Торговый центр Kingsway в Эдмонтоне сменил владельца: новым собственником стала компания из Монреаля

Kingsway Mall under new ownership out of Montreal The company said it chose Edmonton as its first Western-Canadian expansion because it has strong long-term potential Kingsway Mall in central-north Edmonton has a new Montreal-based owner. Westcliff Management Ltd. this week announced the 880,000-square-foot shopping centre would be its first acquisition in Western Canada as it looks to expand westward. The company said the mall’s scale, visibility, strong traffic and long-term relevance in Edmonton made it a good choice and similar to other properties it owns, like Les Promenades Gatineau in Quebec. The company said it doesn’t have any major changes planned in the short term for the mall. “Westcliff’s approach is to listen first, understand what makes the property work and make thoughtful decisions that support the long-term customer experience,” the company said. It also said customers and tenants shouldn’t expect any abrupt changes during the transition. Westcliff is a privately owned real estate development and management firm, founded in 1972, that has holdings in shopping centres, offices, industrial, residential, and hospitality. The company said it chose Edmonton as its first Western-Canadian expansion because it has strong long-term potential. “Edmonton also offers the kind of market dynamics that align with Westcliff’s investment approach — a major urban centre, established communities, important institutional anchors and a continued need for accessible, well-managed retail destinations,” Westcliff said. When Kingsway Mall opened in March 1976, the Edmonton Police Service had to dispatch officers to the parking lot in order to manage traffic, which was heavy for blocks around. It originally sported big department stores like Sears and Zellers. Later, when the mall expanded, it added a Hudson’s Bay location as another anchor tenant. All three department store chains no longer operate in Canada, with only Sears still in business with a handful of American locations. While the advent of online retail has changed the dynamics of brick-and-mortar shopping, Kingsway has remained a popular retail hub in central-north Edmonton. Westcliff said the mall is a strong performer financially, with more than 7 million shoppers annually, bringing in $715 per square foot. Today, the mall is the second largest in the city and features 174 stores such as the Walmart Supercenter, HomeSense, Marshalls, Shoppers Drug Mart, Aritizia, Sephora, Lululemon and Browns Shoes. The mall also has an urban rooftop garden with a beehive and more than a hundred planters in support of Edmonton’s Food Bank. The news comes as another major central shopping centre, Edmonton City Centre mall, was recently acquired by an Edmonton-based Westrich Pacific, earlier this month. Bookmark our website and support our journalism:Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.