Jul. 10, 2025 "Edmontonians ‘not surprised’ as City Centre mall faces uncertainty": Today I found this article on CTV.ca:
With dozens of stores shuttering their doors in City Centre mall over the last few years,
the news of the mall going into receivership does not come as a surprise to many.
“It’s been apparent for some time that the asset owners were really, really stretched and just not in a position to appropriately invest in the property,” said Puneeta McBryan, CEO of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association.
While most shopping centres have struggled to come back from the COVID-19 pandemic,
McBryan says City Centre has been experiencing challenges since well before then.
“Downtown shopping centres in general, let alone one as huge as ours, have been really challenged,” McBryan.
“Suburban shopping centres have really kind of taken over when it comes to where mall shoppers want to be.”
Edmonton City Centre Inc. (ECC) also owns three attached office towers
– TD Tower,
Oxford Tower,
and Centre Point Place
as well as building parkades – amounting to over a total of 1.4 million square feet in
retail
and office space.
As of Monday, auditing and consulting service PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (PwC) is in charge of all the assets formerly held by ECC, according to a court order.
This means PwC can take possession and exercise control over City Centre and what becomes of it.
Typically, a receiver is appointed to take possession of and
sell
or liquidate assets
in order to repay an outstanding debt.
According to court documents, Montreal-based commercial real estate investor Otéra Capital Inc. submitted the application for receivership.
Retail analyst Bruce Winder said e-commerce has also been eroding the need for malls for years now.
“With Amazon, you can order a package and get it in seven hours … with that kind of convenience,
do you really need to go to a mall anymore?”
Winder told CTV News Edmonton.
But for City Centre mall,
COVID-19 was the nail in the coffin.
Many businesses that lease offices in the area have employees working from home either full time or for part of their work week
– this alone has decreased the amount of foot traffic through the mall,
said Winder.
“It’s not enough for a mall to break even
when you have such a lack of volume.”
Since 2020, the homeless population in downtowns across the country have skyrocketed
– and Edmonton is by no means an exception.
“There’s heightened crime downtown,”
said Winder.
“There’s a lot of folks who are homeless downtown
and not enough social programs to go around.”
In 2023, marquee tenant SportChek moved out of the mall,
prompting ECC to highlight the safety issues that were discouraging investment.
Before the sporting goods giant left,
other long-term tenants
Holt Renfrew
and The Bay
kicked the bucket.
The City of Edmonton’s 311 office also moved.
Ted Wright, who works in the nearby Enbridge Centre, said that what’s happening to City Centre mall is a shame.
“It’s a great facility for going to
get something to eat,
go to the movies,”
said Wright.
“But given the change in appetite for online shopping,
it’s not really a surprise.
But still, it’s hard to hear.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nav Sangha.
Aug. 10, 2026 "Edmonton developer acquires City Centre Mall in receivership sale": Today I found this article by Angela Amato on CTV.ca:
A dead zone in Edmonton’s downtown could soon see some action after
Westrich Pacific acquired City Centre Mall in a court-approved receivership sale.
The Edmonton-based developer plans to turn the 1.4-million square-foot area that covers two full city blocks into
a mixed-use redevelopment
that will feature residential units,
retail opportunities,
and even a rooftop Nordic spa.
Westrich Pacific CEO David Sanche called the endeavour
“the most exciting project of our times.”
“Edmonton City Centre has incredible potential,
and we believe its transformation
can play a meaningful role
in the continued revitalization of downtown Edmonton,”
said Sanche in a statement Monday.
The first phase of the redevelopment is expected to include about
1,500 new residential units on the property
that formerly housed the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Early plans also include a completely redesigned exterior,
new street-fronting retail spaces,
and the aforementioned Nordic spa.
Construction is expected to begin early next year,
subject to required approvals.
“Westrich has a proven track record of getting projects built and bringing more people into the heart of the city,” said Mayor Andrew Knack in a statement.
“This investment is a strong signal
that the transformation underway
in downtown Edmonton is real.”
The news comes shortly after it was announced that nearby Paramount Block was purchased in a receivership sale by local developer Gather Co.
“When investors see momentum, they follow,” said Knack.
Edmonton City Centre Inc. went into receivership last summer with PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. taking over its assets as businesses struggled to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Westrich Pacific said the Alberta Court of King’s Bench approved the sale on Aug. 7 with the transaction expected to close before the end of the year.
The property includes TD Tower, Oxford Tower and Centre Point Place as well as building parkades.
My opinion: This sounds good and interesting to build 1500 residential units in downtown.
When the COVID -19 pandemic came, the City Centre mall closed down so many stores that it became a quiet mall.
I mainly go to Shoppers Drug Mart to buy my snacks. I do check out Winners.
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