A year after Sears Canada closed its anchor space at Saskatoon’s biggest mall, Midtown Plaza, has found a new tenant.
Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) won’t take over the entire 160,000-square-foot space, of course, but it will fill 20,000 square feet and is expected to employ about 50 people once it opens in the spring of 2020. The downtown mall has begun renovating the space.
“Large anchor tenants are not easily secured in mid-sized markets. The Midtown recognized they needed a massive overhaul to make the best use of the hole left by Sears,” noted Kelly Macsymic, sales associate at ICR Commercial Real Estate.
The changes will also include a new food court moving to the second floor while plans for the remainder of the Sears space call for it to be filled with a number of diversified tenants.
The pending arrival of MEC is part of Midtown’s redevelopment that will include a timber canopy over the entrance, full-height curtain wall glazing and a new interior architectural treatment.
“MEC’s new store in the heart of Saskatoon will support our 60,000 existing members in the province and encourage new ones to join the fold,” said MEC CEO David Labistour.
