Pearson Plaza

Pearson Plaza is the name of a small indoor shopping complex in Elliot Lake, Ontario.[3] Located on the site of a former rock (later Huron Lodge), at Hillside Drive South and Ontario Avenue, it replaces the Algo Centre Mall, which was demolished after a tragic collapse.

Pearson Plaza
LocationElliot Lake, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates46°22′58″N 82°38′44″W[1]
Opening dateSpring 2016
No. of stores and services6
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor areaover 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2)[2]
ParkingGround level

Originally planned to open in fall 2015,[4] the mall's first store, a Foodland grocery store, officially opened on April 1, 2016, and then Turner's department store on December 6, 2016. Dollarama opened in January 2017, the library opened in May and the two-restaurant food court opened in summer 2017 with Chantis Fresh Cafe, owned by Turners Elliot Lake. In May 2018 Chantis was sold and became CC’S Bistro & Café. In May 2019, Turners Department Store and CC's Bistro & Cafe closed and both units now sit empty.[5]

Funding and design

Due to the Algo Centre situation, and the tremendous social and economic impact it had on Elliot Lake as a small city with few other major retail outlets, the project was funded almost entirely by the provincial and federal governments.[6] The Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada each provided $1 million in funding, with the remaining $1.5 million being provided via an amortized loan from Infrastructure Ontario.[6]

Pearson Plaza was originally designed as a single floor complex with a series of big box stores to be anchored by Foodland and Canadian Tire, and the number of retail tenants totaling 20 to 22. It now has been modified to be a grocery store, department store, dollar store, library and small food court.[3][7]

The land purchase for the new mall was completed by developer Ron McCowan in March 2014 but by October construction on the property had not been started.[8]

Naming

The development name Pearson may refer to The Right Honourable Lester Pearson, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former Prime Minister of Canada, who served as the MP for Algoma East, including Elliot Lake, from 1948 to 1968.

See also

References
  1. McSheffrey, Kevin (2013-05-13). "A few stores to be in Pearson Plaza named". Elliot Lake Standard. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  2. McSheffrey, Kevin (2012-09-19). "Elliot Lake's Pearson Plaza Development project growing". Elliot Lake Standard. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  3. "New Elliot Lake mall scheduled for completion by end of 2013". CTV News. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  4. Briggs, David (2012-10-31). "EL council selects Pearson Plaza developer". Elliot Lake Standard. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  5. "Elliot Lake's new mall opens 4 years after fatal mall collapse". CBC News, April 1, 2016.
  6. "Site prep underway for Elliot Lake plaza". Northern Ontario Business, June 13, 2013.
  7. Briggs, David (2012-11-27). "McCowan & Associates update on Pearson Plaza". Elliot Lake Standard. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  8. Friscolanti, Michael (October 13, 2014). "Elliot Lake: Still shopping for a new mall". MacLeans Magazine. Rogers Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
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