Bramalea City Centre

[Dan416]

Nice pics.

The new section has been open for a month or so now... I went a couple of weeks back and love it.. It's new, yet fits in nicely with the rest of the mall.. Some of the small finishings were still being done up when I went there but it is impressive to say the least.

Would love to see the Erin Mills Town Centre do something like this..!

Unfortunately with the design of EMTC, I don't think anything short of tearing it down again and starting over again would work. Quite frankly, the design is terrible, full of dead-ends that require you to backtrack to get anywhere. Even after working in that mall for 5 years I still found it hard to find things upstairs.

I mean, there's some good stores at EMTC (H&M, American Eagle, Gap, Guess, Aeropostale, BCBG, Roots) but it's just not a destination mall.

We call it a second rate mall but I think it's the 4th largest in the GTA - right behind STC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_shopping_malls_in_Canada

To me it seems pretty comparable with Farview now that they've both renovated - Farview is smaller though.

You didn't read that list very well ^_^

1. Eaton Centre
2. Square One
3. Yorkdale
4. Scarborough Town Centre
5. Bramalea
6. Vaughan Mills

But you're right. Bramalea is becoming a more important mall now.

 

[TOareaFan]

Referring back to the original post, is it not just outbuildings 4 to 9 that are new? I think the rest have been around a while, no?

 

[ShonTron]

Outbuilding 14 is the new Price Chopper-Freshco that was displaced by the demolished north corridor that once had the A&W, Food City/Price Chopper and Popeyes. Popeyes moved to outbuilding 7, which is two floors and also has a stand-alone Starbucks. Outbuildings 10 and 11 are Peel Health Unit, 12 is the Holiday Inn, and 13 is the Peel Region Headquarters and Peel Police station.

Buildings 3-6 are relatively new - they are the Home Outfitters, the Milestones and the Scotiabank. Buildings 1 and 2 replaced the old external plaza with Brewers Retail and the LCBO. Interestingly, the exterior Tim Horton's (which was conveniently close to the old bus terminal) is not shown.

 

[TOareaFan]

Outbuilding 14 is the new Price Chopper-Freshco that was displaced by the demolished north corridor that once had the A&W, Food City/Price Chopper and Popeyes. Popeyes moved to outbuilding 7, which is two floors and also has a stand-alone Starbucks. Outbuildings 10 and 11 are Peel Health Unit, 12 is the Holiday Inn, and 13 is the Peel Region Headquarters and Peel Police station.

Buildings 3-6 are relatively new - they are the Home Outfitters, the Milestones and the Scotiabank. Buildings 1 and 2 replaced the old external plaza with Brewers Retail and the LCBO. Interestingly, the exterior Tim Horton's (which was conveniently close to the old bus terminal) is not shown.

Thanks.....other than 14 I had them identified right.....I think we just have different "new" thresholds

 

[khris]

I like that the stores come right out to the walkway, rather than setback further. I also like the lights on the poles. That's about it though. The colours are too "creamy" for me.

 

[airplane-dude]

I mean, there's some good stores at EMTC (H&M, American Eagle, Gap, Guess, Aeropostale, BCBG, Roots) but it's just not a destination mall.

I agree. But I think it's the same for Bramalea. As nice has it has become, no one from Toronto or Vaughan will 'make the drive' to go to the mall. The mall is just for Bramptonians. Same with the EMTC. There are over 100,000 people who live in the area of Erin Mills alone. So I think if they spice up the mall a bit, some folks will tend to shy away from the (over crowded) Square One.

 

[TOareaFan]

I agree. But I think it's the same for Bramalea. As nice has it has become, no one from Toronto or Vaughan will 'make the drive' to go to the mall. The mall is just for Bramptonians. Same with the EMTC. There are over 100,000 people who live in the area of Erin Mills alone. So I think if they spice up the mall a bit, some folks will tend to shy away from the (over crowded) Square One.

That is the point I was making earlier....with a population of half a million and only one "nice" mall, BCC can do very well if all it does is convince most Bramptonians that they don't need to go to Square 1/Sherway/Yorkdale for their shopping needs.

 

[airplane-dude]

That is the point I was making earlier....with a population of half a million and only one "nice" mall, BCC can do very well if all it does is convince most Bramptonians that they don't need to go to Square 1/Sherway/Yorkdale for their shopping needs.

Indeed. I think Bramalea is also getting ahead of the wave, so to speak as there are plans for a new mall in Northwest Brampton - near Mississauga Rd and Bovaird.

 

[TOareaFan]

Indeed. I think Bramalea is also getting ahead of the wave, so to speak as there are plans for a new mall in Northwest Brampton - near Mississauga Rd and Bovaird.

Sure...but by the time that is ready for shopping the population in Brampton will exceed 600k and the mall in the NW will be a secondary option and likely a good one for folks in G-Town and places like that...but yes, it never hurts to not be seen as the "aging old mall" when new stuff is coming.....to be honest though, I think the people at Morguard are just maximizing the use of their land and trying to keep current shoppers home.

 

[unimaginative2]

When the very same chain stores appear in a mall that can be seen at a mall on the other side of the city, or in another city or country even, why bother traveling a great distance to shop?

You also have to remember that not all stores are created equal. Bramalea may have an H&M, but that doesn't mean that its store has the same selection as the Square One H&M.

 

[Dan416]

You also have to remember that not all stores are created equal. Bramalea may have an H&M, but that doesn't mean that its store has the same selection as the Square One H&M.

If you look at the Morguard leasing page you'll see the location of the new (full-sized) H&M in the Bramalea expansion. When it'll open is anyone's guess. I assume the old one will close.

The only mall in Canada that has two H&Ms is Rockland. Although Ste-Catherine has two H&Ms within a 5 minute's walk of each other.

 

[ShonTron]

There's, in my opinion, three tiers of regional malls - there's the first tier, which people will often go beyond closer regional malls to go to. Yorkdale, Eaton Centre and even Square One fall into this category.

The second-tier of regional malls are the Scarborough Town Centres, Sherway Gardens, Fairview Malls, etc. Great malls, but not the super-draws that clog parking lots on Saturdays (or subway stations).

Then there's the third tiers - smaller regional malls or ones that are stuggiling. The Woodbines, Erin Mills, Shoppers Worlds.

Rate is something else. BCC, IMO graduated to first-rate second-tier. Erin Mills (which went downhill) is second-rate. Shoppers World (which was at one time the mall with the better reputation in Brampton) is third-rate.

 

[CITY_LOVER]

Interesting point, ShonTron. Here's my rough analysis of malls in the GTA in terms of their appeal, selection of stores, etc. 1st tier malls would be the Eaton Centre, Yorkdale, Square One and Sherway Gardens. 2nd tier would be Bramalea, Scarborough, Markville, Upper Canada, Fairview, Limeridge, Pickering, Oshawa, Erin Mills, and Mapleview centres. Vaughan Mills, despite being a mega outlet mall, is still a regional mall equivalent in my eyes and I would put it as 2nd tier. Then it gets really difficult...I would lump Promenade, Hillcrest and Oakville Place together (nice mini-regional malls)? Bayview Village would be in its own category and the rest are just community (Dufferin, Gerard, Sheridan, etc.) or outlet (Dixie, Shoppers World, etc.) malls.

If I was to advise a visitor on which malls (as in enclosed retail behemoths) to check out to get a diverse shopping experience covering all price ranges (regardless of the fact that malls are not the best places to be in the world), I would say Eaton Centre ('cause it's special and in the downtown), Yorkdale (which I believe is the nicest overall mall in the GTA), Sherway Gardens ('cause it's upscale but not full of "mall-rats" and hence giving it a sort-of refined feel), and, believe it or not, Vaughan Mills ('cause it has stores that can't be found elsewhere and with it largely being a discount mall, it has potential for great finds).

 

[Justin10000]

There's, in my opinion, three tiers of regional malls - there's the first tier, which people will often go beyond closer regional malls to go to. Yorkdale, Eaton Centre and even Square One fall into this category.

The second-tier of regional malls are the Scarborough Town Centres, Sherway Gardens, Fairview Malls, etc. Great malls, but not the super-draws that clog parking lots on Saturdays (or subway stations).

Then there's the third tiers - smaller regional malls or ones that are stuggiling. The Woodbines, Erin Mills, Shoppers Worlds.

Rate is something else. BCC, IMO graduated to first-rate second-tier. Erin Mills (which went downhill) is second-rate. Shoppers World (which was at one time the mall with the better reputation in Brampton) is third-rate.

Is Shopper's World Brampton really struggling that much? I have not been there since I left Brampton, but it always seemed to be a popular mall, even with the bland stores. Shopper's World Albion is always busy on the weekends. I would consider those malls to be 4th tier - local but still attracting large crowds.

BCC is definitely a first-tier mall now. I grew up with the mall, and the mall has improved immensely.

 

[Dan416]

There's, in my opinion, three tiers of regional malls - there's the first tier, which people will often go beyond closer regional malls to go to. Yorkdale, Eaton Centre and even Square One fall into this category.

The second-tier of regional malls are the Scarborough Town Centres, Sherway Gardens, Fairview Malls, etc. Great malls, but not the super-draws that clog parking lots on Saturdays (or subway stations).

Then there's the third tiers - smaller regional malls or ones that are stuggiling. The Woodbines, Erin Mills, Shoppers Worlds.

Rate is something else. BCC, IMO graduated to first-rate second-tier. Erin Mills (which went downhill) is second-rate. Shoppers World (which was at one time the mall with the better reputation in Brampton) is third-rate.

Okay Erin Mills may be bad, but it's not as bad as Shopper's World or Woodbine! It actually has stores! Erin Mills just got an Indigo, Starbucks, LCBO, Swarovski, BCBG. You can't say that about either SW or Woodbine. Erin Mills might not be BUSY. But the stores don't suck. It's got as good a selection of stores as STC or Markville.