The blast of power riveting guns outside, and the racket of carpentry here and there on the inside. Stone Road Mall is growing and changing.
Tony Stapley, the mall’s general manager, said work on a major, 43,000 square foot expansion to the southwest end of Guelph’s largest mall had been slightly behind schedule. But with the warm weather, construction crews are catching up. The steel framework is now up.
On the inside of the existing mall, a 25,000 square foot space in the former Home Outfitters location is being readied for a new Marshall’s store, an off-price retailer of apparel and accessories that offers brands from thousands of vendors around the world at discount prices. Stapley said Marshalls should start moving in by May. Forever 21 is also scheduled to move in next to Marshalls.
About 35,000 square feet of the addition is reserved for Sport Chek, which is moving from a current, smaller location of 20,000 square feet, to expanded new digs. That move is expected in July, with opening dates in the fall.
The Bank of Montreal is also moving into the addition, occupying a smaller space than it currently occupies.
“The deal with Marshalls is signed, sealed, and delivered,” said Stapley, describing the new to Guelph retailer as a Winnners-like store. Marshalls, Winners and HomeSense are all owned by American department store chain T.J. Maxx.
Stapley said mall management and shoppers are pleased to have Marshalls joining a mall with over 150 shops and services.
“We’re happy to be able to fill that void for sure,” Stapley said, speaking of the space vacated by Home Outfitters. “It will be good for the community as well. There’s been a lot of good feedback. Women in particular like Winners and Marshalls.”
The construction project is close to being on schedule, Stapley said.
“The weather this week will certainly help,” he said. “The roof-deck is going up, and once it is up then we start putting the exterior studs in. The next step is to get it enclosed, and go from there.”
The roughly $24 million expansion is in two phases, the southwest side being the first. Once the Bank of Montreal moves out if its current space on the north, midpoint of the existing building, the second phase will begin there, Stapley said.
He added that 2015 was a good year for Stone Road Mall. But given the current value of the Canadian dollar, the local retail sector has been “struggling a bit.”
“We seem to be holding our own,” he said.
The Stone Road Mall is managed by Primaris Management for owner H & R Real Estate Investment Trust, which has 162 retail properties across Canada.
