08-12-2015, 11:48 PM
I bought appliances from the Sears Home store a few weeks ago, and was surprised to see last weekend that it is yet another large store that will be pulling out of this area and is having a liquidation sale. I also noticed that the foundation for the unfinished building at Sportsworld Crossing is being demolished. This foundation was poured a few years ago and sat since without the steel superstructure framing, likely due to low demand for tenants. Two not so good signs.
As the Region's first big box store area, this area peaked and had its heyday in around 2000. However, as more power centres have sprung up much closer to higher population concentrations since then (i.e. Sunrise Centre, The Boardwalk, BridgeCam Smart Centre, St. Jacobs SmartCentre, Fairway Road box stores, various box stores around Conestoga Mall), this area has clearly fallen behind.
Let's take an inventory of the stores/restaurants that have closed and left for good in the last few years (feel free to add to list if I'm missing anything):
It is interesting to note that the City of Kitchener initially planned for this area to be a major employment area in the late 1980s/early 1990s, but when Price Club (now Costco) came to town, it was considered a big land for the City and blurred the lines between business/industrial uses with it's membership "warehouse" business model. Once Costco went in, it more or less set a precedent for the other box stores with Aikenheads (now Home Depot) and Future Shop's relocation from a small locationn on Fairway Road following shortly after. Perhaps it is time to revert this area back to it's intended use from 30 years ago.
As the Region's first big box store area, this area peaked and had its heyday in around 2000. However, as more power centres have sprung up much closer to higher population concentrations since then (i.e. Sunrise Centre, The Boardwalk, BridgeCam Smart Centre, St. Jacobs SmartCentre, Fairway Road box stores, various box stores around Conestoga Mall), this area has clearly fallen behind.
Let's take an inventory of the stores/restaurants that have closed and left for good in the last few years (feel free to add to list if I'm missing anything):
- Staples
- PetsMart
- Kelseys
- Curry's Art Supplies (moved to The Boardwalk)
- Future Shop (moved to Sunrise Centre at the time)
- Calvin Klein
- Rickis
- Marble Slab Creamery
- Sears Home (to close late summer 2015)
It is interesting to note that the City of Kitchener initially planned for this area to be a major employment area in the late 1980s/early 1990s, but when Price Club (now Costco) came to town, it was considered a big land for the City and blurred the lines between business/industrial uses with it's membership "warehouse" business model. Once Costco went in, it more or less set a precedent for the other box stores with Aikenheads (now Home Depot) and Future Shop's relocation from a small locationn on Fairway Road following shortly after. Perhaps it is time to revert this area back to it's intended use from 30 years ago.