Is West Edmonton Mall's Phase One Doomed? - Best Edmonton Mall

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With Sears Canada going out of business, that brings the number of bog-box vacancies in Phase One to 2 out of 3... and with no real attractions to bring crowds to Phase One, is the area of the mall doomed?
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[@creature6153]

I miss Zellers man, that place was the shit.

[@Michael_Billig]

amelia the shittyness made it awesome

[@boatknight2246]

Zellers is a weird thing. Purely Canadian, my mother relied on because she hated Wal mart. When it was gone she had a very hard time going anywhere else. And I bought all my video games there for years. It was the last retail store that had charm. Now theyre all just garbage dumps imo

[@BestEdmontonMall]

As sad as I am about Sears laving, Zellers was a place my family frequented a lot when I was younger... I agree that Zellers was the shit. To hell with Walmart.

[@LakeNipissing]

I bought my Timex analog / digital watch at the Zellers in WEM many years ago, and it still works great today.

[@CDNSpartan]

Zellers was my favourite store. Target was awful never found anything good there it was not a surprise when they announced their closure. Also at the time, HBC sold Zellers it was the only chain making a profit for HBC.

[@LakeNipissing]

In the 1980s, while I was in middle school, I read Eric Wilson's _Code Red At The Supermall._ One of the story locations in the mall was "Luggage Unlimited", and it still remains in Phase One today. I actually like the décor quality of the corridors in Phase One, and it features those retro-70s mall stairways in front of Sears and Zellers/Target. But with Zellers / Target gone, and soon Sears, with The Bay being on shaky ground, it will be interesting indeed to see what the future holds for Phase One.

[@nikkioletwentytwo6739]

I actually really liked the dead zone as a teen. My friends and I would get tired of walking around the crowds on Saturday and phase 1 was a place where no one was where we could still stay in the mall but get some peace and quiet for a few moments away from all the people. Being in that mall can sometimes get overwhelming. I still sometimes go to phase 1 on a busy day to figure out my strategic shopping plan away from the crowds so I can think, especially around the holidays.

[@aidanhammans9337]

Never really noticed the lack of people, but that could be because we only went there if we were using that entrance

[@Amphy2k]

I think that they should go all out. Completely redo phase 1. In fact advertise it as phase 5. Build a whole new resigned mall area then add a permanent residence and business side there to boot. That would spice things up.

[@sportsmaster1364]

Best Edmonton Mall Can you also do a video on the history of Red's (now Ed's Bowling)?

[@taskdon769]

They were IKEA then Red's then Ed's REC then Ed's bowling.

[@pmatheson6345]

@Ttrucker it was an IKEA? woah

[@kirbysuperstaruhh3769]

@@taskdon769 There was an IKEA at west edmonton mall at one point???

[@lukesquire9386]

It’s great having such high quality videos coming from a local. Edmonton’s shit when it comes to you tubers

[@onewhitedude]

Except for me

[@onewhitedude]

Do a history on Flamingo Bay or the Phase III food court

[@astriddelis6101]

Rowan Cunningham yes do flamingo bay!!

[@carmenpatterson7010]

They need fish tanks again, more theaters, more attractions and one more food court

[@MultiLittlegamer]

Keep it up man! You deserve more views! You should host a discord for fun

[@tylerreid2494]

They should add 100 feet to the roof of sears and do bungee and zip lines. More water features in common areas (good energy) and bring back the go cart track!!!. More vibrance means more kids. And the kids seem to be the only ones with disposable $.

[@doanster]

Awesome video. Please do one on the old Eaton Centre and Edmonton Centre in downtown!!

[@edmonton20084]

Bring in a grocery store and Canadian Tire and put a gas station at the SE corner of the property to cultivate a more "day to day" section of the mall geared towards daily essentials. Let them have the space at a deep discount since, as Bonnie Doon shows, dead space in shopping centres tends to rather infectious. One thing I've always wanted to see is seamless freeway access to the Whitemud. That would mean removing the intersections at 87th Avenue and Whitemud Drive to make them both interchanges. Right now, the 87th Avenue intersection is a gong show. Then, install a parking space detection system that shows which rows have free spaces so that fewer cars spend time circling aimlessly looking for a space, something that increases congestion and negativity impacts safety. There. That side of the mall is revitalized. Easy access and day to day needs so it's not just "the tourist mall" anymore.

[@DeeStitcher]

edmonton20084 Canadian tire was in WEM a long long time ago.. it was where T n T shopping is now.

[@edmonton20084]

+Dee Stitcher I know. They should return, this time where Zellers used to be. That location would give them plenty of space for an automotive section. (not that I'd ever use it, haha)

[@tjfraser1838]

Bass pro like in cross iron in Calgary would probably do really well in one of those spots.

[@CrossTrekking]

I'm loving these videos! Phase 1 felt dead even back in 1999, the last time I was there. You mentioned the LRT going all the way to the mall. I heard a rumor that they build an LRT station under the mall that has been left abandoned. Do you know anything about it? If it does exist, will it be the one that is used?

[@MultiCappie]

I think WEM has to go back to grocery for phase one. Metrotown, WEM's nearest like, has a Superstore.

[@ShadowGamer507]

They could put some apartment buildings like mentioned in the video, as well as a grocery store. Everyone living in the apartments, as well as people in the surrounding community, would be going to that grocery store regularly. The apartment residents especially would basically be captive customers haha.

[@ryanbreker9490]

The mall already has a grocery store.

[@uploaded113redone]

T&T isn't exactly the ideal grocery store for non-asian people to buy their groceries

[@brookiedj]

The nearest grocery stores to the mall are at Meadowlark, or Lewis Farms. T&T isn't exactly the best place to shop for non-asian people. WEM could benefit with a Safeway or Superstore in it. Would be interesting to see apartments within the Malls space too!

[@michellehartford4937]

Winner's is down there now...it will FINALLY bring life to that part of the mall that no one even knows exists hahahaha

[@oryday1133]

Phase 1 used to have a cool ball maze thing in the 80s, crowds would watch/follow a ball as it worked itsway down and up the 2 storey cage thing it sat in

[@BestEdmontonMall]

You mean these: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJuTkmRnaqeVhbs ?

[@falloutcosplay8802]

I stayed in a hotel in the centre of Bangkok a few years back at bottom level you could walk around on the street and easily get to your elevator if you went three levels down you would find yourself in a huge complex shops little stores even a food court watching your videos has bought me back to the memories of visiting that enormous underground facility it's definitely nothing like we have over in Australia

[@spyagent]

Incredible! More videos you are the best youtuber!

[@BestEdmontonMall]

At least someone thinks so! Thanks for your kind words!!

[@mahatmarandy5977]

Some of the dying malls down here in Florida have been looking at attaching condos or apartments directly to the malls so the residents have continual access. I think that's a great idea, though they have a lot of concerns about security for both tenants and retailers.

[@icelineman]

I was always excited to go to WEM because we would go to Sears back in the day it was a good store.

[@oddlilpotatoe5040]

ur vids r great im surprised not as much ppl are subbed

[@brentwatier6654]

OddLilPotatoe agreed

[@iLiveExtreme]

Man, I can't believe Sears is shutting down. I remember my mom dragging me along almost everyday to go shopping when I was a kid. Got so many of my clothes as a child from Sears. Lots of memories there.

[@BestEdmontonMall]

It's funny how attached we get to the stores we went to as kids...

[@Keesik.327]

Do more videos on the world waterpark because there is lots of shut down waterslides

[@kevtech733]

There is now 4 tenants in the old Target location. Winners, Home Sense and two other tenants.

[@AlphaRaptor2k6]

Well, a mall(ValleyView Mall) near where I live has lost not one nor two "Anchor Tenants", but with its Sears closing, three dead spaces. It could be said its actually four if you count the former site of Herbergers that moved into another bigger vacant anchor's(Macy's) former location only to close less than a year later(just in time so those advertising it's "Going Out of Business" sale could quickly turn around and be ready to do Sears' sale of bring defunct. This mall also has lost its RadioShack, DEB and DQ/Orange Julius as well. That leaves JCPennys and the Barns & Noble as the only "Big" or Anchor Tenants. This isn't a large Mall by far.

[@pinkmonkeysrock11101]

I miss sears and Zellers. Target was a joke. Phase one has always been dull. Its a great place to park though.

[@celetops]

In my opinion the last time I was there, there was indeed a few spots I notice just went missing or in this case closed down for good. Sears was once a good store to check out from time to time and so was Zellers back then. But thanks to todays modern shopping online and such, its very hard for these stores to keep open and keep selling there merch and products. So now as I came back later on this year, I saw they just replaced Target sector into Winners. Winner is ok in my book, but to me its got things I can easily find some where else to buy for a better price. But at least maybe for the next few years it'll keep things flowing in Phase one as we speak. But for the empty sears maybe in my point of view, if they seek a place for a convention floor wise or perhaps more office space. That's what I would change that spot into, just not another anchor store and such. But if so it would be nice if they moved Toys R Us over there, that should keep it nice and balance and folks to come by and get there games and toys alike. But I think it be wise if they do get this convention floor plan a go, cause it could attract some conventions to some folks who may like hunting expo, car shows, comic book shows. Or perhaps in this case a new home for the Animethon if they seek some new room for the artists, cosplayers and merch sellers as well. In fact it would indeed boost up business and keep Phase one section more alive then ever. So that's my opinion about all this

[@CDNSpartan]

the Sears space now houses a West49 Outlet on the main floor, and a Stiches outlet on the second floor.

[@pathogenicobstacle32]

And target has been filled since.

[@DeeE101]

I like the idea of some of the comments to implement an office space and residential towers in the locations of the vacant anchor stores. Having consumers living within the mall space will create a need for a grocery outlet and also could create more consumer traffic in Phase l. This would also create a need for a grocery outlet that could also be added to phase l. Some of the suites should be made available to low income as well. It would create a diverse population. Parking will also have to be taken into consideration, not everyone will want their car parked where the public can gain access to it, so perhaps an underground parking garage for the residences as well.

[@blondiebrook]

Do a video about what their building under the galaxy orbiter, they took out a ride and something else is being built

[@UStolMyNameGiveItBak]

The idea of demolishing phase one and building apartments/offices is exactly what they've done at Bower Mall in Red Deer. The old Zellers/Target wing (and the entire East wing parking lot) has been demolished and is being developed into a multi story office tower.

[@crazylady02]

Could you do a look at the new phase 1?

[@ChristopherLeeTech]

Put a Walmart and an IKEA there..... BOOM!!!! There used to be an IKEA and Canadian tire at west Ed back in the day.

[@redber16]

Phase I is super chill. It can't all be hectic and touristy. it's the part of the mall where you go to for some easy chill shopping. When I used to work there, it was the best place to park because you just felt away from everything.

[@DeeStitcher]

Jared Andrew agree.. when you have little ones, it’s great place to go and let them run around for a bit rather then being stuck in a stroller.

[@Benjaminaq16]

I really appreciate these videos that reflect on the past, but look more to the future. I like that, which means I like this video. Well done ☺️

[@Bryan-pw1rw]

With Cineplex's Rec Room open in Phase 1 and the retail spaces vacating at an alarming rate its hard to say what they could do. Over the years that places supported 3 Movie theatres at once, two Bays, 2 Full Sized McDonalds but maybe they should look at filling in the parking space between Galaxy Land and Sears and doing an expansion of galaxy land. Only reason I say this is because Most big box retail is going the way side but smaller tenants are still affraid that if an anchor tenant doesnt exist then there is no draw.... funny thing though most people I know couldn't care less about Sears or the Bay.

[@jrus690]

To be fair, it is only dead by the rest of the malls standards, the malls from dead mall series by Dan Bell, would love that traffic level

[@NoCluYT]

Everytime I go to WEM, phase one is so dead. The entire mall can be packed, but phase one is like a ghost town

[@bobbob561]

Quick little fact the silver whale never actually left the mall there is a massive basement where I had have gone to its partially all under the mall. The whale and other attactoins that failed would be moved down there

[@sportsmaster1364]

I've seen, while walking around where Target used to be, that Winners/HomeSense is moving into that area; they're also building a new elevator down there. What would happen to the current Winners, I don't know, but since it's right by the Ice Palace, I can imagine that vacancy won't last long. Couple Winners/HomeSense with that Rec Room entrance, and that half of Phase One might be safe. The area around Sears, though, has been dead for a while now. They already lost Baskin Robbins (which I don't know how it survived for as long as it did), and losing Sears is going to be, potentially, the nail in the coffin for that half of Phase One. What should they do with it? If I were Triple Five Group, I'd see if there's a way to sacrifice that strip of parking separating the Sears space and the Mindbender footprint, and connect the two, to continue to attract traffic around there.

[@BreemSisters]

The Winners location is going to become a Marshalls. So you'll have the TJX trifecta living in the mall.

[@pathogenicobstacle32]

@@BreemSisters But there is already a Marshalls store near the mall.

[@lamalien2276]

They could put some public computer gaming spaces there. Attract pro games watchers, GDQ viewers, and of course players. That's where the culture seems to be shifting.

[@uploaded113redone]

West ed used to have 2 gaming lounges for LAN parties and stuff, They all shut down because everybody has a gaming pc at home nowadays Their lounges were literally empty 90% of the time and it would be even worse nowadays Do you think people are gonna travel all the way to the mall, and pay money just to watch some people stream on twitch

[@PNM_79]

Do a video on Reds. I loved that place

[@DeL-sm8bl]

Can anyone explain how a small city can host such a large mall? In the 80s and 90s the population was probably half what it is now so who shopped here? Or was is supported by tourist or did this city only had a couple malls? If you live there how often would you go?

[@nadinegriffin5252]

I was born in the city bit moved to the country as a young child. WEM was the go-to mall for a much larger draw than just the city itself. My parents had a small clothing and shoe store in our small town and would head into the city to WEM at least once a month to get shoes repaired, and get clothing for their store with the really cool splatter/puff paint that was only available custom-made at a store in WEM. So I spent a fair bit of time as a youngster in the IKEA ballroom and at Fantasyland's kid zone. My parents took advantage of the drop and go ability back then for childcare. I think in the late 70s/early 80s the rust was on to be the new shopping destination. People didn't like to have to go downtown to shop and so the desire from several different investors was to become the destination shopping center. There are older shopping centers outside of downtown (Westmount and Bonnie Soon to name a few), but the desire to be the destination shopping center still prevailed. You can see this in the building of Heritage Mall (2 miles from Southgate) and the creation of WEM. Edmonton has a lot of dead or defunct malls. Some malls saw death beginning in the mid-late 80s and the tumbleweed of store closures continued into the 90s and beyond. So I would saw that no, Edmonton could not support as many malls as they had built. Drivability is a huge factor for choosing a mall to shop at. WEM has always been easy to access because of its proximity to main roads and freeways. For people shopping from outside of the city, it became the go-to location because a lot of people aren't great city drivers but could handle driving to WEM. So WEM has fared better than all the other malls because of the population draw from a larger area than just the city itself. People from the country wouldn't drive into downtown Edmonton or some of the other mall locations because of narrower traffic lanes and more stoplights. I still live in the country where I need to go to the city (or online) to do all clothing shopping for my family. A return day trip (in and out with stops) is at least 12 hours. Many other rural people choose the convenience of WEM over the other malls due to getting to get to as many stores as possible in a limited amount of time. I still live rural and although WEM isn't my first choice for go-to for a shopping mall in Edmonton, it still ends up being my first choice because it is the only mall with an American Girl store (in the Chapters) in Edmonton. My daughter only shopping request for a city trip is AG, so off to WEM we have to go. 🙁 I really miss the WEM of my childhood. I don't enjoy the shopping experience there over the last 20 years.

[@erinepton1136]

They’ve now moved a Winners into the vacancy where target was. I think it’s honestly worse than target was!

[@wc1957]

I thought phase 1 had a car dealership now. At one time I heard it was going to be expanded to hold private residences, is there any truth to that?

[@BestEdmontonMall]

It does, this video is 5 yrs old

[@realm_nathanial]

Winners homesense mega store is moving in in spring I believe

[@emehlhar]

Sad commentary of the times we live in. All malls are in decline as is our whole retail environment. I was lucky to have enjoyed the mall since it opened back in the 80s. Those were golden times. The present and future are bleak.

[@SBN8v]

You should make a video on Playdium!

[@mjparon]

You should check out Dan Bell's Dead Mall series....the best. Your series reminds me a little of his stuff

[@tiffthenerd]

I'd split the old sears put a giant tiger on one level and a no frills on the other.

[@torontofcfantorontofcfan]

I miss the west end Edmonton mall

[@stephenmcilwraith9639]

Add rental towers, a safeway, and a small bar district

[@pathogenicobstacle32]

Stitches and West 49 Outlet will be replacing Sears at West Edmonton Mall

[@jeed.nelson4031]

The only time I go to phase one is walking through it from school

[@kitkatstrats9516]

You’re just a kid nobody cares

[@grandebigy]

I have a bad feeling a auto dealership is going to move in there, like We dont. Have to many dealers already killing the market

[@BestEdmontonMall]

What, you don't think we need another GoAuto dealer? We only have like 20 of them! XD

[@aggregatejeff]

Could you do playduim ?

[@rawaipra2947]

The rec room

[@wakeupscreaming9883]

I think the mall will have to move more towards entertainment venues or something. They are already doing that with the casino. Amazon and online shopping has to be taking a bite out of sales from all retailers. I remember being so excited in the late 80's, visiting the mall, and going to Sam the Record Man, where the Chapters is now. Of course, the entire music industry has turned upside down since then. I think it'll be the same story for retailers and malls. Quite frankly, I don't care about the owners of the mall. Seems like they've made some questionable decisions -- with Bourbon St. and "the whale" statue, etc. It's like they had good ideas in the 80s to draw people in, now they seem empty for ideas.

[@lindsayeekwolknight8715]

I miss zellers it was a nice store

[@kemando12]

west 49 outlet filled the spot, so there ya go. lol

[@thefozzybear]

Marshalls, Winners and Homesense taking over the mall.

[@thanesteinhauer9235]

make another theater like the old ones

[@BBINGHAM032352]

This is a symptom of a much wider economic downturn in the USA which has malls closing everywhere. These large empty spaces in the mall can not remain vacant without consequences for the mall owners.

[@ChadBoughton]

I think it is more to do with modern shopping tastes than the economy (which was way worse in the early 80s in Canada when the mall opened). Developers went crazy in the 70s/80s building malls and now with online shopping and preferences for more boutique type stores in walkable urban centers it only makes sense their numbers are thinning out.

[@jelless]

The reason for the two bays.. The Sears store at West Edmonton Mall was not always Sears. It was Woodward's Department Store.

[@Alpha17x]

There IS Ed's rec room but the mall or Ed's themselves seem to be going out of there way to hide it. It's like the room of requirement from Harry Potter. I also think that the Rec Room is pretty weak and the way they have their games set up discourages repeat play. For example if you're playing the Batman car racing/gunning game and you finish a level, you have to put in more tokens to continue regardless. A lot of their games are configured to 'game over' whether or not you win and players can't truly progress further. Showing extreme ignorance in how the games actually work.

[@boatknight2246]

Alpha17x when it was reds it was kind of awesome. But Arcades died so it died too. The resurgence of adult drinking arcade places are coming back like the rec room. Which is just adult playdium. But Reds which became eds only success was bowling imo.

[@airaero5473]

I hate online shopping. Amazon is so money-hungry

[@matthewchan363]

Nope, they relocated Winners there so people are forced to walk by it lol

[@canadian9173]

winners is moving into target and marshles into winners

[@samanthamonaghan7579]

Expand Galaxyland and put in condos both business and residential

[@supercarmania3267]

There now putting that go kart track in phase 1 and two I asked the official west Edmonton Mall account on Instagram

[@friedanal509]

Phase 1 should be 3 floors and expanded

[@cozzlol]

I actually have a store in phase one. It started to be packed like every other phase now

[@BestEdmontonMall]

Bleachy that's great to hear! Do you only sell bleach or...? 😉

[@pwnedeful]

You know what I would do? Put a giant value village in there

[@brocc865]

West 49 is going into the first level of Sears

[@jarrodrogers6711]

Call me Daddy and now it’s going out of business.

[@uploaded113redone]

except for all the high school kids that walk near the sears/west49 entrances every weekday on their way back from school

[@waylontmccann]

They could take Phase 1 and turn it into an extended campus for Grant Mcewen College, WestEd-NAIT (WAIT?), or some PPSec school. As a former Edmontonian, I could see this approach working there. It's a very successful model for shopping malls here in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Keep up the great work! I love your videos.

[@jelless]

Sears going to a car dealership now.

[@humdrum8366]

The trade centers here so

[@user-hz4mg3jf1e]

Close it and get rid of it...

[@janberdigan3188]

Target is winners and homesense now

[@swigtimefoxy4422]

And then target’s place was taken by winners and homesense.

[@thetuneoflee]

Those are all crappy stores!

[@GOODZ7777]

this was recommended to me after watching a top ten gordon ramsay meltdown video how

[@mjb995]

Might have been a good spot to put the Alberta Museum? To late. Maybe car dealer ships ?

[@stan-el_keke6908]

Could we lose hudsons bay company? It's a big part of Canada it WAS part of the fur trade and I'm visiting west ed soon is This ruining it for me

[@uploaded113redone]

The CEO of Hudson Bay refuses to close any stores, because as soon as you close one store it will create a spiral of failure and your company will be bankrupt in a few years time. They have managed to keep the oldest companies in Canada and U.S.A in business for the past 300 years im sure they will be fine

[@johnwang9914]

Isn't it already owned by the US Lord and Taylor brand... Haven't we already lost it...

[@RobertIsaacRosenzweig]

Build a casino

[@p0tent49]

There is one already, and it's under construction for renovations.

[@nolanwhite9069]

Build a la fitness

[@real_Pinoy]

Target sucked it was worse then Zellers never had enough Inventory not mention it was all overpriced

[@LadyDecember]

I know, right? I feel like Target never really got a chance to flourish here because EVERY single time I went there the shelves and stock space were only 75% full, at most. Considering the floor space each of these Targets had, that's a LOT of missing product to be considered fully operational. I never found a single Target that was fully utilized and then they just pulled the plug after two years without doing anything about it. Target's brief stint here was a disaster for both customer and retailer.

[@p0tent49]

Nope, busier than ever.

[@j.ramsey8863]

Why are stores closing left and right? Why are malls dying? If you feel the residential housing market is getting insane go look at a few ads in your area for commercial properties. $20/sqft in a shithole FOR RENT, you're literally just kissing that money goodbye and for what? The tenant is on the hook for maintenance costs apart from the exterior structure itself. I don't feel sorry for malls and I really don't feel sorry for developers.