Old Malls in or Near Calgary

[dirk diggler]

Originally Posted by Ahuch

Poor Eau Claire... So ####ty it doesn't even meet the requirements for this

how do the stores in there survive, even in good times, it was a wasteland.

[Calgary14]

I dont understand how Eau Claire market can be as bad as it actually is. Sure it's a ghost town past 5pm as everyone leaves downtown but why wouldnt it be busy during the day for the right stores? I would think there's a need for some sort of local farmers market or something for daytime shopping. The location itself is prime.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Ahuch

Poor Eau Claire... So ####ty it doesn't even meet the requirements for this

The problem with Eau Claire Market is....Eau Claire Market.

It doesnt know what it is.

Its part Warehouse, part Designer stores, part pubs/restaurants, part market, part movie theatre and on and on.

Its just a giant hodgepodged mess.

It isnt a destination for anything. Its just a thing thats kind of in the way, but hey, at least its there?

[Jiri Hrdina]

Back when Eau Claire opened it was quite popular and busy. But the actual stores were too esoteric and expensive. No one bought anything. It was a cool place to hang out, but not somewhere where you shopped.
So over time they retailers got replaced with medical facilities, businesses and other such things.
It was ill conceived and planned from day 1. Never had a chance.

[Regular_John]

I think part of the problem with Eau Claire is architectural. Pre-COVID I worked just a few blocks away from it and somehow the entire thing inside/out feel uncomfortable.

I’m not sure how exactly they pulled it off but it seems every square foot of the property screams “keep moving, don’t spend time here, no stopping, anytime.”

From the outside there’s really nothing inviting about the building on any side of it, and then once your inside it somehow feels claustrophobic, even standing under the skylights feels somehow cramped.

The lack of businesses doesn’t help… but the design of the building seems about as a warm and vibrant as a Saskatchewan airport.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by Locke

The problem with Eau Claire Market is....Eau Claire Market.

It doesnt know what it is.

Its part Warehouse, part Designer stores, part pubs/restaurants, part market, part movie theatre and on and on.

Its just a giant hodgepodged mess.

It isnt a destination for anything. Its just a thing thats kind of in the way, but hey, at least its there?

I heard that the location was to be redeveloped but is kinda in limbo

[Julio]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

The lack of businesses doesn’t help… but the design of the building seems about as a warm and vibrant as a Saskatchewan airport.

I'd much rather spend a couple hours @ YXE than in Eau Clare.


Which is a shame because back when the whole west side was pubs and such, and the Hard Rock and the Garage were at the north end, it as really hopping.
The retail on the main floor was always a bit of a hodge podge, but some fo that was because they didn't want any 'national' or 'chain' stores there. The movie theatre/Cinescape were pretty cool as well, along with the Imax.


As I recall, when it opened there were some comparisons to Granville Island, and of course there was no way it was going to be anything like that.

[lazypucker]

Eau Claire I think suffers from the Calgary syndrome - it is close by, but not close enough. What I mean is that it is Downtown, but quite a way's away from the major office towers (when they were full). You can't really walk there, have lunch, and walk back to your office within an hour unlike the Core/Eaton Center. No plus-15 linkage kills it for the winter times. Also, their "industrial" look of grey concrete floors and bare ceilings with beams and pipes showing are not helping the aesthetics...

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Back when Eau Claire opened it was quite popular and busy. But the actual stores were too esoteric and expensive. No one bought anything. It was a cool place to hang out, but not somewhere where you shopped.
So over time they retailers got replaced with medical facilities, businesses and other such things.
It was ill conceived and planned from day 1. Never had a chance.

I think the vision was a Calgary version of Grandville Island Market in Vancouver, which has been very successful for various reasons, and who knows if the rents at Granville Island are even at market given that its owned by the federal government.

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

I heard that the location was to be redeveloped but is kinda in limbo

The plan is for a new mixed use project that includes a station for the Green Line LRT if that ever gets built.

[Calgary14]

Actually two really good ideas above - connection to the green line and plus 15 connection. That would mak it busier instantly. And then the stores would follow

No one is walking outside in this weather to go to Eau Claire even for 5 min

[Roughneck]

Eau Claire also has the problem that the residential developments around it are very self-isolated from it. Basically gated condos everywhere and Eau Claire doesn't attract them. I have a friend who lives in a building with pretty much all the amenities he needs in there, so him and his wife never needed to go there, it's like a block away.



The Forks Market in Winnipeg managed to achieve their own "Granville Island in a winter city" so it's not like the concept can't work. But Eau Claire just seemed to have bad luck combined with doing things wrong.

[Regular_John]

I actually don’t know the answer to this, but was Eau Claire market built into a heritage/industrial building or was that a new build back in the day?

I feel like The Forks in the peg was a historical building, which helps add some character Eau Claire is lacking… but it’s possible they just covered up some old masonry.

[RogerWilco]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I actually don’t know the answer to this, but was Eau Claire market built into a heritage/industrial building or was that a new build back in the day?

I feel like The Forks in the peg was a historical building, which helps add some character Eau Claire is lacking… but it’s possible they just covered up some old masonry.

There is nothing historical about Eau Claire market. It was built in the early 90s and was trying to be a trendy market type development like they have in Vancouver or Ottawa. It just didn't really take off here.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by RogerWilco

There is nothing historical about Eau Claire market. It was built in the early 90s and was trying to be a trendy market type development like they have in Vancouver or Ottawa. It just didn't really take off here.

Yeah I found this CBC article the covers much of it.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...plan-1.3464885

It also mentions that the building is positioned poorly for the land, with the open plaza facing north, which means it sits in the shadows of the market.

[Calgary14]

They need to breathe new life into it - sure it wont be the mega project they envisioned a few years ago with multiple condo buildings, and comparisons to Granville Island are laughable but surely it has potential solely because it's so central.

Get foot traffic in there with by offering unique stores/services, get small/micro unique stores in there with no chains. Connect to the P15 and include it with the green line.

It also needs a redo on the exterior. Looks like it's stuck in the 90s

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

It also mentions that the building is positioned poorly for the land, with the open plaza facing north, which means it sits in the shadows of the market.

Bingo. The sunnier south side, which is also the side closest to all of the people, is a parking lot and a blank wall. Surface parking was a massive mistake, especially on that side of the building.

[KTrain]

They need to get a few decent breweries in there. It would be a great spot for some night life again. It was always packed in the late 90s/early 2000s.

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I actually don’t know the answer to this, but was Eau Claire market built into a heritage/industrial building or was that a new build back in the day?

I feel like The Forks in the peg was a historical building, which helps add some character Eau Claire is lacking… but it’s possible they just covered up some old masonry.

They made them keep the old smoke stack from the 1886 Cafe.

It was built on land leased from the City of Calgary but then the owner bought out the ground leases.

In fact Calgary is unique in that some of our office towers are actually constructed on land leased from the City or companies like Manulife.

[Tabaracci_31]

Update: I’m going to do a mall tour this weekend. Can’t wait to scope these places out! Does anyone know any television or streaming executives? “CP Goes to the Mall” has tremendous potential for hilarity. 😉