It’s a shopaholic’s dream come true: more than 20 new stores are going to be opening their doors at St. Albert Centre.
London Drugs and Winners are slated to open in their new locations in the mall this spring and the remainder of the stores will open this fall. Mark’s Work Wearhouse opened last fall, relocating from north St. Albert.
Jillian Creech, general manager, says for now she’s keeping a tight lid on what other retail stores will be opening.
“It’s always up to each individual retailer to make the announcement of their arrival at the centre,” she says.
In 2015 mall management conducted a consumer survey to see what kind of stores people were interested in seeing added to the mall.
The results showed that 22 per cent of respondents wanted women’s wear, 18 per cent wanted unisex apparel, 15 per cent wanted health and beauty, 11 per cent wanted home decor and seven per cent wanted children’s apparel.
Leasing efforts were directed at retailers who fit those categories.
Creech says that St. Albert is an attractive location for retailers, and that the redevelopment will increase the centre’s merchandise mix by 30 per cent.
The re-development space was made available after Target folded in 2015, leaving a substantial void in the centre.
“117,000 square feet of [empty] space is significant and we knew immediately that there would be great potential to redevelop the space,” she says.
The newly revamped space can be viewed through sneak peak sections located in the centre, as well as floor plans recently released by the centre.
“We’re obviously very excited that we’re adding 20 new stores. We’ll be able to really boost the merchandising mix. Our community is always wanting new options closer to home and this is going to provide them with those options,” she explains.
St. Albert Centre opened in 1980 and currently offers more than 60 stores to shop from. Among its anchor tenants are Hudson’s Bay Company and SportChek.
