White Oaks Mall

infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = White Oaks Mall


caption =
location = London, Ontario, Canada
opening_date = 1973
developer=
manager = Redcliff Realty Management
owner = CPP Investment Board, Osmington Inc.
number_of_stores = 180
number_of_anchors = 2
floor_area = 697,300 sq ft.
parking = 3,350
floors = 1
website = [http://www.whiteoaksmall.ca/ www.whiteoaksmall.ca]

White Oaks Mall is a major shopping centre in London, Ontario. It is located at the southwest corner of Wellington Road and Bradley Avenue, just north of Highway 401.

History

The property on which the mall is now located was originally occupied by an outdoor plaza, built in 1962. It featured a Sayvette department store and a Loblaws grocery store.

In 1972, the plaza was completely rebuilt to make way for a massive expansion. It became a fully enclosed shopping centre in early 1973, featuring a Woolco department store and about 40 other tenants. The main entrance to the mall included artistic steel sculptures and a massive arch-like gateway, all of which still exist today.

White Oaks was enlarged once again in 1985 and 1988, with an additional 80 new stores and a food court added. This made the mall one of the largest shopping centres in Southwestern Ontario.

In the mid 1990s, lack of parking became such a problem that a nearby office building was demolished to allow for more spaces. In 2005, the mall was sold to the CPP Investment Board and Osmington Inc.

There are 180 stores and services in the mall.

Recent Expansion & New Stores

During 2006, White Oaks expanded by over convert|36000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on. with Swedish retailer H&M opening its first London store. As well, several new retailers including an Applebee's restaurant, Urban Behavior, and an expanded Jacob opened.

In 2007, more retailers including Guess?, Ben Moss, Off The Wall, D-Tox, Lids, Joneve, Freshly Squeezed, Dollarama and Canada's first Aéropostale store opened. A renovation of the interior of the mall also took place in 2007.

2008 will see a number of new stores. [http://www.clairdelune.ca/ Claire de Lune] , The Barber Plus, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and a relocated Siblings and English Butler have opened. Others are under construction or scheduled to open. They include: one of Canada's first Bath & Body Works, aerie, [http://www.lasenzaspirit.com La Senza Spirit] , Mind Games and Town Shoes. As well, there will be a remodeled GAP, Bluenotes, Danier Leather and Stitches.

Anchors & Majors

*The Bay (convert|165000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)
*Wal-Mart (convert|151000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)
*Sport Chek (convert|20000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on)
*H&M (convert|18000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)
*Gap (convert|16000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)
*Jacob (convert|16000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)
*Urban Behavior (convert|15000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)
*Dollarama (convert|12000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)

ee also

*Canada's largest shopping malls