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North Town Centre

Not to be confused with Northtown Center.
North Town Centre
The west end of North Town Centre in 2021.
Map
LocationEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
Coordinates53°36′03″N 113°29′20″W / 53.60083°N 113.48889°W / 53.60083; -113.48889
Opening dateMay 26, 1976
Previous namesNorth Town Mall (1976–2009)
DeveloperTriple Five Group
ManagementAnthem Properties
OwnerAnthem Properties
No. of stores and servicesOver 31
No. of anchor tenants4[1]
Total retail floor area255,952 square feet (23,778.7 m2)[1][2]
No. of floors2
Public transit accessEdmonton Transit System Bus interchange Northgate Transit Centre
Websitenorthtowncentre.com

North Town Centre is a shopping centre located in the northern part of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[3] Major tenants include Indigo Books and Music, London Drugs, Dollarama, PetSmart, and T&T Supermarket.[4]

History

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In February 1974, Triple Five Group proposed a 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) shopping centre at 137 Avenue between 93 and 97 Street, just north of Northgate Centre.[5] The following month, the City of Edmonton signed an agreement with Triple Five in which the city agreed to sell three acres of land to the developer, that Triple Five pay a 10 percent interest on the land, and that preliminary work could start on the site prior to the land transfer.[6] Preliminary construction work began shortly after but a stop work order was issued due to Triple Five not satisfying the terms of the March agreement which included owning over $1 million in development fees to the city.[6] The city initially denied a 45-day extension requested by Triple Five to pay the fees but was later reduced to 30 days.[7][8] Triple Five faced a potential second stop work order in January 1975 after failing to pay the money owed following the expiration of the extension.[9] Construction resumed in June of that year after financial issues were resolved and that the mall would be a joint venture between Triple Five and Batoni-Bowlen Enterprises.[10]

The mall, then-called North Town Mall, officially opened on May 26, 1976 with Kmart, Beaver Home Centre, Consumers Distributing, IGA, London Drugs, and McDonald's as the major tenants.[11] The mall's second floor, containing medical, dental, and law offices, opened the following month.[11] In 1977, a pedestrian overpass over 137 Avenue was proposed to connect the mall with Northgate Centre.[12] An office addition to the mall was approved in 1979 on the condition the pedway must be connected to it but the latter was not constructed for unknown reasons.[13] On April 1, 1988, the mall was purchased by Toronto-based Northtown Mall Investments and underwent a three-year, $1.5 million renovation that included new exterior canopies and upgrades to the second floor.[14] In August 1994, Kmart closed after moving to a larger location in Northgate Centre.[15]

In May 2006, Anthem Properties purchased the property and in the following year, began a two-year redevelopment that saw North Town converted from an enclosed mall to a power-centre-style mall and expanded to 270,000 sq ft (25,000 m2) with new buildings pads built in its parking lot. Existing tenants such as CIBC, Rogers Plus, Wendy's, and the professional offices on the second floor would remain where they are.[16][17][18] Work on the first phase was completed in April 2008 with opening of the re-built London Drugs store. The mall was also re-branded as North Town Centre to coincide with the project.[18] The mall's redevelopment was completed in the summer of 2009 with the opening of Edmonton's first Bed Bath & Beyond (at the space formerly occupied by Save-On-Foods) in June 2009,[19][20] following by the city's second T&T Supermarket location and an Indigo Books and Music in July 2009.[21][20] In 2023, Bed Bath & Beyond closed after its parent company filed for bankruptcy protection.[22]

Indigo at North Town Centre in 2017, along with PetSmart and the former Party City

Transit

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The Northgate Transit Centre is located on the northeast corner of 137 Avenue and 97 Street in front of the mall.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "North Town Centre – Retail". Anthem Properties. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "North Town Centre – Office". Anthem Properties. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  3. ^ "NEIGHBOURHOOD PROFILE PAGES" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 4, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "North Town Centre Site Plan" (PDF). Anthem Properties. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 22, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "Council, builder haggle over terms". Edmonton Journal. February 9, 1974. p. 58. Retrieved January 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Elliot, Olive (December 11, 1974). "Council, builder haggle over terms". Edmonton Journal. p. 111. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "City denies developer deadline extension". Edmonton Journal. December 18, 1974. p. 3. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Elliot, Olive (December 19, 1974). "Stop-work order lifted as company gains time to pay money owing city". Edmonton Journal. p. 38. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Shopping centre facing second stop-work order". Edmonton Journal. January 23, 1975. p. 38. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Immediate start is planned on mall". Edmonton Journal. June 10, 1975. p. 25. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Mall officially opens this week". Edmonton Journal. May 25, 1976. p. 79. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Overpass proposed to join malls". Edmonton Journal. November 29, 1977. p. B6. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Mall to build addition, pedway over 137 Avenue". Edmonton Journal. February 6, 1979. p. B10. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "North Town Mall advertisement page". Edmonton Journal. September 1, 1991. p. 9. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Hryciuk, Dennis (August 19, 1994). "City stores plan tactics to fight the retail giant". Edmonton Journal. p. B1. Retrieved January 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Anthem News" (PDF). Anthem Properties. Retrieved October 17, 2009.[dead link‍][permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^ Chalmers, Ron (August 15, 2007). "New lease on life for North Town Mall". Edmonton Journal. p. 9. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b "Mall owner launches revamped North Town". Edmonton Journal. April 2, 2008. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
  19. ^ "Retail giant comes to town". Edmonton Journal. June 18, 2009. p. E2. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b Mah, Bill (May 15, 2009). "North Town transformed". Edmonton Journal. p. E1. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Mah, Bill (July 3, 2009). "T&T opens second market". Edmonton Journal. p. E1. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Bed Bath & Beyond Canada going out of business, closing 54 stores". CBC News. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  23. ^ "Northgate Transit Centre". City of Edmonton. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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