Dead Malls of Canada

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I recently visited White Oaks Mall (one of two such large regional malls remaining in the London area). Hitherto, the mall has been primarily a fashion centre (Bay, Gap, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, etc., etc.). But now it seems to be showing early signs of struggle. This is what I noticed:

1) an almost 1:1 ratio of cellphone joints/kiosks to vacant storefronts. The greater number of vacancies, the greater number of cellphone joints. Christ, the White Oaks mall in London had at least a dozen places that sold only cellphones/packages, plus another dozen stores that sold cellphones in addition to other wares (e.g., "The Source").

2) profusion of places not normally associated with fashion malls: pedicure places, shiatsu massage parlours, dollar-stores, niche craft joints (the stamp store, porcelain collectables, hippy/hipster collectable crap, free-earth soaps and garbage), mortgage brokerages, etc.

3) they had a gaming place where people (all male, all appearing somewhat socially awkward) seemed to be gathered around a big table playing dungeons & dragons, surrounded by the usual D&D gear

4) there were 2 actual stores, plus at least 5 freestanding kiosks, just selling cellphone wrappers/cases/bling. Christ all mighty, how much of that crap do people actually buy???

Predictions:

1) more medical exam places (One stop shopping: get a Prostate exam, change your watch battery, and grab Samosas for lunch at the food court!), as leases expire and stores vacate to take up residence in the endless profusion of big box barf fringing the city.

2) more local/foreign craptastic stuff, bulk barrels, dollar-store ripoffs, Ardene/Bentleys (these places love loser malls), senior drop-in centres (wellness centres)

3) more stores converted to educational programs ("Westervelt College", "Everest College", "College Boreale").

What is the other mall there and how is it doing?

[MolsonExport]

Masonville. Three years ago, it looked to be losing the battle (vacant stores aplenty), but now, after having secured our only Apple Store and imminent opening of Target, I think it definitely has the upper hand.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Masonville. Three years ago, it looked to be losing the battle (vacant stores aplenty), but now, after having secured our only Apple Store and imminent opening of Target, I think it definitely has the upper hand.

A city that size probably could either support one dominant super-regional or two moderate-level regional malls.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

2) more local/foreign craptastic stuff, bulk barrels, dollar-store ripoffs, Ardene/Bentleys (these places love loser malls), senior drop-in centres (wellness centres)

White Oaks doesn't have 25-cent candy machines or kiddie rides yet, do they? Those are a fixture in many dying malls, including London Mall and St. Thomas's Elgin Mall.

[vid]

All Telus customers in Thunder Bay have to go to Blacks Photography for service. It's kind of weird that several hundred people here were walking through the mall and thought, "this cell phone kiosk in a photography store seems like the appropriate place for me to enter into a long term contract! "

I knew Telus had an exchange assigned to this market but didn't know they had a representative here, too. I'm not sure how good their signal is though. Every company but TBayTel has no signal outside the city limits. A few days ago I found a place with less than full signal from TBayTel for the first time: In between two mountains on the reserve.

[ssiguy]

Masonville is "the" mall in London and is in the fast growing and very wealthy North End as well as being near UWO..............it's not going anywhere.

Westmount is dying a painful death but White Oaks seems to be declining due to it's own decisions. It's basically the same mall as it was 25 years ago and looks older by the year. It has the advantage of being just off the 401/402, on the major and very busy Wellington Road, in a area with quite a few tall residential towers.

London definately has the ability to have 2 main regional malls. Masonville and White Oaks are the 2 and are at exact opposite ends of the city, they could hardly be further apart in the city limits if the tried. White Oaks is more working class and Masonville high end. They also don't have a concern of people going from one mall to the other as they are far apart and London has no freeways. It would take all day to get from one mall to the other and in order to do so you have to go thru downtown and trendy Richmond Row.

White Oaks is declining but I think it has far more to do with a lack of investment in the mall itself as opposed to the "power" centres.

London's large downtown Mall.......once called Galleria London was a dead zone before and especially after Eaton's collapsed. The city has done a very good job however of turning it around and has probably been one of the more successful downtown mall renewals in the country. It moved it new very large library into the main floor, made the entrance more pedestrian friendly onto Dundas Street, Fanshawe and UWO both opened campuses in it, a lot of new office space was created, and they invested in making the mall more attractive and friendly as opposed to letting it rot.

It is not a crowd pleaser but is actually now quite successful with it's offices, library, education, shops, eateries, and the city's only downtown cinema with 5 cinema multiplex. It is not at all an eyesore or depressing like so many other downtown malls..they have done quite a respectable job in creating a new downtown enviornment and was one of the first real successful renewals of a downtown mall in a midsize city that lost it's venerable old Eaton's.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Masonville is "the" mall in London and is in the fast growing and very wealthy North End as well as being near UWO..............it's not going anywhere.

Westmount is dying a painful death but White Oaks seems to be declining due to it's own decisions. It's basically the same mall as it was 25 years ago and looks older by the year. It has the advantage of being just off the 401/402, on the major and very busy Wellington Road, in a area with quite a few tall residential towers.

London definately has the ability to have 2 main regional malls. Masonville and White Oaks are the 2 and are at exact opposite ends of the city, they could hardly be further apart in the city limits if the tried. White Oaks is more working class and Masonville high end. They also don't have a concern of people going from one mall to the other as they are far apart and London has no freeways. It would take all day to get from one mall to the other and in order to do so you have to go thru downtown and trendy Richmond Row.

White Oaks is declining but I think it has far more to do with a lack of investment in the mall itself as opposed to the "power" centres.

London's large downtown Mall.......once called Galleria London was a dead zone before and especially after Eaton's collapsed. The city has done a very good job however of turning it around and has probably been one of the more successful downtown mall renewals in the country. It moved it new very large library into the main floor, made the entrance more pedestrian friendly onto Dundas Street, Fanshawe and UWO both opened campuses in it, a lot of new office space was created, and they invested in making the mall more attractive and friendly as opposed to letting it rot.

It is not a crowd pleaser but is actually now quite successful with it's offices, library, education, shops, eateries, and the city's only downtown cinema with 5 cinema multiplex. It is not at all an eyesore or depressing like so many other downtown malls..they have done quite a respectable job in creating a new downtown enviornment and was one of the first real successful renewals of a downtown mall in a midsize city that lost it's venerable old Eaton's.

Malls in working-class areas are hardly profitable these days anywhere. Those demographics are generally more interested in cheaper goods that can be found in big-box stores like Walmart.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Malls in working-class areas are hardly profitable these days anywhere. Those demographics are generally more interested in cheaper goods that can be found in big-box stores like Walmart.

White Oaks has a Walmart; if Walmart ever left the mall, that mall would be in trouble unless another discount retailer like Target moved in. The only other anchor is The Bay, which is generally not a working class store.

I would not be surprised to see that Walmart move to another location in the coming years, because it's very small compared to most Walmart stores. It's a former Woolco.

[Alexcaban]

Le Faubourg Sainte-Catherine

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

White Oaks has a Walmart; if Walmart ever left the mall, that mall would be in trouble unless another discount retailer like Target moved in. The only other anchor is The Bay, which is generally not a working class store.

I would not be surprised to see that Walmart move to another location in the coming years, because it's very small compared to most Walmart stores. It's a former Woolco.

I never realized White Oaks was in such bad shape. I used to go there all the time with friends, having grown up in Woodstock just down the 401.

[matthew6]

Originally Posted by Alexcaban

Le Faubourg Sainte-Catherine

This actually used to be a decent place. Unfortuneately the first floor has been turned into a disaster. There used to be a really great fruit and vegetable store that is gone. In the center of the first floor, there used to be a magazine/newspaper kiosk, an SAQ, and a few assorted other businesses. That whole section has been walled off. Entombed? In the ugliest way imaginable. The only way to get from one side to the other is through a corridor that is semi hidden in the back.

Of course there is also the roach infestation problem.

[Trevor3]

Corner Brook has 3 malls, 2 of which are virtually dead:

The Corner Brook Plaza is the main regional mall for the west coast, Target is opening up there and it has a number of chain retailers. Unfortunately, it has played a big role in killing the other 2 malls.

The Valley Mall and Millbrook Mall are located in the centre of downtown Corner Brook on two of the busiest streets in the city right in front of the paper mill. When I was a kid the Valley Mall was a mandatory stop on the Christmas shopping trip into CB. It was anchored by Sobey's on the ground floor and Zellers upstairs and had a great variety of different stores. Everything from art and crafts, brand name clothing, food court, discount stores, jewellers, etc... Then it started to be chopped up. One upstairs entrance and hallway was closed off for a call centre. Once Wal-Mart opened in the city, Zellers closed out in the Valley Mall in favour of their store in the CB Plaza. Then Sobey's moved upstairs into the old Zellers, essentially killing the first floor. Now the second level consists of Sobey's, the CBC Corner Brook bureau, a payday loans office and a printer ink refill shop. They managed to land a Dollarama for the first floor and Hart department store, but in the process destroyed the food court to make space for Hart and repositioned the escalator, making a mess of the whole building. Then Hart went bankrupt a year later and shut down... now it's a Rossy.

The Millbrook Mall was the first mall in western NL. The third floor is and always has been office space, the concept was that foot traffic to and from offices would generate retail activity. It was anchored by The Metropolitan Store, later The Met and Met-Mart (Remember those?). After they shut down the space was converted to more office space and an exodus of retailers to the Plaza and Valley Mall's occured. Today is has a Shopper's Drug Mart on one end, an Empire Theatre 2 screen cinema and a used book store on the main level. Downstairs is a Mary Brown's, Pizza Delight, the YMCA, a cafe, and a swimwear shop.

Once Murphy Square opened up in the early 2000s, Corner Brook's Big-Box development, what little business was left at the two downtown malls dried up. Retail in the city is now mainly concentrated there and in the Plaza which are both closer to the TCH. To go shopping in Corner Brook now, you hardly ever go downtown anymore. It's really sad because the city puts a lot of effort into beautifying the area, and it's very nice, but there's just not a whole lot down there that people will travel any distance to shop at.

EDIT: Take a ride on the Valley Mall escalator
• Video Link

[333609543]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I think we should also include "Dead powercentres" and/or decrepit strip malls in this thread. Let the shittiness flow.


any updates on the honeydale mall? still tops in my books for sheer depressing morgue-like atmosphere.

NoFrills closed down this June, not sure of the fate of the mall, I don't necessarily travel or end up in that area. I'll be sure to check it out.

[MolsonExport]

proposed redevelopment of pathetic Honeydale Mall: http://www.gagnonlawurbanplanners.co...ject=project-4

[TownGuy]

The mall in Cobourg while not dead is dieing. Years ago they expanded Zellers and chewed up a good chunk of mall retail making the mall too small IMO. Lost a lot of critical mass. Ironically now as we know Zellers closed and Target didn't replace them here.

[Loco101]

Model City Mall in Kapuskasing, Northern Ontario Built in 1970

Kapuskasing once had a population of about 13,000 and is now at 8,000. It is also 68% francophone.

The mall has very few retail stores left and has a variety of services in former stores. I've never ever seen this mall be fairly busy. Not even on Saturdays!

Some of the retail stores include:

-Shoppers Drug Mart
-Canadian Tire
-Your Independent Grocer (beside and not attached)
-Sunys gas station (in front in parking lot)
-Caveau des Jeans (a Quebec based store)
-Warehouse One (the only store that has opened recently and moved from a "big box" location beside Walmart!)
-LCBO (liquor store)
-gift store
-TD Canada Trust bank
-the Source (electronics)
-takeout pizza place (used to be 241 but now something else I think)
-lottery/tobacco store
-snack bar type place
-small independent roadhouse style restaurant (on a wing off the main corridor)
-Hart store (Quebec based chain)
-maybe another clothing store but not sure if it is still there

The Hart store is in an unusual place. You have to walk to the back of the mall, which is a longs ways past a variety of offices and down stairs to a different section. You wonder where on Earth you're going when you're going down the stairs into the basement. There was once a grocery store down where the Hart store is but it is empty. So Hart is really alone, probably more alone than any other store I've seen in a smaller community mall.

The mall could easily have four times as many stores if not more and still not be full. It once had Woolco as an anchor which became an unusual and small Walmart for only a few years then Walmart built its own store on the edge of town which really hurt the mall.

Some of the services found in the mall:

-beauty salon (hairdresser, esthetics)
-government services
-real estate company
-medical offices
-dental office
-call centre? (not sure if it has been opened)
-Ministry of Attorney General office and Court (yes, there is a court in the mall!)

[MolsonExport]

Famous Dead Mall of Canada coming back from the Dead? HoneyTomb Mall. Appropriate for Halloween:
The Death and Rebirth of the Mall: You don't Drive there, You live There

Honeydale Mall sits at the back of an oceanic parking lot, about as far from the street as it is from current urban-design thinking. A so-called “dead mall,” most of this shopping centre in Etobicoke, on Toronto’s west side, is practically empty. The giant space that Walmart once occupied has been vacant for a decade, as are the majority of the smaller retail spaces inside. Nary a specialty olive oil emporium can be seen. Only a dentist’s office, nail salon and electronics store are still in business.

Customers have moved on. So has time. Opened in 1973, Honeydale, like so many other shopping centres in places like Bari, was designed to cater to a car culture. But the mall’s owners hope to modernize the site and revive its economic fortunes. Azuria Group has applied to have the 16-acre site rezoned and plans to add shops closer to the street, as well as residential and green space, creating a mixed-use community centred on a new and improved retail.

Read more here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...ticle13117671/

A future with more Honey and less tombs?

http://www.turnerfleischer.com/proje...complete).aspx

[MolsonExport]

For those that want chilling photos of the penultimate Dead Mall on this Halloween Day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mas74ph...7629733798512/

Just a lil' taste:

[eternallyme]

Have any regional-level malls that were once dominant died out in Canada? I know in the US they are common, often due to changing demographics.

[Antigonish]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Have any regional-level malls that were once dominant died out in Canada? I know in the US they are common, often due to changing demographics.

I'm not sure if Penhorn Mall in Dartmouth Nova Scotia was at a regional mall scale, maybe before Mic Mac opened up? It had 3 or 4 anchor stores and a movie theater among others. Anyone else want to fill me in?