Amherst Centre is an enclosed shopping mall in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Its currently anchored by Sobeys and Giant Tiger. There is a Mark's and other retailers within the concourse.
History[]
Amherst Centre opened in 1981 with: Kmart Canada, and a grocery store (Probably Dominion) as its retail anchors. This was the first and only mall in the town of Amherst. It was quite popular at the time. Many national retailers were adorned throughout the centre.
In the 1990s, a minor renovation commenced; the floor tile, benches, and other fixtures were redone in the same style, similar to other malls owned by Crombie REIT at the time such as: Penhorn Mall in Dartmouth, NS; and County Fair Mall in New Minas. At this time, the mall was continuing to be successful.
In 1998, HBC bought out Kmart Canada and converted some locations to Zellers stores. The current Zellers location moved into Amherst Centre, and became a new anchor store of the mall.
In 2003, a new shopping centre with Walmart Canada and Real Atlantic Superstore opened right next to the mall. This drew business away from the mall. However, since the mall still had all of its anchors, they were still doing okay.
On June 18, 2011: Blockbuster Video had closed its location at Amherst Centre mall. The defunct Blockbuster location was later renovated into Atlantic Smile Dentistry by 2016.
On June 23, 2012: The mall suffered a massive blow when Zellers closed as part of the liquidation of the HBC company. This left a large part of the mall without an anchor. Foot traffic took a sharp decrease, and many national retailers began to vacate.
In 2014, Sears closed their furniture/appliance outlet location at Amherst Centre. However, Sears didn't have a mall interior entrance, so this didn't effect the mall too much. The former Sears space had since been filled by Cumberland Cheer Athletics. In June 2014, Giant Tiger opened in a part of the former Zellers space. Since Giant Tiger doesn't have an interior mall entrance, this didn't affect the mall's interior corridor too much.
In 2016, Shoppers Drug Mart closed their location at Amherst Centre. This left a large space empty which has yet to be filled. Over the next few years, tenants like: Bentley, Pets Unlimited, Reitmans, The Source, Tim Hortons, and more vacated from the mall.
On October 9, 2024: the mall was sold off to Gray Group (RMCo) – along with the Riverview Shopping Centre in Riverview, NB.
Within the past few years, some local retailers and services have moved into the mall, such as a: dentist, JC's Tae Kwon Do, and James Austin Merchandising. Northern Reflections, Eclipse, and Rogers Wireless remain as some of the remaining national tenants. Although the mall is certainty dead, it might be able to live on as a community shopping centre with various local tenants to serve the town.
Revitalization Efforts by new owners[]
In January 2025, it was announced that Amherst Centre would receive a major exterior renovation to make the outdated mall look more modern. The new owners have also managed to bring in a few new local tenants to help the malls vacancy rate. They also plan to open a food court in the mall, as their currently isn't one. Perhaps this would be similar to The Hub Shopping Centre food court, as that mall is owned by the same company. According to the owners, renovations will start in Spring 2025. Hopefully, more tenants will move in after the renovations, making the mall a thriving mall once again.
Stores[]
- Main article: Amherst Centre/Stores
Photo Gallery[]
- Main article: Amherst Centre/Gallery
See Also[]
- Sobeys - A current anchor
- Giant Tiger - A current anchor
- The Hub Shopping Centre – (formerly Truro Mall) — A much more popular mall, located in Truro.
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