Shopper’s Drug Mart will move into the new Bower Place mall addition expected to be completed in fall 2019.
The $30-million first-phase redevelopment will see a two-storey addition with a new mall entrance added to the east side, where the now-demolished Target once stood.
Joining Shopper’s on the ground floor will be a number of other retailers. Their names will be released once leases are finalized, said Tony Segaric, a vice-president operations for mall owner QuadReal Property Group.
The second floor of the addition will see a large-format fashion retailer set up shop. Other space is being set aside for offices and services.
In recent weeks, the fencing on the construction side has been extended considerably. That is to allow for grading and paving of the entire east parking lot, said Segaric.
An average of 50 construction workers are expected to be on site during the whole of the year-long build.
Planning is already underway for the second phase of redevelopment, which will involve renovating the former Sears space.
Sears Canada, which first set up a catalogue outlet on Gaetz Avenue and 48th Street in 1960, announced in June 2017 it was pulling out of the city.
It closed its doors three months later as a result of a court-supervised restructuring process that saw 59 stores closed and 2,900 jobs eliminated at the time.
Target’s stay in Red Deer was much shorter. The local outlet closed in spring 2015 after being open only about two years. It was among 133 stores shuttered across Canada when the U.S.-based retailer’s experiment north of the border failed.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
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