Scarborough Town Centre mall renovations

[scarberiankhatru]

And the general form of the STC food court remains, glass roof and all--even if demoted to a through-passage with incidental eating.

We certainly aren't talking about something on the scale of Sherway's original Gourmet Fair being completely swept away for Zeidler's tents two decades ago...

The glass roof is the same but everything under it (the "all" in "glass roof and all") is different. The character is gone, though that doesn't stop anyone from preferring the new version, even though they only prefer it because it's the same bland (but newer) stuff seen in other malls.

Usually, if someone were to suggest that some structure should undergo the kind of design and layout changes that STC's food court has undergone, you'd suggest they should be 'Mussolini meat-hooked'...but it doesn't matter because other food courts have been done wronger?

 

[adma]

Well, my impression is, the changes had already been so gradual over such a long period of time (and even "organic", from a commercial mall retail standpoint), that its present incarnation in the end isn't that so-called horrible a so-called desecration--and by retaining the roof, the positioning, and the general functioning, it's more consistent than it's not. And I don't recall the ultra-cherishable depth of "character"; whether it was That 70s character, or John Hughes-era character, it met its demise when it was safe to do so. Now, if it remained intact until now, it might be a different issue...

I suppose it's more that (a) it's been demoted to a through-passage space, and (b) allure-wise and all, shopping-mall food courts aren't what they used to be; so if you start or reno one fresh, it's destined to be an anticlimax...

 

[scarberiankhatru]

The roof is the same and food is still sold there, but that's it. The changes were not gradual over a long period. They 'demoted' the space, moved the escalator, the chairs and tables are ugly, the new wing means waiting in line at a north-side fast food joint is very uncomfortable, etc. It's not that it was so great before, it's that the replacement sucks. That's all. It also feels like there's fewer seats now...maybe there's just more mallrats passing through the food court and sitting without eating.

Fairview just built a new food court (replacing a horrible food court) that *is* somewhat of a climax, for what it's worth...

 

[ScarboroughCity233]

Everytime I go to the STC, it's always changing.

 

[interchange42]

Scarborough Town Centre's 2-year-long renovation project is finished. After $62 million in updates, here's what it looks like now:

The renos include a new Planet Santa area for kids.

If kids aren't sure, Scarborough Town Centre lets it be known where Santa's favourite place is.

On the 17th the reopening was celebrated and inaugurated in the Scarborough Walk of Fame Court in the middle of the mall. Theceremonies, emceed by Colin Mochrie, started with two songs by local high school group, The Wexford Gleeks.

After speeches by local city councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker, minister of energy Brad Duguid, and Scarborough Town Centre general manager Kathy Meyers, Debra McGrath, Bob the Builder, and Oxford Properties officials joined Mochrie in stage for the ribbon cutting.

The court was soon full of fluttering confetti.

Upstairs, the arrival of mendeer - yes - heralded Santa's imminent arrival.

And sorry Steveve and the other kids here, but who cares about Santa - the mendeer and the elfettes were where it was at. Go Scarborough!

42

 

[Towered]

These mall renovations all look so sterile. Would it really hurt to use some colour?

 

[DTGeek]

Agreed. I transferred buses at STC every day on my way to school for years. It doesn't really look different than I remember it; nothing a new paint job, some new railings/tiles, and a good photographer couldn't do! Then again maybe $62M doesn't get you much more than that these days.

What they ought to do is build condos of offices on top of all those miles and miles of parking lots. I always wondered what possessed them to build SO MUCH parking, back in my time (late 90s) there was actually even more parking than there is now and they didn't even have the movie theatres or surrounding box stores back then.

 

[UrbanHarbour]

New food court ...

Today Scarborough Town Centre (STC) announced a $35 million food and dining expansion transformation.

Featuring a broad variety of quick-service food vendors for the ultimate in choice, convenience and cultural diversity, new premium, fast-casual restaurants, high-quality fashion and lifestyle brands and upgraded restrooms and parenting facilities, the two-phase, two-level initiative will address shoppers’ demands for more options, provide higher quality food for the growing number of foodies in the GTA and create an enhanced dining and shopping atmosphere.

This is the latest evolution of Scarborough Town Centre’s rejuvenation, further enhancing STC’s position as the premier shopping destination in Toronto’s east end. It began in 2010 with a $62 million renovation that attracted some of the world’s leading fashion retailers and resulted in a 40% increase in sales per square foot. A similarly positive reaction is anticipated once the food and dining experience in unveiled. ​

 

[James]

I hope the funds injected into STC works favourably for the mall, Oxford Properties, and the retailers. I haven't been to the Town Center in about 2 years but my impressions that last visit were that despite the renovations, the mall traffic still seemed a little slow and sparse, especially compared to other recently renovated malls like Yorkdale. That said, hopefully a rejuvenated food court will add more vibrance to this shopping center.