MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Mall has officially opened the doors of it’s newly renovated wing.
The space was the former home of Target until the company pulled out of Canada in 2015 closing stores nation-wide.
The new wing is bright with wide hallways and lots of natural light.
“It’s been a massive project, but the one thing we’re really happy with,” said general Manager Richard Okrainec “You can see, just from the outside, it has really modernized the look of the mall, which was fairly dated.”
The new food court boasts 200 more seats than the old one.
New retailers are also opening their doors. Oshkosh B’gosh and Mountain Warehouse were open on Tuesday. Marshalls and HomeSense will open their locations on August 15th. Lingerie company La Vie en Rose will also be opening a store, but they haven’t started construction on their store.
Several of the food court vendors are still finishing construction of their locations and some others will come in closer to September.
The mall said it’s hoped the new businesses will help soften the blow of Sears closing its doors later this year, and provide employment opportunities for the staff affected by the closing.
The Retail Council of Canada says the renovation may very well breath new life into the mall.
In a 2016 report, the council suggested that, in a time when many people are opting to do their shopping online, malls need to renovate, modernize and bring in new retailers to keep relevant.
“I think people want selection, I mean the retail world is an interesting world right now and there’s a lot of competition out there,” said Okrainec. “So, for us, it was more about bringing in some of the things that aren’t here in Medicine Hat.”
There’s still no word on what the mall management companies will look to do with the Sears location once it closes, but Okrainec says it will likely be a couple of years before any other major renovations take place.
In the mean time, with the new wing open construction crews are now blocking off the old food court area which will also be renovated in a very similar fashion and will see a few more retail spaces created.
That part of the project will likely be completed in the summer of 2018.
