Large retailers Marshalls and Sunterra Market will be opening in Red Deer’s Bower Place mall.
General manager Sonya Hunt sees this as a vote of confidence in Red Deer and its economic recovery.
“It’s a very exciting, positive thing,” says Hunt, who considers this city “an amazing community, an excellent place to live and do business.”
Marshalls is owned by TJX Companies, the American chain that owns Winners and HomeSense. It will be opening Oct. 1 and is already taking job applications.
Hunt says she’s pleased to welcome the off-price department store for fashion and housewares into 25,000 square feet on the new second floor of the mall. This area is currently under construction at the former site of Target.
Early in 2020, Sunterra Market is expected to open in renovated space across from Tommy Gun’s barbershop in the southeast of the mall.
Hunt says the “grassroots gourmet” grocery chain is Alberta owned with a “state-of-the-art bakery” and focus on wholesome foods.
With stores in Calgary and Edmonton, Sunterra is eager to have a presence in Red Deer, she adds, noting the new grocery will have a tent at Saturday’s 8 to 11 a.m. Westerner Days pancake breakfast being held in the parking lot of Bower Place mall.
Among the other changes expected this fall is the Shoppers Drug Mart relocation to a larger space on the main floor of the new portion of the mall, below Marshalls.
Hunt says the drug store will reopen with a new beauty boutique and other expanded products by mid-September.
Meanwhile, a major east-side mall entrance is under construction and should be ready for back-to-school shoppers next month.
The new doors will create easier access to the mall and make parking on the east side more “viable,” Hunt adds.
She expects to confirm other new retailers in the months to come.
The second phase of mall construction to transform the former Sears store into multiple retail spaces is expected to begin in 2020.
In the meantime, Hunt believes this space could be used for another Christmastime market.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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