Canadian Tire store expanding
Preston Crossing adds pickup centre
The new construction taking place at Preston Crossing will be anchored by a Canadian Tire customer pickup centre.
“We needed more space,” said Preston Crossing Canadian Tire owner Dave Deplaedt. “The only way we could do that was to remove all of our on-site storage.”
The new 18,000-squarefoot centre, located beside Sobeys, will serve as a storage centre and customer pickup service.
“By building beside Sobeys we get to do two things,” Deplaedt said. “One, we get to pull all of that on-site storage out of the (current Canadian Tire) building and dramatically expand our retail footprint.
“And it also gives us this customer service pickup avenue, which is tremendous.”
By removing all of the storage, the current Canadian Tire at Preston Crossing will gain about 17,000 square feet of retail space.
Deplaedt said that will translate into wider aisles, lower counters and more product on the retail floor.
“We will also put in two more washrooms, four more checkouts and bring our shopping carts back in the store.”
And when everything is completed, if you want to buy a large item at Canadian Tire, you can check out the product in the store, pay for it and then you drive over to the pickup centre where you will be able to back into one of the loading bays and the item will be loaded for you, Deplaedt said. The retail side should be completed in mid-April with the warehouse and customer service centre targeted to be finished some time in May or June.
This is part of Phase V of Preston Crossing, which consists of two phases — Phase V East and Phase V West.
Beside the customer service centre, Phase V East will have almost 10,000 square feet available for lease. Mike Barber, ICR’s listing agent for the development, said he expects demand to be strong because it is one of the most desirable areas in the city.
“That site is seen by about 100,000 vehicles a day,” Barber said. “The City of Saskatoon estimates that upwards of 34 million vehicles per year are expected to pass through in view of this development; when it comes to visibility, you can’t argue with those numbers.”
Barber said the remaining space, which should be available for possession by late summer, can be divided to suit businesses as small as 1,500 square feet.
“There aren’t a lot of opportunities for smaller retailers to get out there,” Barber said. As well, there is a 5,200-square-foot stand-alone pad site that could house something like a restaurant or bank.
Phase V West, just west of Old Navy, will consist of 114,000 square feet of space, anticipated to be complete in late 2015 or early 2016.