- Avalon Mall
The Avalon Mall is the largest
shopping centre in St. John's,Newfoundland and Labrador ,Canada . It offers over 140 stores and services, movie theatres, a children's play area, and the largestfood court in Atlantic Canada. The mall opened in1967 and is owned byCrombie REIT , areal estate investment trust controlled by the Sobey family. The mall had major extensions in 1977, 1987 and 1999.The mall once contained a major local department store,
Ayre and Sons , which declared bankruptcy in 1991; now occupied by The Gap, Scotiabank and a few tenants. Also, Woolco's sales slipped below its mall rent. Such low retail performance has concerned mall management and prompted management to embark on major renovation programs during the 1980s and 1990s. The mall also has a semi-dated/semi-renovated appearance. Despite these problems, the mall still generates sales above the national retail industry average.Anchor tenants include Sears (which opened in fall 2005 in the location previously occupied by Wal-Mart and
Woolco ) andEmpire Theatres . A combinedWinners /HomeSense location opened in spring 2006, replacingSobeys and a few other first-floor merchants. Other notable tenants includeHMV , Gap,Eddie Bauer ,American Eagle ,West 49 ,La Senza andLawtons .The Avalon Mall is considered "The" Mall" in Newfoundland and Labrador and is a popular tourist destination, particularly among residents of the numerous small rural communities in eastern Newfoundland. While there are other malls in St. John's and elsewhere, most are much smaller. Moreover, while consolidation and the rise of the
power centre have meant that many other St. John's malls have approacheddead mall status, the Avalon Mall remains almost fully occupied by retail tenants.The mall also contains underground and ground parkade accessed from O'Leary Avenue. There is a
pedestrian overpass which leads to the mall from the ground parkade on O'Leary Avenue.The Avalon Mall is located at 48
Kenmount Road , at the intersection withThorburn Road and Columbus Drive-Prince Philip Drive, and is the focal point of a large strip of retail outlets, with a nearby power centre which now houses the above-noted Wal-Mart and Sobeys.The mall is currently undergoing some remodeling for a new modern look. One major change is the new Food Court and back entrance, as well as a new Metrobus stop location. The "Hub" area of the mall is being worked on at the present time.
External links and sources
* [http://www.shopavalonmall.com/index.php Official website]
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