Reports earlier this year that the Evergreen Shopping Centre in Sooke was on the verge of renewal and expansion seem to have been premature.
However, hope is on the horizon as the mall has been sold to a new owner who says the company is intent on moving to revitalize the property and bring new businesses to Sooke.
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“We closed the deal to buy the property as part of a nine-property deal across Western Canada with Partners REIT at the end of October,” said Gordon Driedger, president of Skyline Retail REIT.
“We’re looking at about a 6,000-square-foot expansion of the Evergreen Shopping Centre that will include retail, restaurants and more.”
Although specific plans have not yet been finalized for the development, Driedger said that his company plans to have the expansion completed by the end of 2019.
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“We’re very excited to own this property and under our ownership, we’re intent upon bringing new business to Sooke and improving the services available to the people of the region,” Driedger said.
The centre, located at 6660 Sooke Rd., suffered devastating fire damage in 2013 in a blaze that resulted in the collapse of the second floor and the destruction of multiple businesses, including the Royal Bank and the offices of the Sooke News Mirror.
In January 2018, the then-owners, Partners REIT, announced they were seeking approval to go ahead with a 7,000-square-foot expansion that would replace the old section of the mall that was destroyed by the fire.
Partners REIT continued to claim that they were moving ahead with their plans for Evergreen and, as late as September, were touting the inclusion of a new Tim Hortons shop as one of the anchor tenants of the mall.
Those claims, however, were drawn into question when the Sooke News Mirror discovered that no plans or applications had been submitted to the municipality for a development permit.
Since the time of the fire, the mall has continued to operate with Western Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart, A&W, and a B.C. Liquor Store acting as the primary businesses at the centre.
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