Devonshire Mall is a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The center opened in August 1970 at the location of the former Devonshire Raceway, a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track, that had existed since 1935. Devonshire opened with of space anchored by Simpson-Sears on the south and

Miracle Mart Miracle Mart was a chain of discount department stores with locations in Ontario and Quebec, Canada based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. The chain was renamed to simply M in the mid-1980s. History The company was founded in early 1961 as Miracle Mar ...

with an adjacent

Miracle Food Mart Miracle Food Mart was a supermarket chain in Ontario, Canada, owned by Steinberg's, a Quebec-based retailer in the 1970s and 1980s. Steinberg purchased the Canadian division of Grand Union, with 38 stores, in June 1959 to make its entrance int ...

at the north. It was constructed at a cost of $15,000,000 by Windsor developer Cambridge Leaseholds Ltd. The Simpson-Sears store was among the largest in the chain at . The center also contained branches of the major financial institutions, an auditorium which was available to community groups and a dual screen cinema operated by Famous Players. The mall has been expanded several times since its opening. The first expansion occurred in 1973 on the mall's east side. The addition encompassed and included space for

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. I ...

and C.H. Smith (also known as Smith's of Windsor), in 1975

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

purchased Smith's and eliminated the nameplate. Other expansions occurred in 1985, adding stores and a food court; 1995, which added a southeast entrance by reducing the size of the Miracle Mart building leaving the remainder for a Zeller's which operated until 2012; 1999-2002, which added a 12 screen cinema and space for 15 stores; 2008, and 2018. At over 175 stores, it is by far the largest mall in Windsor. In 2015, Ivanhoé Cambridge sold its 50 percent stake in the mall to Healthcare Of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), which already owned the other 50 percent of the property. The following year, HOOPP announced a major renovation to the mall which included new tenants and an expanded food court. The work was expected to take two-years and cost approximately $70 million. As part of this renovation,

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

opened in the former Zeller's space which had been vacant . In 2021, the shuttered Sears store at Devonshire became home of a mass

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

vaccination site as part of a cooperative effort between Windsor Regional Hospital, the City of Windsor and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. In 2022, HOOPP sold the property to

H&R REIT H&R Real Estate Investment Trust is a Canadian open-ended real estate investment trust, specializing in commercial real estate, and based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the third largest REIT in Canada by market capitalization (after RioCan and Ch ...

and it is currently operated by

Primaris REIT H&R Real Estate Investment Trust is a Canadian open-ended real estate investment trust, specializing in commercial real estate, and based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the third largest REIT in Canada by market capitalization (after RioCan and Ch ...

. In spring 2024, mall management announced another redevelopment plan which included demolishing the former

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

building which had been mostly vacant since the store closed in 2018. In summer 2024, management announced that they would construct a new entry at the Sears site that will include new facilities for

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 ...

and

Mark's Mark's (known as La Ouérasse and L'Équipeur since 1990 in Quebec) is a Canadian clothing and footwear retailer specializing in casual and industrial wear. Beginning in 1977 as Mark's Work Wearhouse in Calgary, Alberta, it evolved from an i ...

which would relocate from other areas of the mall. Primaris is reviewing other plans for the space which it says may include hotels, residences or entertainment venues.

References

External links

Devonshire Mall
{{Windsor, Ontario Shopping malls in Ontario Shopping malls established in 1970 Buildings and structures in Windsor, Ontario Tourist attractions in Windsor, Ontario

See also

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External links