Wikipedia

Westmount Centre

Not to be confused with Westmount Mall or Westmount Square.

Westmount Centre is a shopping mall located in the Woodcroft neighbourhood of Edmonton. It opened in 1955 and is owned by First Capital Realty.

Westmount Centre
The mall on August 18, 2008.
Map
Coordinates53°56′13″N 113°55′37″W / 53.93694°N 113.92694°W / 53.93694; -113.92694
Address13310 111 Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5M 2M7
Opening dateAugust 18, 1955; 69 years ago (1955-08-18)
Previous namesWestmount Shoppers' Park
ManagementFirst Capital Realty
OwnerFirst Capital Realty
No. of stores and services47
No. of anchor tenants2[1]
Total retail floor area498,000 sq ft (46,300 m2)[2]
No. of floors1
Public transit accessEdmonton Transit System Bus interchange Westmount Transit Centre
Websitewww.westmountshopping.com

History

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The mall opened on August 18, 1955 as Westmount Shoppers' Park and was considered Edmonton's first shopping mall.[3][4] Built at a cost of $5 million, the mall was anchored by Woodward's, Johnstone Walker, and Kresge.[3][4]

On January 14, 1956, The Sahara opened northeast of the mall property and consisted of a theatre and restaurant under one facility.[5] The theatre was taken over by Famous Players and reopened as the Westmount Theatre on August 12, 1965.[6] The theatre was twinned in 1972 and renamed as Westmount Cinemas.[7] The theatre moved inside the mall with the opening of the four-screen Famous Players theatre on November 8, 1985.[8] In 2005, Cineplex Galaxy sold the theatre to Empire Theatres before it finally closed on February 27, 2011.[9] A second theatre, the four-screen Cineplex Odeon, opened in the mall on December 20, 1985,[10] but closed in 2000 as the south end part of the mall was demolished to make way for a relocated Safeway.[11]

Triple Five purchased the mall from Woodward's for $12 million in December 1984.[12][13] The following year, the mall underwent a $21 million renovation that included a 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2) expansion, 60 new retailers, a new food court, a movie theatre, and a new interior, which was completed on October 17, 1985.[14][13] In 1993, Woodward's closed and its location was converted to Zellers.[15] In 1995, Triple Five sold the mall to GE Capital Corp and Maurice Fagan.[16] From 1999 to 2000, Westmount Centre underwent a $30 million redevelopment which included a new regulation-size ice rink and 540-seat food court in the centre of the mall, and a relocated Safeway.[11][4] Free-standing locations of TD Bank and McDonald's were also constructed on the mall's east parking lot after they moved out of the building.[11]

On March 14, 2007, First Capital Realty acquired the mall for $70 million in cash with immediate plans to demolish a non-functioning portion of the mall between Zellers and Shoppers Drug Mart to make room for The Home Depot's first in-fill store in Edmonton, which opened in November 2008.[17][18] On June 6, 2012, Zellers closed and its space was taken over by Walmart later that same year.[19][20] On October 19, 2022, Walmart closed after the company announced in July 2021 that it would be relocating the Westmount Centre location to Kingsway Mall.[21][22]

In May 2024, Westmount Centre gave 30-day end of tendency notices to stores located on one side of the hallway between Safeway and Smitty’s in the southeast portion of the mall. No official explanation was given but several tenants believed that recent leaks from the roof above the abandoned theatre complex on the second floor was the cause.[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ "Home". Westmount Centre. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "Westmount Shopping Centre". First Capital. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Thousands Attend Opening Of Huge Shopping Centre". Edmonton Journal. August 18, 1955. p. 7. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Herzog, Lawrence (September 1, 2005). "Westmount Mall at 50". Edmonton Real Estate Weekly. Realtors Association Of Edmonton. Archived from the original on 10 November 2009.
  5. ^ "$250,000 Sahara Theatre-Restaurant To Open On Saturday". Edmonton Journal. January 13, 1956. p. 12. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Westmount theatre opening". Edmonton Journal. August 12, 1965. p. 17. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Westmount Cinemas now officially open". Edmonton Journal. March 17, 1972. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "New mall theatres". Edmonton Journal. November 8, 1985. p. E11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Mah, Bill (February 24, 2011). "It's a wrap for Edmonton's Westmount Centre theatres". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on February 27, 2011.
  10. ^ "Cineplex Westmount opening". Edmonton Journal. December 20, 1985. p. D10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c Marck, Paul (March 22, 2000). "Upgrade in store for mall that began it all". Edmonton Journal. p. G1. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Triple Five buying Westmount mall". Edmonton Journal. December 6, 1984. p. E12. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "Spruced-up Westmount opens wide". Edmonton Journal. October 17, 1985. p. D1. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Pierce, Gretchen (March 6, 1985). "'Old' Westmount transformed". Edmonton Journal. p. E1. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Boehm, Bob (April 18, 1993). "Four of six Woodward's will close". Edmonton Journal. p. A1. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Dolphin, Ric (October 21, 1996). "Finding profit in family fun is right up Victor's alley". Edmonton Journal. p. B1. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "2006 Annual Report" (PDF). First Capital Realty. April 13, 2007. Page 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  18. ^ Mah, Bill (April 18, 1993). "Home Depot snugs into mall berth". Edmonton Journal. p. E1. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Zellers Store Liquidation Schedule". Hudson's Bay Company Vendor Partners. October 12, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  20. ^ Chau, Herman (October 22, 2011). "Target announces locations of new Canadian stores". Global News. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Patterson, Craig (July 8, 2021). "Walmart Announces 150,000 SF Supercentre at Kingsway Mall in Edmonton with Westmount Centre Walmart Store to Close as a Result". Retail Insider. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  22. ^ Issawi, Hamdi (October 22, 2022). "New Kingsway Mall Walmart Supercentre replaces Westmount Mall store". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Delaney, Zac (May 23, 2024). "Businesses at Westmount Shopping Centre served end of tenancy notice". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  24. ^ "Future of Westmount Shopping Centre unclear after tenants given 30 day notice". CTV News. May 22, 2024. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
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