By Barbara Simpson, from www.theobserver.ca The Observer
A $10-million commercial redevelopment of the London Road Shopping Centre is in the works.
On Wednesday, property owners announced plans to demolish the former Zellers store to make way for four new commercial buildings housing a host of new tenants.
“The problem is we tried to accommodate (tenants) into that (former Zellers) building, but it’s 60 years old and there’s absolutely no way we can accommodate,” said Glenn Dawson, of Tierrasanta Investments, which owns the London Road property. “Everybody today wants new.”
The former Zellers store is expected to be demolished by the end of December. Construction will then start on a 47,000-square foot building to be situated at the front of the property.
Dawson said some of the tenants need to be in the new building in the spring.
Tierrasanta officials are waiting to confirm the exact square footage of the buildings before they announce the list of new tenants. However, Dawson expects an announcement will be made shortly.
News of the redevelopment comes eight months after Zellers shuttered its doors in Sarnia.
“It’s a great to see the rejuvenation of that mall,” said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, pointing to the city’s already high level of vacant commercial space.
George Mallay agreed. “If there’s an opportunity to redevelop the site and it will create new employment and assessment, that’s positive,” said the general manager of the Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership.
Dawson said his group had initially been in talks with Target once the U.S.-based company announced plans to purchase Zellers leases.
“We negotiated for several months, but I knew they weren’t serious about Sarnia,” he said. “There was no way Target was going to come to Sarnia when they have a store in Port Huron.”
Since then, Dawson said the group has been in talks with about 30 different potential tenants. However, cross-border shopping and the city’s population have been challenges in lining up new tenants, he noted.
However, Dawson said investors have found a number of new tenants interested in fresh commercial space.
“We’re trying to get more of a community sense where there will be several buildings,” he said. “It’s nice looking with more green space than what was traditional in the old days where they’d build (a store) in the back.”
As a result of the construction, Jack Doyle’s Irish Grille & Sports Bar announced Wednesday it will stop hosting its Saturday nightclub in the Metro Room effective immediately.
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