Bay Centre (formerly the Victoria Eaton Centre) is a shopping mall in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. It is bounded by

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, Fort, and View streets, in the city's historic centre.Ward, Robin (November 17, 1990). "A world of kitsch: Victoria is losing some of its architectural charm, with the Eaton Centre the latest example of inappropriate design", ''

The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', p. D1. It has of retail space. Opening in 1989, the mall was the first large shopping mall in

downtown Victoria Downtown Victoria is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the city centre and the central business district for the City of Victoria, and the Greater Victoria regions. Characteristics The downtown area is an ex ...

. It occupies two city blocks of the Old Town area, including the site of the original downtown

Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's g ...

store (previously Spencer's) at 1150 Douglas Street. Eaton's was demolished in 1987–88 to make way for the Eaton Centre project. The development of the shopping centre was initially the subject of controversy,(March 1, 1989). "Controversial shopping mall opens in Victoria", ''

'', p. B1. as construction involved demolishing several historic buildings (or reducing them to facades in front of new construction)Kloster, Darron (May 14, 2010). "Bay Centre sold to U.S. company: City landmark estimated to have fetched at least $90 million", ''

Times Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific ...

'', p. A1. and closing one block of Broad Street. The centre was initially a partnership between

and

Cadillac Fairview The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited, branded as Cadillac Fairview, is a Canadian company that invests in, owns, and manages commercial real estate, mainly in Canada and the United States. As of March 2017, the company had 73 properties, enco ...

. When Eaton's went bankrupt in 1999, the Eaton's store in this mall was occupied first by

Sears Canada Sears Canada Inc. was a publicly-traded Canadian company affiliated with the American-based Sears department store chain. In operation from September 18, 1952 until January 14, 2018, and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company began as S ...

, and then by The Bay, for which the mall was renamed. In 2010, Cadillac Fairview sold the complex to

LaSalle Investment Management LaSalle Investment Management ("LaSalle") is a real estate investment management firm. It is an independent subsidiary of JLL. History Jones Lang LaSalle was formed by the merger of Jones Lang Wootton and LaSalle Partners in 1999. The res ...

for an undisclosed price in the range of to , which is among the largest real estate transactions in the city's history.

Anchors and majors

Passport Canada Passport Canada (known as the Passport Office prior to June 2006) was an independent, special operating agency of the Government of Canada with bureaucratic oversight provided through Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Passport Ca ...

Wilson, Carla (January 31, 2008).
Passport office secures mall space: Passport Canada will be bringing citizens out of the cold – and into the mall
", ''

''. Retrieved June 18, 2014. () *

Sport Chek Sport-Chek International 2000 Ltd. (doing business as Sport Chek) is the largest Canadian retailer of sporting clothing and sports equipment, with 191 stores throughout Canada as of 2020. It is the only national big box sporting goods retailer i ...

() *

Winners Winners Merchants International L.P. is a chain of off-price Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. Its market niche is similar to the American chain TJ Maxx, and it is a partnered retailer to department stores HomeSense and Marshall ...

Former

* Hudson's Bay () (closed June 2025)

References

External links

*
Architectural artifacts
An historical overview of the location. {{Eaton's Eaton's Buildings and structures in Victoria, British Columbia Shopping malls established in 1989 Shopping malls in British Columbia Tourist attractions in Victoria, British Columbia 1989 establishments in British Columbia

Anchors and majors

Former

See also

References

External links