It had a long life. Built in the mid-1950s as a plaza that was later enclosed. Expanded in the early 1980s. Death 20 years later.
It's still the Centre, but at its centre is parking, parking, and more parking.
Maybe it's me, but I much prefer a mall to these "Smart" Centres. Massive parking lots with individual buildings spread out across it. You almost have to drive between stores. At least in a mall, we're protected from the weather and we can walk to every store, they have many food options, sometimes entertainment. You can make a day of it. Still a lot of parking lots, but it feels like a slightly more efficient use of space with easier transit integration.
Maybe it's me, but I much prefer a mall to these "Smart" Centres. Massive parking lots with individual buildings spread out across it. You almost have to drive between stores. At least in a mall, we're protected from the weather and we can walk to every store, they have many food options, sometimes entertainment. You can make a day of it. Still a lot of parking lots, but it feels like a slightly more efficient use of space with easier transit integration.
This. I can't stand the Dumbcentres. Horrible experience, despite the (marginally) cheaper wares. For all the reasons you stated. We have a shitty climate for half the year.
Plus, Dumbcentres are uniformly hideously ugly. 80% of the terrain is parkinglotland.
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The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. (Bertrand Russell)
I can handle the outdoor shopping but the design of these SmartCentres is horrendous. Walking is damn near impossible (seems deliberate) and the road layouts are horribly sub-standard. If they made them decent places to get around they would be much better and more appealing. I personally do my best to avoid them.
Decarie Square, Montreal. Extremely soul-sucking. I've had the misfortune of visiting numerous times (I used to live in Snowdon). It was a dead mall in the 1970s. Even worse in the 1980s-90s. Still hanging on as a dead mall.
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The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. (Bertrand Russell)
^ I think I went to that mall once when I lived in Montreal (for a movie, maybe?). I never went back.
Most of the parking lots of Dumbcentres are used for snow piles in winter. Mountains of black and white shitty snow, speckled with shopping carts, lost gloves and dog turds.
^ I think I went to that mall once when I lived in Montreal (for a movie, maybe?). I never went back.
Most of the parking lots of Dumbcentres are used for snow piles in winter. Mountains of black and white shitty snow, speckled with shopping carts, lost gloves and dog turds.
ah yes, the lovely sight of giant melting sooty snow stacks, complete with the debris that you described. When it finally melts, the scum that remains is so gross (reminds me of Donald Trump's face).
__________________
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. (Bertrand Russell)
All those pictures of Decarie Square are super old... Do we really know if the place still look like that? Never been myself.
Asking because I know MolsonExport that you love Mtl but you have not lived there for at least 20 years... Your knowledge about the place is not always the most up to date unfortunately.
Edit: Just looked on street view. Look pretty much the same and look like a depressing place. But the parking lot is full so doesn' t look like a dead place.
All those pictures of Decarie Square are super old... Do we really know if the place still look like that? Never been myself.
Asking because I know MolsonExport that you love Mtl but you have not lived there for at least 20 years... Your knowledge about the place is not always the most up to date unfortunately.
Edit: Just looked on street view. Look pretty much the same and look like a depressing place. But the parking lot is full so doesn' t look like a dead place.
I last lived in Montreal in 2005 (it is my hometown). I am back there 2-3 times per year, as I have family + friends in Montreal (as well as in Quebec City).
I did hear that there were plans to level Carre Decarie (2018) but afaik, nothing has come to pass yet. I drove past the mall last summer, and it looked as shitty as always. I once lived just off of chemin de la Cote St. Luc (east of Decarie Expressway) so I know the area well.
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The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. (Bertrand Russell)
From the inside, it looks like so many of the "Eaton Centres" built in Ontario cities, but with a candy-cane colour scheme.
From the outside, take away the retail signs and it looks like a high school from hell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MolsonExport
Decarie Square, Montreal. Extremely soul-sucking. I've had the misfortune of visiting numerous times (I used to live in Snowdon). It was a dead mall in the 1970s. Even worse in the 1980s-90s. Still hanging on as a dead mall.
Was at QQT on Wednesday at 11:30 and I'm happy to report that the water fountains are back online. But barely anymore activity on this August weekday than when I visited in December.
Quote:
Originally Posted by megadude
Queen's Quay Terminal. First time I've been in about 20 years. Went to get lunch at Farm Boy and walk around. This was Dec. 19th. Not actually a mall. Just ground floor retail. And it's not dead per se, just kind of feels that way. Of course, I'm sure it would be a lot better in the summer given its Harbourfront location but I get the feeling that even then it can't be what it used to be when my dad would take us there when I was a teenager.
Can anyone comment as to whether the water fountain actually functions? I can't say if it was down at that time because they were waiting for parts or if they just said it's not worth the cost running anymore, which just makes it look more dead.
Retail level wasn't really vacant other than the gym that recently packed up but this was lunch time and hardly anyone walking around. Of course, it was Dec. 19th so not exactly peak time of the year for visitors or the office workers. Also, hard to judge this now vs. pre covid times.
Dead downtown malls have the easiest ability to transform into something else. Whether that be libraries, post-secondary, entertainment, community centres, or offices. Being downtown they also have the benefit of having the best transit connections bringing in more consumers and making them easier to staff..........their locations give them the ability to change with the demands of the local market. Downtowns are also seeing fast growing populations which adds to their appeal. Almost always having underground parking is an added bonus.
Suburban malls, on the other hand, have a much harder time as often they are in locations with poor transit access, in low density neighbourhoods, and often built in the 1960s/70s/80s when those suburban areas were growing and are now declining in population. As urban planners say, we have gone from the "donut effect" of the post-war era to "dartboard effect" of the 21st century........fast growing downtowns and exurbs while post-war areas in between the 2 are declining.
Dead downtown malls have the easiest ability to transform into something else. Whether that be libraries, post-secondary, entertainment, community centres, or offices. Being downtown they also have the benefit of having the best transit connections bringing in more consumers and making them easier to staff..........their locations give them the ability to change with the demands of the local market. Downtowns are also seeing fast growing populations which adds to their appeal. Almost always having underground is an added bonus.
Suburban malls, on the other hand, have a much harder time as often they are in locations with poor transit access, in low density neighbourhoods, and often built in the 1960s/70s/80s when those suburban areas were growing and are now declining in population. As urban planners say, we have gone from the "donut effect" of the post-war era to "dartboard effect" of the 21st century........fast growing downtowns and exurbs while post-war areas in between the 2 are declining.
One of the few hopes for dead suburban malls is as data centers. Basically big buildings full of computer servers, HVAC and emergency generators to run everything if the power goes out. Put a high security fence around it. The parking lots can be redeveloped in something else.
T&T announced recently they were opening a new location in a Kanata dead mall (Hazeldean mall). It will be interesting if there’s going to be any impact on the rest of the mall. Given than T&T tends to attract Asian businesses in its surroundings, it may even turn the mall into a destination for the Asian community. To some extent at least.
The mall is in quite a bad shape. Stokes, an Independent grocer, a bank and The Source were some of the last major tenants and they left, the food court is deserted. There’s a few of the typical dead mall tenants in there still - Northern Reflections, Bentley and such.
T&T announced recently they were opening a new location in a Kanata dead mall (Hazeldean mall). It will be interesting if there’s going to be any impact on the rest of the mall. Given than T&T tends to attract Asian businesses in its surroundings, it may even turn the mall into a destination for the Asian community. To some extent at least.
The mall is in quite a bad shape. Stokes, an Independent grocer, a bank and The Source were some of the last major tenants and they left, the food court is deserted. There’s a few of the typical dead mall tenants in there still - Northern Reflections, Bentley and such.
Hazeldean Mall hasn't quite reached the absolute bottom....a place doing family tree crests and a place that makes wood signs for your cottage announcing who lives there or a place doing 3rd party ink cartridge refills.
Woodbine is by no means a dead mall in the sense of being empty, but it's clouded by uncertainty. It's not vibrant but it's a good place for nearby residents to have something to do in the winter. There are more vacancies than is typical for a large GTA mall.
It was put into receivership in May and you can tell nobody gives a shit anymore. The racetrack across the street is being turned into a proper destination and the casino is open already. This mall has all kinds of plans with it but nothing concrete right now.
A year and a half ago I left a total of like 6 emails and voicemails for the idiots that run this mall and Fantasy Fair. This time around I was inquiring about buying Fantasy Fair gift cards. The site directs you to "book now" and you can add tickets to the cart but then asks you to log in. This does not work. The phone numbers for the park and mall are both down. I emailed the property manager from a separate management firm and they responded and got the mall to get back to me. They confirmed the site is dysfunctional and phones are down.
To demonstrate the level of apathy, right away I see holes in the parking lot, which was a sign of things to come. There are random holes all over the park and mall. They don't bother filling them anymore, even if dangerous.
The indoor amusement park is great as it's unique. A little brother to West Edmonton Mall's park I guess you could say. From a distance it's beautiful, but up close you can see they do the bare minimum. That makes sense to a degree but let's hope the safety is taken seriously.
A couple of interesting observations: All the dinosaurs have "exit chutes"; real birds are using the fake trees like real trees and shitting on what's below.
The proposed condos to fill in the empty corners of the parking lot and the continued development of the racetrack can't come soon enough.
^looks terrible. What's with the guano on the seats, and the owl scat on the floor?
Shart it out!
__________________
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. (Bertrand Russell)
Last edited by MolsonExport; Dec 16, 2023 at 10:32 PM.
T&T announced recently they were opening a new location in a Kanata dead mall (Hazeldean mall). It will be interesting if there’s going to be any impact on the rest of the mall. Given than T&T tends to attract Asian businesses in its surroundings, it may even turn the mall into a destination for the Asian community. To some extent at least.
The mall is in quite a bad shape. Stokes, an Independent grocer, a bank and The Source were some of the last major tenants and they left, the food court is deserted. There’s a few of the typical dead mall tenants in there still - Northern Reflections, Bentley and such.
Bentley, Northern Reflections, Ardene...all stalwarts of dying malls throughout Canada. And the Great Canadian Chew-Chew train.
__________________
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. (Bertrand Russell)
One of the Dumbcentres by me has a Walmart that features a port-a-potty and a dumpster right next to the entrance. For years I thought it must be for construction nearby, before ultimately coming to the realization that it seems to be there for the overnight camper and trucker crowd. The bin is always full of crap and the port-a-potty always looks like it’s about to tip over.
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