Scarborough Town Centre reveals new look

Scaffolding and construction tape have covered Scarborough Town Centre long enough. It is time to open the curtain and see dramatic changes of the premier shopping destination in East Toronto.

A number of new stores have finally opened following the two-year, $62-million renovation for STC.

Justice, ecko unltd., Zumiez, Eyestar Optical, LOCALE and M for Mendocino had their official grand openings last month. And a list of big name stores are getting ready to join them, including Victoria’s Secret and Aritzia – which are opening in November.

Wordle: New Stores at Scarborough Town CentreWordle: New stores at Scarborough Town Centre

None of the old stores were closed during the renovations to the mall.

“Stores that have closed experienced a natural expiry of their lease,” Jai Lee, Marketing Manager of STC said.

At Ease, Jean Machine and Fruits and Passion are a few stores that had to re-locate to make room for the new additions.

The renovations add 60,000 sq. ft. These additions include a two-story Forever XXI that occupies 27,000 sq. ft. which, in comparison to other stores, is one of the biggest since the entire mall covers 1.4 million sq. ft.

Since the renovation, STC has seen an increase in sales and foot traffic. According to a press release, fashion accessory sales have risen by 20.4 per cent, men’s apparel sales have increased 16.1 per cent and women’s apparel sales are up 2.5 per cent.

Parking has been one of the main concerns regarding the building’s expansion since traffic flow has increased. More parking spots could be needed during the holiday season. According to Lee, STC does not plan to add any more.

“The current STC parking ratio exceeds the city standard,” she said.

The mall also experienced one of the most intrusive construction sites during renovations for customers and stores, with scaffolding scattered throughout the centre.

“The challenge was to sustain a positive shopping experience by producing a good way-finding system and a clean environment for both our shoppers and our retailers on a daily basis,” Lee said.

STC’s face-lift includes new entrances, internal and external landscaping, escalators to replace staircases at the Bay and Sears courts, eight new skylights and an energy-saving daylight sensor.

About this article

By: Jessica Moy
Posted: Oct 5 2011 7:50 am
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