Dead Malls of Canada

[Hardhatdan]

Originally Posted by esquire

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.

Sam abuhasam, some crazy high end jewlery store, the boardroom spa, lux steak house, a liquor store, a dentist office, a salon and I mean how do you just take out the places selling food? They aren't good retail? If you take out the places selling food in any mall it would be a lot emptier.
Yea, its no dynamo place but its got enough there and its definatley not dead.

[esquire]

When most of a mall's retail space is used by an accounting firm for offices, that counts as a dead mall. Its prospects for bouncing back are pretty good, but at the moment Commerce Place is undeniably dead.

[danby]

Originally Posted by Hardhatdan

Sam abuhasam, some crazy high end jewlery store, the boardroom spa, lux steak house, a liquor store, a dentist office, a salon and I mean how do you just take out the places selling food? They aren't good retail? If you take out the places selling food in any mall it would be a lot emptier.
Yea, its no dynamo place but its got enough there and its definatley not dead.

don't forget escada and some bridal place which is quite high end

[SSLL]

If my memory serves me correctly, wasn't Holt Renfrew's outlet store previously a real HR store?

Another "mall" I would say is Sparks Street Mall, which is a pedestrian mall in Ottawa.

[Hardhatdan]

Originally Posted by esquire

When most of a mall's retail space is used by an accounting firm for offices, that counts as a dead mall. Its prospects for bouncing back are pretty good, but at the moment Commerce Place is undeniably dead.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Hardhatdan

You have no idea what you are talking about.

So let me get this straight, the fact that the space originally intended for Commerce Place retail is instead occupied by an accounting firm means that it is a smashing success as a mall?

[Hardhatdan]

Originally Posted by esquire

So let me get this straight, the fact that the space originally intended for Commerce Place retail is instead occupied by an accounting firm means that it is a smashing success as a mall?

Like I said before, "Yea, its no dynamo place but its got enough there and its definatley not dead."

I never said it was a smashing success, I just said it definitly is not dead or dieing. So yea, you don't really seem to know what you are saying or talking about.

[canucklehead2]

The space in Commerce is filled, but not with retail so it's neither a success nor a complete failure. On the whole though, the streetscape around the two blocks that include both phases of Manulife Place, the Bay Centre and Commerce Place are among the least active in the downtown, despite their location. It's kind of sad to see the newest major projects in downtown actually be among the least alive, but hopefully that will change in the next few years with the opening of the YMCA, U of A DT campus, etc..

[MolsonExport]

Any before/after shots of Middlegate Mall (Burnaby, BC)?

[CCF]

How about that International Village Mall in Vancouver?

[MolsonExport]

such an interesting thread deserves a bump.

[harls]

The hilarious Place Cartier mall in Hull (...so awesome there isn't even a good picture of it) :

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&sourc...28.07,,0,-5.21



This place is deadsville... and it includes the worst Zellers I have ever visited (Z employee - we have olympic gear? ).

It had a surge of activity last November, not because of the awesome shopping choices (handbag store, dollarama, some place that sells stale muffins and motor oil 'coffee'), but due to the regional H1N1 vaccine clinic setting up shop in some of its widely available retail space.

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by Policy Wonk

Deerfoot Mall....it is a whole lot better today than it was in the early 90's when the entire east end of the mall between the center court where there was a fountain and the Woolco (now Sportchek) was almost completely vacant with the exception of a Radio Shack, a crappy toystore and a dump called collectors corner that was the worlds largest collection of old beer cans and professional bowling memorabilia.....

LOL I got my entire hockey card collection from that guy! I was kinda disappointed when he closed shop. I also worked at the Music World there the last time Canada won hockey gold (SLC 2002).

Originally Posted by clooless

Having lived in Vancouver and Calgary both for a number of years I can add a few to the list.

Vancouver/GVRD:

• Royal City Centre (once Woolworth's Centre) in New Westminster. After Woolworth's went belly up stores started to leave and it was a while before Zellers moved in to occupy the old Woolworth's location. The design looks very much if not exactly like the London Galleria, so I suspect it was designed, built and owned by the same company. As with the London Galleria, the top level is now devoid of shops and almost entirely occupied with an HSBC call centre.
• City Square in Vancouver. Besides the Safeway, I've never seen anything in that mall that is busy.
• Kingsway Mall in Vancouver. D - e - d. Dead. If the liquor store or library ever left the place would echo. It's desperately needs a redesign.

Calgary:

• North Hill Centre. It's dead most of the time and without the fitness centre or the residential towers no one would shop there. I still remember when the movie theatres occupied the mall.
• Deer Valley Mall. Without Co-Op this mall would have nothing to drive its business even with the Zellers. I am surprised the Zellers has remained in business at that location because even on weekends it is extremely dead.
• Beddington Town Centre. I agree with Policy Wonk; it's dead. Without the liquor store or London Drugs it would die. Hell, it's already dead.

For Vancouver, you forgot to mention Lynn Valley Center in North Vancouver. Its anchored by a Save-On Foods and a Zellers. Save for that, its all a bunch of junkie dumb stores. We got hoodwinked by the pet shop there when we got our first pet rabbit. The rabbit was just happy gone from the pet store, she hasn't warmed up to us at all in the year an a half.

North Hill Centre is Calgary's first indoor mall, and has the Sears that time forgot...litterally, its been open since 1961. I was born 20 years later, I even doubt its been renovated or changed stock in my lifetime. That said, the food court there isn't too bad, and being just up the hill from Queen Elisabeth High School and close to SAIT, thats about its only redeeming quality. Well, that, the Safeway, the Shoppers, the Chilli's, and the World Health Club...

Deer Valley Mall has ALWAYS sucked as far as I know.

Beddington Town Centre was killed by Deerfoot Mall...

Does anyone remember the mall in Huntington Hills on Hunterview Drive and 64th Avenue? It was anchored by a Food Giant. It was torn down about 10 years ago to make way for Statesmen's Manor Village at Huntington Hills. As a kid, I used to cut through there daily to get to elementary school. I even remember my sister taking dance lessons at the dance studio there, and for gym class we'd go bowling at the bowling alley on the bottom level!!

Originally Posted by CCF

How about that International Village Mall in Vancouver?

Well, see, there seems to be some kind of mix up with that. There's International Village, and there's Tinseltown (posted in previous pics as "International Village"). International Village seems to be doing fine with its easy access to the Stadium skytrain station and TNT market. Tinseltown on the other hand has a theatre, a McDonalds, a Starbucks, and a 7-11. The rest is filled with empty shops and some art space. It kinda sucks, it really seems like it should be something big. Especially with its location right downtown and near Chinatown.


I would also love to throw in Chilliwack Mall as a mall that is dead. When it came down to smart moves, whomever planned the malls in Chilliwack didn't do a good job. They built Cottonwood Mall right across the street from Chilliwack Mall. Suffice to say, it killed Chilliwack Mall. C-Wack mall has a Wal-Mart and a Safeway, I don't think it has anything more than that. My info on it is a couple years old, I'm in no rush to head out there to find out.

[kirjtc2]

They don't get any deader than this: Chaleur Centre, Bathurst, NB:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&sourc...280.37,,0,1.18

Yes, it's still open.

[PhilippeMtl]

Originally Posted by harls

The hilarious Place Cartier mall in Hull (...so awesome there isn't even a good picture of it) :

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&sourc...28.07,,0,-5.21



This place is deadsville... and it includes the worst Zellers I have ever visited (Z employee - we have olympic gear? ).

It had a surge of activity last November, not because of the awesome shopping choices (handbag store, dollarama, some place that sells stale muffins and motor oil 'coffee'), but due to the regional H1N1 vaccine clinic setting up shop in some of its widely available retail space.

recent picture:

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by Distill3d

LOL I got my entire hockey card collection from that guy! I was kinda disappointed when he closed shop. I also worked at the Music World there the last time Canada won hockey gold (SLC 2002).



North Hill Centre is Calgary's first indoor mall, and has the Sears that time forgot...litterally, its been open since 1961. I was born 20 years later, I even doubt its been renovated or changed stock in my lifetime. That said, the food court there isn't too bad, and being just up the hill from Queen Elisabeth High School and close to SAIT, thats about its only redeeming quality. Well, that, the Safeway, the Shoppers, the Chilli's, and the World Health Club...

North Hill gets a decent amount of traffic from the LRT station there as well. In fact, it has a great location. Just needs a proper renovation I feel like.

[niwell]

Honeydale mall in Etobicoke is certainly among the top contenders for dead malls in Canada. A relic from the 60s it was anchored by outlet retailers and later a Wal-Mart but now almost everything is closed. The only stores are a No-Frills supermarket, a flea-market which seems to primarily sell pirated DVDs and a dentists office. The interior retail space was completely vacant last time I was there.

http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/05/n...oneydale_mall/


From the street:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=fi...156.44,,1,2.14


Most people blame the failure of the mall on the successful Cloverdale mall, which is basically across the street. While that certainly plays a part, the truth is actually a bit more interesting. Basically the property and nearby No Frills distribution centre share a common owner (not sure what company, but no doubt shrouded by numbered corporations) with intent to redevelop the site as residential. But, portions of this land are designated as "Employment Areas" which means no residential development. The way around this is to show that the land isn't viable for employment uses. Basically refusing to resign existing leases or new ones for anything better than a flea market is seen as a good way to do this. It's a classic trick for redeveloping industrial land in Toronto.

[harls]

Originally Posted by PhilippeMtl

recent picture:

Yeah, not much has changed.

[vid]

Northwood Mall. The grocery store is owned by a local company because no self-respecting national grocer wants to be in that dump, and see the Buck or Two? Until it went out of business, it was the largest in Canada. Used to be a Zellers.

County Fair Mall. It's anchors are a Zellers, Quality Market, and the library! Most of the people going to this mall go to the library. The food court is a Robin's Donuts surrounded by empty kiosks. The management of this place is so bad that many businesses have left and those that remain are just taking their tenancy one day at a time. It might be converted to a power centre in the future.

The photos were taken in the morning. During the day there are, like, 6 more cars in those parking lots.

[MolsonExport]

The London Mall, in London, Ontario. Nearby one of Canada's very first McDonald's. The mall may have actually been modern back when Abe Lincoln was President. Shabby beyond belief. Anchored by a Sears Discount Outlet (read: distressed goods, in an old Woolco that has NOT been refurbished for at least 45 years), and a (now closed) Price Chopper. In between? Oh, some place where you can get Samosas...and FAX! (no joke, this is the ad board outside). Talk about one stop shopping. ONly photo that I could find:


Source: Sebastrooper

Quite possibly, home of the worst Christmas tree, ever.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/compmouse/2040474723/