Dead Malls of Canada

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by SunCoaster

I stand corrected

Adding to the list though ...

Aberdeen Mall - Kamloops, BC
Seven Oaks Mall - Abbotsford, BC
Willowbrook Mall - Langley, BC
Brentwood Mall - Burnaby, BC
Oakridge Shopping Centre - Vancouver, BC
Richmond Centre - Richmond, BC

Indeed, the list is unbelievably incomplete, therefore useless. So much for trusting Wikipedia on this topic.

[kirjtc2]

http://www.labelscar.com is another great site for those interested in malls. It's mostly American, but there are a few Canadian entries in there somewhere.

[dennis]

I wonder why St. Vital shopping centre in Winnipeg isn't on the wikipedia list. It seems like it should fit in somewhere on that list. I did a quick search, but couldn't find the square footage of St. Vital.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

what is Maxi?

It's kind of like No Frills meets Costco! Good buys, better prices!

[WHY-T]

Originally Posted by West_aust

Soon to be dead, Place Portobello in Brossard


Walmart is supposed to move closer to a new lifestyle center in the same city, they are opening a brand new Maxi at the same place, André Lalonde sport is now closed.

And most of the stores inside are either asian cheap stuff stores, dentist, hairstylist, real estate office, bank...

I wouldnt be surprised if they tore a big chunk of it when walmart leave, and if maxi also leave the shopping center

Really?! I didn't know that. This mall is pretty alive now with the banks, Wal-Mart, Jean-Coutu, Dollarama (always lots of people), Maxi,... Though if Maxi and Wal-Mart move, then yeah it'll likely kill the place. Why move? This current spot is so accessible.

[West_aust]

Originally Posted by WHY-T

Really?! I didn't know that. This mall is pretty alive now with the banks, Wal-Mart, Jean-Coutu, Dollarama (always lots of people), Maxi,... Though if Maxi and Wal-Mart move, then yeah it'll likely kill the place. Why move? This current spot is so accessible.

Im simply speculating, The walmart is still one of those old woolco converted into walmart, and no space for expansion, also i read a couple of time that they want to build a brand new bigger store with more groceries in it, and Quartier Dix30 which is the new lifestyle/powercenter is clearly the new "hot retail" area in Brossard. Also a couple if weeks ago they announced that it would be a maxi&cie (those super maxi with more stuff other than groceries (sounds a lot like competition for walmart)) would open at Dix30. Also, Dix30 is even more accessible
(hwy 10 and 30, major boulevard going there is less crowded than tashereau and right next to brand new housing developpements

Among the other retailers present at place portobello, The source, Dollarama, Casey's all have outlets at Dix30, and there are plans for a pharmacy over therean as well with no chain announced, so i wouldnt be surprised if it was a jean coutu... basically a duplicate of place portobello.

Another factor to consider, is the fact that right next to place porotbello there is a Metro grocery store, and across the highway, there is a Loblaws..

To me all signs point towards a demolition of most of the retail part of the shopping center, keeping only the office towers

[big W]

Guys just think in 20 years we will be doing a thread on power centres. Hopefully that means those areas redevlop into dense high rise TODs.

[WHY-T]

Originally Posted by West_aust

Im simply speculating, The walmart is still one of those old woolco converted into walmart, and no space for expansion, also i read a couple of time that they want to build a brand new bigger store with more groceries in it, and Quartier Dix30 which is the new lifestyle/powercenter is clearly the new "hot retail" area in Brossard. Also a couple if weeks ago they announced that it would be a maxi&cie (those super maxi with more stuff other than groceries (sounds a lot like competition for walmart)) would open at Dix30. Also, Dix30 is even more accessible
(hwy 10 and 30, major boulevard going there is less crowded than tashereau and right next to brand new housing developpements

Among the other retailers present at place portobello, The source, Dollarama, Casey's all have outlets at Dix30, and there are plans for a pharmacy over therean as well with no chain announced, so i wouldnt be surprised if it was a jean coutu... basically a duplicate of place portobello.

Another factor to consider, is the fact that right next to place porotbello there is a Metro grocery store, and across the highway, there is a Loblaws..

To me all signs point towards a demolition of most of the retail part of the shopping center, keeping only the office towers

I totally understand what you mean, though I'm really hope it wouldn't be heading that way. It's just too bad that these "supercenters" and lifestyle malls are becoming the hot trend in the name of "walkable/lively developments", while they are actually more the opposite. These Wal-Mart supercenters are real market stealers. I've been to one in Toronto, I was in awe walking through it: it's basically a full-scale groceries tagged along a giant Wal-Mart/Canadian Tire kind of store.

I may sound like a bit of a rant here, but I don't find Dix30 that much more attractive. I believe it is geared more towards those in the new developments around it and those coming in from A-10 and 30 it sits on. The mall is actually a bit out of the way for those who live on the other side of Taschereau (like myself, section R,S,T,...if you know Brossard), which is like half of Brossard. Besides the shops are so scattered you'll need to drive from one batch of stores to the other.

[SunCoaster]

Originally Posted by bc2mb

Woodgrove, however, is the biggest mall on the island ... obviously you haven't been to Nanaimo in a while. It is the premiere shopping centre on the island. (bigger than Mayfair in Victoria)
Anchors are The Bay, Wal-Mart, Winners, Save-On ... higher end stores are Lush, Eddie Bauer, etc. I only I know this because its my hometown

Yes, Woodgrove is a very nice mall since it's expansion and renovation. Speaking of Nanaimo Malls which maybe dead, what ever happened to Rutherford Mall? Used to be fairly vibrant but, I'd heard it is all but dead now ...

[bayrider]

Originally Posted by malek

There's a mall on the corner of cote vertu and l'acadie... absolute worst ever I've seen. That thing is not upkept at all! If you ever have some time to waste, pay the restroom a visit and you might catch a couple of construction workers spending their "break" time there.

That location is prime, it could be razed and convert it into something more intresting or even condos.

Ahhh... I hate that place. Everytime I drive passed it (quite often), I tell myself that they should bulldoze the entire thing. Theres a bingo hall in the back behind where the Canadian Tire used to be before it moved to L'Acadie proper. It was temporarily a SAAQ while the Henri-Bourassa succursale renovated.

There's another drag mall just the same on Laurentien right across the street where Bombardier is. Oddly enough, another former Canadian Tire site which has become an office for Revenue Quebec. There's an SAAQ in there. There are a couple street front stores that are okay, but the mall itself behind those street facing stores are just as bad as that thing on L'acadie/C-V.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by West_aust

Maxi is low cost grocery store that is owned by Provigo/Loblaws

http://www.maxi.ca/qcen/about_us.asp

ah thx

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

there never was a sears in royal centre in new west

Zellers took over the old woodwards location and pulled out in january i think

last time i was there it was quite busy, mostly seniors - the shoppers drug mart moved to a new store with a street entrance so it can stay open till midnight - previously it was in the mall with a mall entrance only

yeah its pretty bad - can't imagine what it will do without a good anchor

they are putting condos up though where the zellers used to be

My mistake...meant to say Zellers.

[The Jabroni]

I say that Garden City Shopping Centre isn't what it used to be. I mean, when I was growing up, the mall was bustling with activity (this was before they removed the giant chess pieces and still had Beaver Lumber and Eaton's).

Ever since those stores left, the place was dying. Hell, even the theatres there was beginning to look "ghetto". Then when Canadian Tire, Winners, and Petcetera opened up, the place was picking up again, but I felt that it would never be the same again as it used to be. Even recently, Shoppers Drug Mart left the place and moved into Canadian Tire's old location (that place was derelect for years, not counting the Cheer board or the thrift store).

Hell, even right across the street, with Garden City Square. That place used to be a mall, anchored with a Safeway and a Woolco, before it died in the early 90's (because of GCSS across the street). Woolco left, and then the place was renovated to fit in a Staples and Wal-Mart. Then Wal-Mart left and moved to a new location, and was replaced with a Home Depot. They also erected another building placing in a Blockbuster, Liquor Mart, Reitmann's, and Marks Work Warehouse (or Warehouse One?) as well as a Jysk (which used to be Chapters) and a Future Shop at the opposite side of the area. Meanwhile Safeway is still there, stuck in the late 80's/early 90's, while the Disco Safeway on Jefferson has a Starbucks and has an interior that feels as if you're actually in Starbucks.

I don't know how I kept rambling on about this, but 'Peggers here should know what I'm talking about.

[esquire]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned Commerce Place in Edmonton...the base was clearly designed as a two-level shopping promenade that is now mainly office space. However, with the resurgence in Edmonton's downtown, we may yet see this one become the retail mall it was intended to be.

Regina's Galleria recently bit the dust as a retail mall; it is now home to various federal government offices. It is an unlikely candidate to ever return to retail.

As mentioned earlier, Winnipeg's all-time dead mall was Unicity where the landlords spent an agonizingly long time waiting for leases to expire before it was redeveloped as a power centre. The funny thing about it was that it was one of Winnipeg's newest malls when it was demolished - certainly on par with St. Vital Centre in many respects. Portage Place and Garden City came close to heading down that dead-mall path, but both bounced back with the retail explosion during in the last 5 years. Garden City is more a local neighbourhood mall these days (like Grant Park) than the regional mall it used to be, but it's by no means dead.

[Hardhatdan]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm surprised that no one mentioned Commerce Place in Edmonton...the base was clearly designed as a two-level shopping promenade that is now mainly office space. However, with the resurgence in Edmonton's downtown, we may yet see this one become the retail mall it was intended to be.

Regina's Galleria recently bit the dust as a retail mall; it is now home to various federal government offices. It is an unlikely candidate to ever return to retail.

As mentioned earlier, Winnipeg's all-time dead mall was Unicity where the landlords spent an agonizingly long time waiting for leases to expire before it was redeveloped as a power centre. The funny thing about it was that it was one of Winnipeg's newest malls when it was demolished - certainly on par with St. Vital Centre in many respects. Portage Place and Garden City came close to heading down that dead-mall path, but both bounced back with the retail explosion during in the last 5 years. Garden City is more a local neighbourhood mall these days (like Grant Park) than the regional mall it used to be, but it's by no means dead.

Commerce place is far from dead, its home to some of the higher end stored in the Downtown.
With KPMG's lease coming up for renewal soon, there is a lot of speculation that their current office space in the podium will be returned to retail.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Hardhatdan

Commerce place is far from dead, its home to some of the higher end stored in the Downtown.
With KPMG's lease coming up for renewal soon, there is a lot of speculation that their current office space in the podium will be returned to retail.

Regarding the former, that is true of its neighbour Manulife Place, but certainly not of Commerce Place. If you take away the places selling food, there isn't much there.

Regarding the latter, I can certainly see it happening given the way ECC has bounced back. It is remarkable how much better ECC has become over the past six years or so.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by dennis

I wonder why St. Vital shopping centre in Winnipeg isn't on the wikipedia list. It seems like it should fit in somewhere on that list. I did a quick search, but couldn't find the square footage of St. Vital.

It's not notable enough.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by dennis

I wonder why St. Vital shopping centre in Winnipeg isn't on the wikipedia list. It seems like it should fit in somewhere on that list. I did a quick search, but couldn't find the square footage of St. Vital.

St Vital Centre - 840,000 square feet with 160 stores and services (From web site)

[christopherj]

Originally Posted by Hardhatdan

With KPMG's lease coming up for renewal soon, there is a lot of speculation that their current office space in the podium will be returned to retail.

Of course... given that they use a fair bit of space, the question is where will they move?

[big W]

Commerce 2 gets built and they will go there.