J
Josef
Guest
I'd rather go across the street to Fortinos and shop at Joe fresh than visit that dump.
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Woodbine Centre
- Thread starter slickpete83
- Start date
adma
Superstar
It did have Loblaws and Dominion in its early days--but it's interesting how it was the plain old gravitas of Eatons & Simpsons, Eatons & Simpsons, that anchored all those early megamalls, Yorkdale, Fairview, Sherway. Never a Towers, K-Mart, Woolco, or even a Bay or Simpson's-Sears...
Duke-of-East-York
New Member
I don't have any doubts for Sherway Gardens. Sherway was purchased by Cadillac Fairview back in 2000 from Canada Life Insurance Company (who doesn't own a lot of malls comparable to Sherway's caliber). Upon purchasing the mall, CF obviously saw that the mall had potential, and upon acquisition, began re-branding and attracting "destination"/first to market retailers. Shortly after CF acquired Sherway, they sold Woodbine Centre along with its co-owner Ivanhoe Cambridge. As we can clearly see, this was a very strategic swap on CF's behalf! Last time I checked, Sherway had sales per square foot at around $930 - this is not too far off from Yorkdale's $1000+ sales per square foot (the highest in Canada). I don't even want to know what Woodbine Centre's sales per square foot figure is at these days...
Also, just look at all the big-name film shoots that have happened at Sherway too (The Sentinel, Mean Girls...even the classic 90's tv show Animorphs! haha) - the mall does have a very suburban American feel.
Also, as far as Erin Mills goes, CF still owns all the land surrounding the mall, which is great for outparcel "pad" retail units. I eventually see something very similar happening to this land as what was/is seen at Scarborough Town Centre (ie. the Loblaw Superstore, Spence Diamonds, etc.).
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sam1025
New Member
I went to Woodbine Centre last week....it was gross! That mall is dying a slow death........ Why would anyone in there right mind shop there ! Most of the stores there are flea market-ish.... Well I guess the managment is desperate to fill spots, so they will lease out to any one!
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
Sherway has very few mallrats - and no wonder, given how out of the way the mall is and demographics within a half hour or so of travel. For the most part, the people there are there to shop. Hordes of people at Yorkdale or STC are there to stroll or be seen and socialize and leave without buying anything other than some fries or maybe a DVD on sale. A large family can go to the Wal*Mart at STC (or even the Sears at Yorkdale) and drag a whole van-full of stuff out to the parking lot but one housewife can go into Sherway and take goods worth twice as much out in a small bag or two...or maybe there's just 1/3 as many mallrats at Sherway but they have three times as much disposable income.
syn
Senior Member
Has it really become that bad? I remember as a kid it was quite a destination with the Fantasy Fair. That's still running isn't it?
DavidJamesTO
Active Member
That's all that's running, and by all accounts on a shoestring.
MadMax
Active Member
The first time I ever went to see a movie without my parents was at Woodbine Center....I was 12 years old. I remember it was so exciting, brand new mall, fantasy fair, everybody said it was the newest and best mall in all of canada. I watched La Bamba, and then me and my buddies snuck in to see a surfing movie called North Shore. I'll never forget it....it's a shame what has happened not only to this mall but the entire area including Malton and Northern Etobicoke.
Rob
New Member
Woodbine Center and Westwood Mall
I hadn't been to Woodbine Center for close to ten years but having seen this thread I decided to stop by when I was in Rexdale this afternoon.
It is a lot quieter there than I remember it. The food court was moderately busy at the peak of the dinner hour. The lighting set-up around the large skylight in the food court had more light bulbs out than working. The washroom was gross.
Zellers seemed slow and The Bay was almost empty. The top level of The Bay has been converted into what appears to be a clearance center for a lot of furniture and beds. There are dozens of ceiling tiles that have collapsed because of a leaky roof and many more that have the brown staining that suggest water damage. They appear to be doing some roofing on the east side of the Sears as the asphalt gizmo was sitting there when I passed by. It would appear that The Bay needs roofing work very soon also. The bottom level of The Bay store isn't as full of merchandise as the one at Sherway is and it looks like they are in a decline based on this and the almost customer-less furniture center upstairs. Amusingly they were playing "One" by the Bee Gees in the cosmetic area, an obscure song from the mid 80's and that combined with the store itself made me think we were stuck in that era.
Fantasy Fair was really slow as well. Many of the rides were running with only a small number of riders. It's amazing that they maintain this although maybe they have no idea what else to put in there so they just leave it hoping it draws some customers into the mall?
As far as the shopping concourse there were several vacancies. I noted at least two right near the entrance to The Bay on the upstairs level. There are still some chain stores there. A SportChek is located sort of below the Fantasy Fair on the bottom level and there are a few other smaller stores I saw, such as EB Games.
Overall though the visit was kind of sad since I remember this place being a lot busier and current than it is today.
But then I decided to head over to the Westwood Mall in Malton and check that out since I hadn't been there in years either. I wanted to see the modified bus loop as they have erected some sort of building there for the staff. There seems to be more bus traffic in and out of there now than ever and they have, at some point, installed traffic signals for buses exiting the east driveway. Cars also use this entrance enroute to the north side parking lot which seems to make the whole area an accident waiting to happen.
There was a parking lot amusement set-up with a ferris wheel and a poor mans Gravitron, among other things. Many of these were lit up and running but no passengers were on board although the cold weather and rain likely partly explains that.
Inside Westwood the Food Basics was insanely busy and the rest of the mall (except for the CIBC and Canada Trust) had only light traffic. This mall always had that old mall smell and it still does and that combined with a totally unappealing array of flea-marketish stores (like the "Smokes & Pets" store) makes it a pretty morbid and dull place. Somehow the Reitmans is still going as is a Sooter's Photography and the Home Hardware beside the Food Basics. The Carleton Cards store has been changed into a clearance center for plates with the walls still reminding you of the card store that was once there. The restaurant at the south end has been closed up and converted to an area rug place. The green tile floor from the restaurant remains telling an observant person that something else must have been there at one time. The Price Chopper has been closed up at the south end as well. The Shoppers Drug Mart still hasn't received the new look and the huge block letters remain on the sign in the mall and the older style store layout inside remains.
The Food Court was as dumpy as I always remembered it and I didn't have the stomach to check out the adjoining washroom which was always more of a latrine than anything else. There are no restaurants in the Food Court of any recognizable name and they all appeared to be Indian restaurants.
Interestingly though they seem to have a project underway to upgrade/update the facade on the west side facing Goreway. The former two-story Zellers piece has had a new face put on it and there is some furniture clearance joint in that spot now. The ceiling is quite high which would seem to suggest that they just converted this higher section that was two levels in the Zellers days into one. There is a large architectural drawing posted in the mall showing the new elevations on the west side. The east side of the mall is quite rough looking despite the coat of white paint on everything.
I always figured that Woodbine Center may have crippled Westwood but it now appears that Woodbine is on the way down too. Westwood would seem to have a future being a large transit terminal and also a community area for many of the East Indian people in the Malton area to shop and visit. I have no memories of Westwood pre-mid 90's and wonder if it ever was full of trendy stores back in the '70's? Zellers was there until early 1998 and even then there wasn't much in there.
I hadn't been to Woodbine Center for close to ten years but having seen this thread I decided to stop by when I was in Rexdale this afternoon.
It is a lot quieter there than I remember it. The food court was moderately busy at the peak of the dinner hour. The lighting set-up around the large skylight in the food court had more light bulbs out than working. The washroom was gross.
Zellers seemed slow and The Bay was almost empty. The top level of The Bay has been converted into what appears to be a clearance center for a lot of furniture and beds. There are dozens of ceiling tiles that have collapsed because of a leaky roof and many more that have the brown staining that suggest water damage. They appear to be doing some roofing on the east side of the Sears as the asphalt gizmo was sitting there when I passed by. It would appear that The Bay needs roofing work very soon also. The bottom level of The Bay store isn't as full of merchandise as the one at Sherway is and it looks like they are in a decline based on this and the almost customer-less furniture center upstairs. Amusingly they were playing "One" by the Bee Gees in the cosmetic area, an obscure song from the mid 80's and that combined with the store itself made me think we were stuck in that era.
Fantasy Fair was really slow as well. Many of the rides were running with only a small number of riders. It's amazing that they maintain this although maybe they have no idea what else to put in there so they just leave it hoping it draws some customers into the mall?
As far as the shopping concourse there were several vacancies. I noted at least two right near the entrance to The Bay on the upstairs level. There are still some chain stores there. A SportChek is located sort of below the Fantasy Fair on the bottom level and there are a few other smaller stores I saw, such as EB Games.
Overall though the visit was kind of sad since I remember this place being a lot busier and current than it is today.
But then I decided to head over to the Westwood Mall in Malton and check that out since I hadn't been there in years either. I wanted to see the modified bus loop as they have erected some sort of building there for the staff. There seems to be more bus traffic in and out of there now than ever and they have, at some point, installed traffic signals for buses exiting the east driveway. Cars also use this entrance enroute to the north side parking lot which seems to make the whole area an accident waiting to happen.
There was a parking lot amusement set-up with a ferris wheel and a poor mans Gravitron, among other things. Many of these were lit up and running but no passengers were on board although the cold weather and rain likely partly explains that.
Inside Westwood the Food Basics was insanely busy and the rest of the mall (except for the CIBC and Canada Trust) had only light traffic. This mall always had that old mall smell and it still does and that combined with a totally unappealing array of flea-marketish stores (like the "Smokes & Pets" store) makes it a pretty morbid and dull place. Somehow the Reitmans is still going as is a Sooter's Photography and the Home Hardware beside the Food Basics. The Carleton Cards store has been changed into a clearance center for plates with the walls still reminding you of the card store that was once there. The restaurant at the south end has been closed up and converted to an area rug place. The green tile floor from the restaurant remains telling an observant person that something else must have been there at one time. The Price Chopper has been closed up at the south end as well. The Shoppers Drug Mart still hasn't received the new look and the huge block letters remain on the sign in the mall and the older style store layout inside remains.
The Food Court was as dumpy as I always remembered it and I didn't have the stomach to check out the adjoining washroom which was always more of a latrine than anything else. There are no restaurants in the Food Court of any recognizable name and they all appeared to be Indian restaurants.
Interestingly though they seem to have a project underway to upgrade/update the facade on the west side facing Goreway. The former two-story Zellers piece has had a new face put on it and there is some furniture clearance joint in that spot now. The ceiling is quite high which would seem to suggest that they just converted this higher section that was two levels in the Zellers days into one. There is a large architectural drawing posted in the mall showing the new elevations on the west side. The east side of the mall is quite rough looking despite the coat of white paint on everything.
I always figured that Woodbine Center may have crippled Westwood but it now appears that Woodbine is on the way down too. Westwood would seem to have a future being a large transit terminal and also a community area for many of the East Indian people in the Malton area to shop and visit. I have no memories of Westwood pre-mid 90's and wonder if it ever was full of trendy stores back in the '70's? Zellers was there until early 1998 and even then there wasn't much in there.
adma
Superstar
JasonParis
Moderator
Yes, that Zellers was a Towers at Westwood. For the record, the Food Basics was a Miracle Mart and the (former) Price Chopper was a Food City. I have many, many memories of Westwood, but haven't been in over 10 years.
Woodbine would have certainly affected Westwood, but Westwood was always more neighbourhoody in scope while Woodbine hopped to bring Rexdale into the big leagues. Perhaps that's also why, despite its issues, Westwood will win in the end.
Woodbine would have certainly affected Westwood, but Westwood was always more neighbourhoody in scope while Woodbine hopped to bring Rexdale into the big leagues. Perhaps that's also why, despite its issues, Westwood will win in the end.
adma
Superstar
Towers, Food City, and Miracle Mart. I rest my case. Totally 70s polyester
MindMe
New Member
I too hadn't been to Woodbine in about 10 years. I seem to recall there being some upmarket places like Club Monaco, the Gap, etc. Now there's not even a Starbucks or Second Cup to be found there. Geez. It's a great place if you want to buy a lion lawn statue or elephant tapestry.
Any clue why Woodbine really slid towards dead mall status?
Any clue why Woodbine really slid towards dead mall status?
JasonParis
Moderator
The obvious answer would be that Rexdale/Malton aren't very monied nabes, but I think there's a lot more to it than that. Likely a combination of things including mall management, location (should have been built at Woodbine Racetrack), marketing, bad luck and the fact that once you've seen Fantasy Fair and realize how crappy it is, there's little else the mall offers that you can't get anywhere else. It also hasn't adapted to the "power centre" age and looks the same as the day it opened. Horrible transit conenctions (as far as Toronto goes) could be another factor.
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W. K. Lis
Superstar
Interesting bit of that remark about the racetrack. Dufferin Mall was built originally as an strip shopping centre over the grounds of the old Dufferin Racetrack. Dufferin Mall is busy because of its location: Dufferin bus stops and Dufferin subway station.
Of course, the homes surrounding it helps it. Not like Woodbine Centre, which is surrounded by a parking lot and highways.