The Pen Centre facts for kids
| Location | St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Address | 221 Glendale Avenue |
| Opening date | 1958 |
| Management | BentallGreenOak |
| Owner | Ontario Pension Board |
| No. of stores and services | 180 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,036,696 sq ft (96,312.2 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Parking | 5000 |
| Website | The Pen Centre |
The Pen Centre is a very large shopping mall. It's the biggest one in the Niagara Region. You can find it in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was first called The Niagara Peninsula Shopping Centre.
Contents
How the Pen Centre Grew
The Pen Centre was built in 1957. It started as an outdoor shopping area. It had about 50 stores and a Loblaws supermarket. The mall officially opened its doors in 1958.
Becoming One of Canada's Biggest Malls
In 1966, the Pen Centre got much bigger. It added a large store called Simpson-Sears. It also added 80 more shops. This made the Pen Centre the fourth largest mall in Canada at that time!
From Outdoor to Indoor Shopping
For many years, it was an outdoor mall. It had walkways between the stores. But by September 1975, things changed. The mall was covered up. It became an indoor, climate-controlled mall. This big change cost $2 million.
What the Pen Centre Offers Today
Today, the Pen Centre is a huge place. It has over one million square feet of space. You can find more than 180 stores there. It also has a big department store and a supermarket. There's even a ten-screen movie theater! The mall is located right next to Highway 406.
Movie Time at the Mall
The first movie theater opened here on November 7, 1997. It was an 8-screen cinema called SilverCity. Now, Landmark Cinemas owns the movie theater.
Recent Updates and Changes
In 2011, the mall started a big update. They spent $13 million to make it look new. They added new skylights, which are windows in the roof. They also updated the food court, floors, and ceilings. These renovations were finished in 2012.
Big Stores That Have Been Here
Over the years, some very large stores have been part of the Pen Centre.
- Sears: This big department store closed its doors in January 2018.
- Eaton’s: This store changed into regular mall space in the late 1990s.
- Target: This store opened in 2013. It took over the spot where Zellers used to be. But Target closed all its Canadian stores in April 2015.
New Stores in Old Spaces
After Target left, Walmart bought the space. They started building a new store in February 2018. The new Walmart opened on August 22, 2019.
The old Sears store also got a makeover. It was divided into two large new stores. SportsCheck moved into one part in summer 2020. Marks opened in early 2021. There are also smaller shops in this area. Trillium College, a school, opened in the basement of this space in September 2021.
