Bramalea City Centre facts for kids
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| Location | Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
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| Coordinates | 43°43′00″N 79°43′26″W / 43.716589°N 79.723921°W |
| Opening date | March 28, 1973 |
| Developer | Bramalea Limited |
| Management | Morguard Investments Limited |
| Owner | Morguard Investments Limited |
| No. of stores and services | 300+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 85 acres (0.34 km2; 0.133 sq mi) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 6385 |
| Public transit access | Bramalea Terminal |
The Bramalea City Centre is a very large shopping mall located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It has over 1.5 million square feet of shops and more than 300 stores. This makes it one of Canada's largest shopping malls. Many people visit the mall, about 16 million every year! It is located near Queen Street and Dixie Road, close to Highway 410.
Contents
History of Bramalea City Centre
How the Mall Was Planned
Back in the 1960s, people who planned the area decided to build a big shopping center. They had a master plan for new homes, factories, parks, and a main shopping area. An 85-acre piece of land in the middle of Bramalea was chosen for the mall. A company called Bramalea Limited, which had been building much of Bramalea since the late 1950s, started building the mall. At the time, it was one of the biggest shopping projects in North America.
Building the Mall
The first part of the mall, called the "service centre," was finished by 1971. It was about 75,000 square feet and had a grocery store, a liquor store, and other small shops.
The second part added a lot more space, about 600,000 square feet. This included a two-level Eaton's department store, which opened in October 1971. There was also a main hallway with shops that led to another big store, which later became The Bay. Another store, Steinberg's, had a large department store called Miracle Mart and a grocery store called Miracle Food Mart.
Grand Opening and Early Years
The whole mall was finished in 1973. The area around it was growing very fast with many new people moving in. The Bramalea City Centre officially opened its doors on March 28, 1973. This was just four years after Brampton's first mall, Shoppers World Brampton, opened.
When it first opened, Bramalea City Centre had 160 stores. It had all kinds of shops, big department stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and even a hardware store and a movie theater. A building for local government offices and a library were also built nearby.
Changes and Growth
Even though Bramalea became part of the city of Brampton in 1974, the mall kept its original name. The mall continued to grow in the 1980s and 1990s. A new part was added for the Sears store, and a new bus terminal was built in 1991. A hotel and other office buildings were also built near the mall, but they were not directly connected.
In the early 1990s, the company that owned the mall, Bramalea Limited, faced money problems. They had to sell many of their properties. Eventually, the company went out of business in 1995. The Toronto-Dominion Bank took over ownership of the mall. Later, in 1997, another company called Gentra Inc. bought the mall. Since 2002, the mall has been owned by Morguard Corporation and another investor.
Modern Renovations and Expansion
In 2004, the mall had a big makeover that cost $165 million. They improved all the common areas, like hallways and seating areas. Most of this work was done at night while the mall was closed. Some smaller stores were replaced with bigger ones like Old Navy, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Best Buy. More updates were done in 2005 and 2006, including the food court and escalators.
Another large expansion project opened in September 2010. It added a huge underground parking area and 325,000 square feet of new shops on two levels. It also created a new main entrance at the northwest corner of the property.
Past Stores and Transit
Over the years, Bramalea City Centre has been home to many well-known stores that are no longer there. These include Sears (closed 2018), Eaton's, Kmart (closed 1998), Zellers (closed 2012), and Target (closed 2015).
Brampton Transit's Bramalea Terminal, which is a bus station, was moved in 2010. It moved from the southeast side of the mall to the north side to make way for the Züm bus service on Queen Street.
Images for kids
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Upper Level of shopping mall
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Atrium of the mall
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Upper Level of shopping mall
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Food Court
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Northwest corner is the expansion area of the mall
