New look coming
Owners reconfiguring portion of Sydney Shopping Centre, new tenants expected
The owners of the Sydney Shopping Centre are reconfiguring the former Target section of the building to make way for new tenants, add parking and create a new façade.
Work at the Crombie REIT-owned shopping complex, located on Prince Street, is in full swing with crews currently demolishing a portion of the front of the building.
“The space is quite deep so what we’re doing is we’re demolishing part of the space, putting a new façade on the front, putting additional parking in, and readying for new tenants,” explained Glenn Hynes, Crombie REIT executive vicepresident and chief financial officer.
Hynes said he couldn’t talk publicly about future tenants until they are ready to announce and communicate their plans but he did say positive developments are in the works.
“We are pleased with the progress that we’re making in Sydney,” he said. “There are good leasing discussions underway.”
Crombie REIT has not said how many new tenants may fill the reconfigured space, but there are some leasing opportunities still available.
“There is still some space available if there’s tenants in the market looking for space in our mall, but we’re very satisfied with the progress that we’re making on lease of the vacated Target space,” said Hynes.
In 2013, Target Canada leased a 104,000-square-foot space at the Sydney Shopping Centre from Crombie REIT. However, the retailer shut down across Canada less than two years later, in April 2015. Target later disclaimed its Sydney lease and control of the lease reverted back to Crombie REIT.
Earlier this year, call centre ServiCom announced it was moving from its current home on Kings Road in Sydney River to the Sydney Shopping Centre, occupying approximately 30,000 square feet in the back portion of the former Target space, which is accessed from Inglis Street.
On ServiCom Sydney’s Facebook page last week, the company noted in a post that their move has begun and that they are now accepting applications at their new site. They encouraged job applicants to stop by the new site from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or to send their resume by email to sydneycareers@ servicom-llc.com.
Current tenants of the Sydney Shopping Centre include The Source, Smitty’s, Reitmans, Easy Financial, Feit Physiotherapy, Investors Group, and Shoppers Drug Mart. Sobeys/NSLC are located in a standalone building on the site.
A new 6,000-square foot BMO Bank of Montreal location also opened in a standalone location on the site two months ago.