete a second floor from the food court to Sears before Rideau & Bayshore had even hired architects. When I worked at St. Laurent in 2002 they even had concept art on a boarded off section of the food court around where Sugar Mountain just closed down and 'Coming Soon'.

They missed the boat.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by Harley613

And yet St. Laurent had plans to complete a second floor from the food court to Sears before Rideau & Bayshore had even hired architects. When I worked at St. Laurent in 2002 they even had concept art on a boarded off section of the food court around where Sugar Mountain just closed down and 'Coming Soon'.

They missed the boat.

And to think that St Laurent had direct underground rapid transit way back in the late-1980s before anybody else in the city. Not only did the miss the boat, they fell off the dock.

I still remember when the mall went in this weird Vegas phase where they installed several displays with fake hot air balloons in the ceilings that erupted in periodic sound and light animations. You had to walk to different spots in the mall to catch the whole presentation. They must have spent quite a bit of money on that but people got tired of the repetitive audio in less than a year and the show got muted.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

And to think that St Laurent had direct underground rapid transit way back in the late-1980s before anybody else in the city. Not only did the miss the boat, they fell off the dock.

I still remember when the mall went in this weird Vegas phase where they installed several displays with fake hot air balloons in the ceilings that erupted in periodic sound and light animations. You had to walk to different spots in the mall to catch the whole presentation. They must have spent quite a bit of money on that but people got tired of the repetitive audio in less than a year and the show got muted.

Honestly I miss the acid trip hot air balloon ceiling art. It was really unique, but after a while it got dusty and dull due to negligence. The mall is very sterile and boring now. The common areas have no art at all and the new floor tiles and ceilings panels seem purposely generic.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Honestly I miss the acid trip hot air balloon ceiling art. It was really unique, but after a while it got dusty and dull due to negligence. The mall is very sterile and boring now. The common areas have no art at all and the new floor tiles and ceilings panels seem purposely generic.

Bayshore is boring too, but benefits from all the natural light. I don't know how feasible it would be to bring more light into StL but it is sorely needed.

[acottawa]

The current mall trend is white on white, so they are all pretty boring in that sense.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

Bayshore is boring too, but benefits from all the natural light. I don't know how feasible it would be to bring more light into StL but it is sorely needed.

St. Laurent HAD skylights down the main corridor, that's what that giant wave shaped roof is, it had windows on top that brought the light down. They covered them up decades ago. Probably maintenance cost cutting.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by acottawa

The current mall trend is white on white, so they are all pretty boring in that sense.

Yet Rideau looks incredible because of the quality of materials.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Harley613

St. Laurent HAD skylights down the main corridor, that's what that giant wave shaped roof is, it had windows on top that brought the light down. They covered them up decades ago. Probably maintenance cost cutting.

It was pretty darn cool back then.

[J.OT13]

I remember the hot air balloons, but not the show. Those were pretty awesome. Very family friendly feel. St-Laurent missed the boat with the expansions, but they might have been better off maintaining the old look to cash in on the nostalgia. The recent renovations did nothing to improve the mall. I also remember a large fountain which was removed a good 20 years ago. Maintenance savings I'm sure.

[eltodesukane]

St, Laurent mall has a cinema, which could me a major asset.
But it is so well hidden that many don't even know it is there.
And the whole cinema area is not welcoming at all.
Want to have a coffee with friends at the nearby 2nd Cup?
Then you must sit very tightly in a very small fenced-off area.
Not a pleasant experience.
Thank you, but I'll go elsewhere for my coffee and my cinema.

[J.OT13]

Morguard has done some great work with their downtown properties. Some of the best projects by far (Performance Court and the Hilton Complex in particular, Heritage Place is looking promising). They've really struggled with St-Laurent though.