The Walleye Magazine

Intercity Shopping Centre

By Richard Mastrangelo

Spanning 40 years and connecting Thunder Bay north and south stands the prominent Intercity Shopping Centre, largest of its kind in Northwestern Ontario. Its development tells the story of how river and road were reshaped to provide access to a rapidly expanding commercial enterprise and economically link Fort William and Port Arthur more closely together.

The land Intercity Shopping Centre now occupies was known first as Lakehead/Intercity Plaza and under Canadian Lakehead Exhibition ownership, who leased lots out over the 1950s to stores like Simpsons-Sears, A&P, and F. W. Woolworth Co. In 1972, Chapples Ltd. leased out most of the land and developed the northernmost section into a strip mall. But by 1975, its popularity had soared, which caused new issues, as Memorial Avenue, Fort William Road, and Isabel Street were ill-equipped to handle the traffic. Ambitious plans were soon crafted to take advantage of and accelerate the growth, despite fears it would be outcompeted by the soon-to-be refurbished Victoriaville Centre Mall.

In 1976, Greater York Holdings bought part of Chapples’ interest, and agreed to both finance road adjustments in 1979 and complete a new “Fairgrounds Mall” the year after. Designed by architectural firm Petroff & Jeruzalski, the mall would connect with the existing Sears store, but in April 1980, Greater York discussed selling its lease interest and dealing directly with competitor Zellers, creating uncertainty. Another complication was the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority’s Neebing-McIntyre floodway diversion: Isabel Street was intended to be completely replaced by a private road, but was eventually moved to follow the new waterway.

Finally, in 1981 the Campeau Corporation of Ottawa took over, negotiated directly to obtain the lease rights, and after more delays were able to finish construction October 20, 1982.

The newly finished $27,000,000 centre of steel and concrete slab was already impressive, covering 200,000 square feet, but expansion was soon pursued. By 1991, plans were drafted to not only furnish a new 130,00-squarefoot, two-floor Sears store at the mall’s north end as an anchor, but also to build or convert new single units of the same size, bringing the total area to 430,000 square feet, with 73 units. Once completed, it would be a regional-scale mall of the dumbbell design, with the two anchors facing each other down through a food court and two twisted rows of smaller retailers following a skylight-lit path. But this was not the end, as there was even talk of reaching across the Harbour Expressway (then Main Street) to create a Sears

Auto Centre.

Unfortunately, a global retail downturn foreshadowed delays and disruption. To make up for losses, Campeau sold 50% of their interest in the mall to Cambridge Leasehold, and delayed construction from 1993 to 1995. But it was already too late: Campeau went bankrupt, and their remaining ownership passed to Ontrea Inc. They and Cambridge would finish the expansion before jointly creating Intercity Shopping Centre Limited as a subletting entity.

Now known as the Intercity Shopping Centre, the mall that arose from a storied (if turbulent) development has stood the test of time, becoming both a local community hub and a resource for the entire Lakehead region.

Richard Mastrangelo is the associate archivist at City of Thunder Bay. For more information on the city’s heritage resources, visit thunderbay.ca.

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2022-05-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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