The long-vacant anchor spot at the east end of the Cottonwood Mall will soon be back in business as the fourth Save-On-Foods in Chilliwack.
Nothing official has yet been announced but several employees confirmed to The Progress that staff were informed last week about the new location with a target opening date of 2021.
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| Sears in Chilliwack at the Cottonwood Mall closed its doors for good on Jan. 8, 2018. (Paul Henderson/ The Progress file) |
Securing a tenant for the large empty retail space is good news for all the retail outlets at the mall, which has been without anchors at either end since Sears closed its doors at the west end of the mall on Jan. 8, 2018.
• READ MORE: VIDEO: Sears Chilliwack set to close doors for good
Zellers was in the 90,000-square-foot space until it was taken over by Target in 2013.
But Target’s ill-fated run in Canada lasted a little over a year, and the 19 stores in B.C. closed in 2015. The store remained opened during a long, drawn-out court-supervised liquidation.
Then in May 2015 The Progress reported that the existing Rona on Yale Road was pulling up stakes to move into the spot where Target was located. Rona won a bid to take over the location through an auction process.
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| American-based Target closed all of its Canadian stores in 2015, including the one in Chilliwack which opened in the fall of 2013. Jenna Hauck/ Progress |
But the deal fell through between Rona and the mall’s owner, Morguard Investments Limited.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack Rona not moving to Target location
Since then the unit has sat empty except for temporary use around Oct. 31 each year when retailer Spirit Halloween uses part of the retail space.
Asked about the plans, a media relations employee for Save-On-Foods replied via email on Jan. 24 that the company could not confirm the new store, but suggested the mall’s landlord be contacted.
When asked, general manager Kristal Hambly with Morguard said they, too, were not in a position to yet discuss plans for the old Target space.
See www.theprogress.com for more details as they become available.
@PeeJayAitchpaul.henderson@theprogress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
