Fairview Park Mall

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CF Fairview Park

Location	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	43°25′30″N 80°26′19″W / 43.42487°N 80.43859°W / 43.42487; -80.43859Coordinates: 43°25′30″N 80°26′19″W / 43.42487°N 80.43859°W / 43.42487; -80.43859
Address	2960 Kingsway Drive
Opening date	1966
Management	Cadillac Fairview
Owner	Cadillac Fairview
No. of stores and services	120
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area	746,334 sq ft (69,336.7 m2)
No. of floors	1
Website	fairviewpark.ca

CF Fairview Park (commonly known as Fairview Park Mall) is a large shopping mall of 120 stores in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, owned and managed by Cadillac Fairview.^[1] Anchor stores are Hudson's Bay and Walmart, with one large anchor space, last occupied by Sears, divided into multiple stores including a Winners, which opened in 2021, with the rest of vacant space planned for redevelopment in the future.

CF Fairview Park is bounded by Kingsway Drive to the north, Wilson Avenue to the west, Fairway Road to the south, and Highway 8 to the east. Its presence over the years has turned Fairway Road into a major commercial strip. Out of the four malls in the region, Fairview Park is the largest at 730,000 square feet (68,000 m²) of gross leasable area.^[2]

The mall is also a major public transit hub in Waterloo Region. Fairway station, located just west of the mall, is the terminus for many Grand River Transit bus routes as well as the southern terminal of the Ion rapid transit system, which recently started operating in June 2019.

History[]

Fairview Park opened in 1966, in the Parkway neighbourhood of the recently expanded City of Kitchener. A Simpsons-Sears department store had opened in August 1965, predating the mall's opening by a year, with the rest of the mall being constructed around it.^[3]

The initial anchors were Simpsons-Sears at the south end and a Zehrs supermarket at the north end. A new wing with Woolco was added on the east in the early 1970s along with 20 stores, and Simpsons on the west was added in the early 1980s along with 40 more stores. In the time since, Simpsons-Sears has become Sears, Woolco was converted to a Walmart, and Simpsons became The Bay. The small Zehrs supermarket had been located facing Kingsway Drive, but moved to an outdoor plaza on Weber Street on the other side of Highway 8 (occupying the space of the former "HiWay Market" supermarket) and its space was redeveloped, partially into the current food court and partially into a PharmaPlus location (which later closed).

From early 2007 to that summer, the mall underwent a major $33.4-million redevelopment. This renovation included a new food court and new interiors, including higher ceilings. The parking lot was also refurbished. It was the first major renovation since 1986.^[4]

Expansion[]

In 2019, Cadillac Fairview announced a brand new $70 million expansion for Fairview Park Mall. The project has been dubbed the CF Grand Market District and plans to bring a new modern look to the area to attract both tourists and new residents. This project is planning to bring additional office, retail, and residential space as well as more parking for shoppers.

In 2020, the first phase of construction started on the south side of the mall. Plans to open the new market district are likely to happen at some point in late 2021.

Food Court[]

Fairview Park Mall is home to a large food court with a variety of multicultural options ranging from American fast food to East Asian Cuisine. Notable restaurants include KFC, A&W, Famous Wok, Tim Horton's, Subway, and Bourbon Street Grill.

Also within the mall is a Jack Astor's and PI CO. Pizza Bar, located near the south entrance of the mall. Fairview Park was also home to a popular Mcdonald's inside the Walmart which did extremely well but was closed down.

Area/Location[]

Fairview Park Mall is located on Fairway road near the neighbourhoods of Traynor/Vanier and Centreville, only a 5 minute drive from downtown Kitchener. Ontario. The population of this area 14,000 residents making it one of the largest neighbourhoods in the region. This makes it a great location for the residents of this area to have quick and easy access to a major shopping centre.

Covid-19 Restrictions[]

Although Covid-19 is still running ramped through Canada, Cadillac Fairview is doing what it can to ensure both the workers and customers are safe. Upon entry, you will be required to wear a mask and will have screening questions by a security member. Once passed, you are free to shop at most stores. Sores have a capacity limit of 10 as of March 2021 but are subject to change. CF will also provide hand sanitizer stations in all corners of the mall to ensure all hands are clean.

Transit Terminal[]

Fairview Park Mall is also home to a major transit terminal. A bus terminal was located beside the southwest entrance to the Hudson's Bay store.^[5] This facility operated as a major hub for Grand River Transit (GRT), with most of the routes served terminating there. The Region's Ion rapid transit system now services this area as well, at the Fairway station, which has its own associated bus connections; when that station came on-line in June 2019, the existing terminal closed.

This is an important asset to the neighborhood in which the mall is located. The Traynor/Vanier neighbourhood is home to many new immigrant and working class people of Kitchener. Many of whom use the bus on a regular basis.

Bus routes leaving from Fairview Park can stretch as far as Southern Cambridge and Northern Waterloo and is the epicentre of transportation in the Tri Cities.

References[]