White Oaks Mall is a shopping centre in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is located at the southwest corner of Wellington Road and Bradley Avenue, just north of

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

Location

White Oaks is located in South London, adjacent to the arterial street Wellington Road. It is serviced by the following bus routes operated by the

London Transit Commission The London Transit Commission (LTC) is responsible for the operation of the public transit system on behalf of the City of London, Ontario, Canada. It operates transit bus service and para-transit service. In 2014, annual ridership totaled 24. ...

, two terminals at Jalna Boulevard, which provide bus routes 4A, 4B and 93 and 4 terminals at the Wellington Road entrance, which give bus routes 10, 13, 13A, 28, 30, 90 and 95. The mall is expected to be the southern terminus of one way on the planned London

Rapid Transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

system.

History

Beginnings

The mall's property was originally occupied by a small outdoor plaza, built in 1962 before major development began in the surrounding neighbourhoods. In 1972, the plaza was completely rebuilt to make way for expansion. It became a fully enclosed shopping center in 1973, anchored by

Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At i ...

in addition to 150+ stores.

Expansions

The mall's first major expansion in 1976 brought in a

Simpson's The Robert Simpson Company Limited, commonly known as Simpson's until 1972, then as Simpsons, and in Quebec sometimes as Simpson, was a Canadian department store chain that had its earliest roots in a store opened in 1858 by Robert Simpson. ...

department store after a major renovation to the old Sayvette. A long hall of stores that deviated west from the original race-track layout was also added. The mall saw rapid growth in the 1980s as it competed with other shopping centers in London. Over half a decade, the mall saw fewer than three major expansions. The first occurred in 1983 with Mark's and Spencer's, a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. ...

which replaced the Loblaw's grocery store and several other new stores. A brand new wing began construction almost immediately after and opened in 1986. Over 50 more stores were added in 1988, with the most recent major expansion.

Today

White Oaks saw a slight expansion in 2006, which brought in Swedish retailer H&M along with an

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...

Neighborhood Grill and Bar. In 2010

CPP Investment Board The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB; french: Office d'investissement du régime de pensions du Canada), operating as CPP Investments (french: Investissements RPC), is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 ''Cana ...

became the sole owner of the mall, until the property, along with two other regional malls, was acquired by Bentall Kennedy in 2013. Since Bentall Kennedy's ownership, the mall has seen a further renovation, including decorative pieces. There are over 185 stores and services in the mall. In 2022, it was announced that White Oaks Mall's concrete walls along the exterior would be torn apart and replaced with a modern look, with restaurants and patios along the new entrance. The construction will be completed in two phases, with the first phase set to be completed in spring 2023. WhiteOaksMall2

Criticism

In recent years, the mall has received criticism for forcing out independent stores. For example, the gift shop Durga had been a mall tenant for 26 years. Similarly, Logo Sports was also denied a lease renewal in 2014 after 25 years at the mall and was later replaced by a competing franchise.

References

External links

White Oaks Mall
{{coord, 42.9314, N, 81.2246, W, type:landmark_region:CA, display=title 1973 establishments in Ontario Buildings and structures in London, Ontario Shopping malls in Ontario Shopping malls established in 1973 Tourist attractions in London, Ontario