405 replies to this topic

[VicDuck]

I voted for the Bay Centre for one reason-it's location, and since I don't own a vehicle getting to any of the other malls is a big hassle.

Yes cause taking the bus is such a big hassle.

[VicHockeyFan]

Hmm...McKenzie might qualify technically as a mall seeing as it has a barber and Quiznos. And yes, the lower case letters give it authentic retro-coolness points. But it has about the same chance of winning this competition as would Tracy in the "most musically talented member of the Partridge Family" contest.

Let it in, it also has Curves and an Oxford Learning Centre. If you don't let it in, kids might fail school, and women will become/remain obese. That's up there with killing kittens.

[concorde]

Bay Centre loses points for the failed fourth floor that was supposed to be a circular promenade of boutique retailers so now the food court is orphaned

As a sidenote, the owners of the Bay Centre are in the process of redeveloping the fourth floor. The first phase is installing 3 huge skylight windows on the Fort St and View St sides (you may have noticed the scaffold). Once that is done they should be starting complete renos to the vacant space on the 4th floor for office space.

They could never make the boutique retailer concept work or find tenants to pay their rents.

[Phil McAvity]

Let it in, it also has Curves and an Oxford Learning Centre. If you don't let it in, kids might fail school, and women will become/remain obese. That's up there with killing kittens.

What difference does it make if McKenzie Mall makes it on the list or not? Paris Hilton has a better chance of becoming president of mensa than it has of being ranked best mall.

[Holden West]

They could never make the boutique retailer concept work or find tenants to pay their rents.

But what baffles me is why they let thousands of square feet of retail lay dormant--much of it untouched since construction ended 20 years ago--for so many years. Why didn't they lower the rents to true market value?

[pseudotsuga]

awesome photos phx.

I vote Bay Centre.
Its the only one where I actually go into the 'mall' section regularly.
Hillside is just Bolen and Thrifty's, Tillicum is just Silver City...and the others I avoid.

Might need an island mall thread. The malls of Gold River and Port Hardy are true gems, and Nanaimo of course might need its own thread as well.

[Holden West]

There has been a delay in the IOME evaluation. The delegation flew out from The Hague but were ill-advisedly put up in the Number 5 Orange Hotel in Vancouver during a stopover in Vancouver. While there, they met up with some IOME counterparts from St. Louis, MO and Lausanne, Switzerland who were in Vancouver for a convention. Long story short, they've been out of communication for a couple of days.

[mat]

awesome photos phx.

I vote Bay Centre.
Its the only one where I actually go into the 'mall' section regularly.
Hillside is just Bolen and Thrifty's, Tillicum is just Silver City...and the others I avoid.

Might need an island mall thread. The malls of Gold River and Port Hardy are true gems, and Nanaimo of course might need its own thread as well.

What! Not Zellers?

As to island mall threads - VV is about Victoria (CRD), let's stick to local. The 20 mile discussion board.

[Phil McAvity]

^Ah but the thread starter Holden West said, "Superlative Vancouver shopping malls may be discussed."

Now what?

I'm glad to see common sense prevail with the Bay Centre taking a slight lead. Even if you can't get what you want at the Bay Centre (and you probably can) almost anything you can think of is within a 10 minute walk. Try that at Mayfair or Hillside. Location Location Location!

I'm sorry to hear about the IOME delegates getting sidetracked by beer and titties, that's certainly nothing I can relate to.

[Bob Fugger]

I'm sorry to hear about the IOME delegates getting sidetracked by beer and titties, that's certainly nothing I can relate to.

Do we have a B&T thread on VV? I suppose not, it would consist of a half dozen posts about how Monty's and the Red Lion Inn have wilted considerably since their heyday. Apparently, the talent that used to be relegated to the Tuesday afternoon shift now passes for a Friday night headlining act!

[Ginger Snap]

I voted for the Bay Centre, although Hillside is a close second for me. Mayfair... nuh-uh. I am not crazy about malls to begin with, and that mall embodies everything that is wrong with mallville. I actually like University Heights for some demented reason. Well, not enough to actually shop or go there, and I avoid Home Depoo like the plague, but for some reason it reminds me of a small town mall, as in Melfort, Saskatchewan kind of small.

It would be nice if one of the malls had an interior courtyard - I can't think of any that do...?

[Holden West]

I can almost guarantee that University Heights will not get a single vote. Worst. Mall. Ever.

Congratulations, you win a prize.

The two brothers from Hong Kong that own it do not give a flying fornicate about the place, and even less about being a community partner.

Despite having strong anchors in a Home Depot, Safeway and a triple-screen theatre, the mall seems weak. The upper floor is given away to shopping-unfriendly uses like a fitness studio. Many of the more potentially vibrant retailers are exiled to the outside, like the banks, Eugene's and the liquor store.

Relocating the public library branch nearby to the mall's upper floor would be an interesting way of adding some vitality.

[jklymak]

^ Do you hate the library for some reason?

[Holden West]

^Don't you think that would benefit the library (assuming they would have access to more space)?

[weirdie]

University Heights has a sister mall in Canwest these days. I hadn't been there for a while until last week and a ton of the retail space is empty.

[Bob Fugger]

University Heights has a sister mall in Canwest these days. I hadn't been there for a while until last week and a ton of the retail space is empty.

I thought Canwest we rebranded and Westshore Town Centre and then someone went all Pimp My Mall on it? I think they saw the writing on the wall with all the bog boxes / power centres, so it was do or die. I think that it's a RioCan property.

[Holden West]

This new fitness facility will help the Bay Centre. I don't think there's a decent public gym right in the downtown core.

The top floor of the downtown Bay Centre will become a hive of physical activity when Goodlife Fitness opens its second location in the renovated area next year.

Ontario-based Goodlife arrived in Victoria in July when it became the new tenant in 100-655 Tyee Rd. in Vic West, moving in after Bala Fitness and Lifestyle Club suddenly closed its doors.

Goodlife takes over the fourth-floor space on March 1 and will open its new gym by the summer of 2010, Darlene Hollstein, Bay Centre manager, said yesterday.

The arrival of a tenant for 19,913 square feet on the fourth level of the Bay Centre is a major accomplishment in the building, which has struggled for two decades to fill the level.

A food court and the local federal Passport office are already based on the fourth floor.

At the very least, they should be commended for putting glass in place of that dated faux-copper metal roof.

Meanwhile, here's a great photo essay of dead malls. The third photo is a dead ringer for University Heights.

[aastra]

Silly question, but if the fitness club is on the top floor, then won't that mean its hours of operation will be very limited?

[Holden West]

I think you can access the top floor off hours with permission. Or you used to be able to.

[concorde]

This new fitness facility will help the Bay Centre. I don't think there's a decent public gym right in the downtown core.



At the very least, they should be commended for putting glass in place of that dated faux-copper metal roof.

Meanwhile, here's a great photo essay of dead malls. The third photo is a dead ringer for University Heights.

The gym will have to do a lot of business to pay for the $64,700 a month in rent. Good luck to them, but the numbers don't add up to me.