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 $15 Million reno at Southland Mall

Southland Mall in Regina, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, is getting a $15-million facelift and a new anchor tenant to replace Wal-Mart.

Zellers is taking over the space left vacant when Wal-Mart relocated to the nearby Grasslands commercial development and rebranded as a Wal-Mart Supercentre.

CEO David Fiume of Retrocom Mid-Market REIT, which owns the mall, described the changes to the mall and the addition of Zellers as making Southland "more unified [and] giving it a more modern, contemporary look."

Fiume said the mall will get updated columns, tiling and lighting, in addition to a new entrance on the east side and elevations on the north and south ends of the mall. The food court will also be revamped.

"We are looking for it to create a better experience for shoppers here," Fiume said.

The revitalization process will begin immediately he said, and it will take 18 months to two years to complete.

Construction on the Zellers store, the third in Regina, will begin in the fall.

The Safeway in the mall is also involved in the revitalization process, as it is changing its "lifestyle format."

Todd Leibel, Safeway's Saskatchewan district manager, said a Starbucks and a pharmacy are included.

According to Leibel, construction could start as early as this month and he estimated the makeover and expansion could be done in about 45 days.

New interchange for Saskatoon

The City of Saskatoon is using money it saved from the Circle Drive South project to build an interchange at Preston Avenue and Circle Drive near the University of Saskatchewan.

The interchange is almost identical to the diamond-style flyover at the Clarence Avenue overpass, which cost $14 million.

"There's a lot of anger coming my way and a lot of concern about that intersection being unsafe," said Coun. Bob Pringle.

"Traffic flow, too, has been a real challenge. The volume of traffic is only going to continue to significantly increase as [the Stonebridge subdivision is finished]. So I'm thrilled."

An aggressive construction schedule will mean there will be significant commuter delays in the area for many months.u

Joe Ralko

August, 2010