Eglinton Square

Eglinton Square Shopping Centre is an enclosed shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at Eglinton Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue in Scarborough's Golden Mile neighbourhood.[1] It opened in 1953 as a strip plaza and was later converted to mall.[2]

Eglinton Square Shopping Centre
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43.7236°N 79.2996°W / 43.7236; -79.2996
Address1 Eglinton Square
Opening date1953
DeveloperOxford Properties
OwnerKingsett Capital, Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP
No. of stores and services80+
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor area279,000 sq ft (25,900 m2)
No. of floors1
Websiteeglintonsquare.ca
Food Court

The Eglinton Square Shopping Centre is owned by Kingsett Capital and under the management of Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP. It has approximately 279,000 sq ft (25,900 m2) of retail space with over 80 retail outlets.

The shopping centre is slated for major redevelopment, with high density condo buildings as part of the mix.[3]

History

The mall was opened to the public in 1953 in an area once settled by farmland in the 1820s and re-developed as industrial land during World War II along Eglinton Avenue and surrounded by residential homes to the north, south and west sides. Built at the cost 1.6 million$, Eglinton Square was expanded two years later.[2] In 1957, the shopping centre was visited by Queen Elizabeth II.[4]

Up until the early 1960s, Eglinton Square had two Dominion supermarkets, one at each end of the plaza.[5] In the spring 1963, the Dominion at the western end of the shopping centre was torn down to make room for an upcoming two story Morgan's department store of 120,000 square feet.[5][6] Morgan's officially opened on August 22, 1963.[2] It was notable for having a parking garage attached to the shopping centre with room for 573 cars including those parked in the roof of the store.[7] It was the first Morgan's store opened by the Hudson's Bay Company following its acquisition of the chain in 1960.[8] Unlike its two other Morgan's locations at Lawrence Plaza and Cloverdale Mall which were leases, Hudson's Bay Company wholly-owned the store at Eglinton Square.[2] Morgan's eventually became a The Bay store.[9]

In 1964, Eglinton Square was enlarged of 25 stores from the 31 existing ones and essentially became an enclosed shopping mall.[2] In addition, a multi-level parking for 500 cars was to be installed on top of the new extension.[2] To this day, the main shopping centre still has two 1960s style ramps that provide two levels of parking on top of the stores.

The mall's perimeter is being redeveloped for mixed and residential use (condo towers and townhouses) including demolition of existing low rise apartments along Engelhart Crescent.[10][11][12]

  • Mall inside
    Mall inside
  • Founter demolished after the renovation around 2018
    Founter demolished after the renovation around 2018
  • Red telephone box purchase by developer in 1987
    Red telephone box purchase by developer in 1987
  • Dental Centre
    Dental Centre

See also

References
  1. "Eglinton Square". eglintonsquare.ca. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  2. "Eglinton Square To Be Enlarged By 25 Stores". Globe and Mail. Toronto. 22 August 1963. p. 23.
  3. Patterson, Craig (August 24, 2023). "Hudson's Bay Launches Outlet Store Concept".
  4. "Monarch builds on its reputation: Founded in 1917:". National Post. Toronto. 9 June 2001. p. N10.
  5. Wilson, Harold (June 7, 1962). "120,000-Sq.-Ft. Unit Of Morgan's Set In Toronto Suburb". Women's Wear Daily. New York. p. 14.
  6. "120,000-Sq.-Ft. Unit Of Morgan's Set In Toronto Suburb". Women's Wear Daily. New York. August 23, 1963. p. 3.
  7. "Morgan Store Planned for Eglinton Square". Globe and Mail. Toronto. 5 June 1962. p. B1.
  8. "Morgan's push. They'll sell anything". Toronto Star. August 21, 1963.
  9. "Hudson's Bay Closes 2nd-Oldest Suburban Store". RETAIL INSIDER. September 16, 2018.
  10. "Golden Mile Makeover: Another Mixed-Use Proposal for the Crosstown LRT Route | UrbanToronto". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  11. "Preliminary Report 40 Eglinton Square Official Plan Amendment" (PDF).
  12. "Re-Imagining the Golden Mile: From Chain Stores and Parking Lots to a New Massive Mixed-use Community". United Way Greater Toronto. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
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