Bonnie Doon Mall Redevelopment | ?m | ?s

[Droxen]

Hey, it's been sometime since the last post in this thread and there's been some changes in and around the mall. While it's not the redevelopment we've all been hoping for, I think it goes to show Bonnie Doon Mall is actually very alive and well.

Outside the mall, completed some time ago, are the new mall signs:

They also added a new canopy by the north end of the Bonnie Doon LRT Stop, towards the transit plaza:

Something really neat is they realized people will always cut through the trees to get to and from the crosswalk to cross 83 St on the north side of Whyte Ave, so they paved it, which looks a lot better:

They also tore down the BMO sign and put up a small banner and when I asked a worker what they were doing, he didn't know what the plans were but that their job was repairing the wall from the damage left.behind from the sign (there were indents of the BMO sign that was taken down):

Also, they have set up all this construction fencing along the grass strip between the sidewalk/shared-use-path and mall parking lots on the east side all the way from Whyte Ave to the north end of mall property by the library. I asked the guys setting up the fences if they knew what was happening and they said they were taking out the grass and putting in planters, stones, and other landscaping. In my.opinion this will be amazing and so much better than the grass with so many dead patches. They said the fencing will be up for 10-12 weeks so this will certainly be an all-summer thing.

Lastly, and this was built ages before even the new mall signs, is this thing on the north end tucked behind MaKami, that extended the side walk significantly so there's less parking lots to cross going to the library which is nice, and it looks like one of those off-leash dog parks but I've never seen anything advertising it as such, or anyone using it, and so I can't for the life of me figure out what it is:

 

[Droxen]

Moving to inside the mall, there have been lots of changes over time. The biggest ones are as follows:

Artesanal, a store selling South American coffee, apparel, and other stuff, has gone from one bay, to two, to what looks like three. I talked to the woman running the first space they occupied and she said that that space was moving to what was the second space opened, right beside the Administration entrance, and the second space was moving down to the other side of Administration, in what used to be The Source, and the then-empty first space will be renovated for awhile and then opened up again to sell new wares, wood and metal working stuff along with others. I've never seen a mall store occupy multiple separate spaces, but that's just me, so I find it very interesting:

Another store, Night of Artists, that hosts art-walks every year that are essentially an art themed farmer's market that spans the entire length of the mall, has also expanded to a second space:

Across from the custom apparel store there has been a big renovation going on. The mall hallway was done up to cover the interior windows with historical pictures of the mall, and when I finally asked the custom apparel store people if they knew what was happening, they said a sports bar was being built. They described to me the bar/business that was there before but I am too new to the area to know its history, and they said the owner had been wanting to get it open for the playoff run this year, but it turned out that so much work was needed, they ended up doing a complete retrofit, so it's taken a lot longer than expected. There won't be an interior entrance so the one interior entrance that was there has now been turned into an emergency exit, but there is a mall exit/entrance right beside where the bar entrance will be so there won't be any annoying having to go around kind of thing:

Those are the big ones, but I'd also like to point that this antiques store that opened up in what was once the spot for the hydroponic garden towers the mall was running with the aid of volunteers (I was actually the first volunteer that helped it get started. This spot was its second spot as the first was where the first Night of Artists location is, the towers are now in a third location back up towards the north end):

Lastly, there has been the addition of a Spec Savers by the food court, Arts Sewing & Tailoring by the new sports bar entrance (it's actually the second time it is here, they closed the store down last summer I believe, but it is back again). There was a new.addition to the food court for awhile but they are now gone, and even the model train display guys are working on expanding their display with the donations they've gotten from visitors. They even had to build a bigger donation box.

So yeah, lots of stuff, sorry for how long these were. But I feel like all this just goes to show that both the locals and Edmonton in general, and Morguard, haven't forgotten about the Bonnie Doon Mall.

 

[BrettB]

I could be wrong here, but this strikes me as the mall that has done the most to welcome its connection to mass transit. Other malls (WEM, Kingsway, Southgate, Mill Woods) seem to tolerate transit at their doorstep rather than embrace it.

 

[Barnaby]

I could be wrong here, but this strikes me as the mall that has done the most to welcome its connection to mass transit. Other malls (WEM, Kingsway, Southgate, Mill Woods) seem to tolerate transit at their doorstep rather than embrace it.

I think if Kingsway and Southgate were to do it today, it would be different. Views have changed quite a bit since the approval of the Capital South and Metro extension planning was completed.

WEM will have great access to the mall from the new station, and I don't really know how they could have mated it to the property much better without eating up valuable land that will likely be used for future expansion.

I would expect some of the WEM parkades to be converted to retail space and towers once they reach end of life.

 

[David A]

Bonnie Doon seems to be doing much better recently than Westmount, which is also an older mall from a similar era. Perhaps having the new LRT line and also no other larger malls nearby helps.

 

[CplKlinger]

Bonnie Doon seems to be doing much better recently than Westmount, which is also an older mall from a similar era. Perhaps having the new LRT line and also no other larger malls nearby helps.

This is just speculation, but I think the LRT line is the biggest factor. I worked at a store there from around 2018-2022, and it was already a dying mall pre-pandemic. Stores were closing left and right, you hardly saw anyone under 65 there (not a crack against seniors, but it's a sign that they weren't appealing to a broader segment of the population), the mall was hiking fees for stores to compensate, etc. Given the ongoing economic pressures we have right now, I really can't think of what would have changed other than the LRT.

 

[Platinum107]

Bonnie Doon seems to be doing much better recently than Westmount, which is also an older mall from a similar era. Perhaps having the new LRT line and also no other larger malls nearby helps.

Oh 100%. If this article proves anything, it's that Westmount Mall is really dying now and I don't see how it will recover as a nearby resident. There apparently are future "renovations" in the works, but imo, First Capital should sell the site and the whole thing should be redeveloped into a mixed-use district. would be killer with the transit centre and all the amenities nearby.

 

[David A]

This is just speculation, but I think the LRT line is the biggest factor. I worked at a store there from around 2018-2022, and it was already a dying mall pre-pandemic. Stores were closing left and right, you hardly saw anyone under 65 there (not a crack against seniors, but it's a sign that they weren't appealing to a broader segment of the population), the mall was hiking fees for stores to compensate, etc. Given the ongoing economic pressures we have right now, I really can't think of what would have changed other than the LRT.

Probably, but there may have been some turn over in the community too, with younger people and immigrants moving in.

Perhaps the mall owners have also realized the days of having a bunch of chains like the Gap and Old Navy in every mall have ended and have adjusted accordingly.

When I went there some months ago, there seemed to be a number more unique local businesses, some targeted towards specific ethnic communities. Also the local economy has improved since 2020-21 and probably 2018 as well.