First Markham Place is an Asian

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located in

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

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 on the south side of Highway 7, east of

Woodbine Avenue Woodbine Avenue consists of three north–south road sections in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada: # The southern section in Toronto begins near Ashbridges Bay on the shore of Lake Ontario, at Lake Shore Boulevard.The southern terminus ...

and west of

Warden Avenue A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

. The mall opened in 1998, one year after the opening of

Pacific Mall Pacific Mall is an Asian shopping mall in Markham, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest indoor Asian shopping mall in North America and has been reported as the largest Asian shopping mall in the Western world. The mall is located on the northeas ...

, the largest Asian shopping mall in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

, which is also located in Markham. The mall's opening also coincided with a large influx of Chinese immigrants to Canada. The mall currently has over 170 stores and services including the anchor tenants Oomomo, a Japanese home goods store, and FreshWay Foodmart, an Asian supermarket. There is a foodcourt with 24 vendors in the centre of the mall along with 23 sit-down restaurants outside that are attached to the mall.

History

The mall once had a

Cineplex Odeon Cineplex Inc. (formerly Cineplex Galaxy) is a Canadian movie theatre and family entertainment centre chain headquartered in Toronto. The company was formed in 2003 via the acquisition of Loews Cineplex's Canadian operations (which included t ...

movie theatre until it moved in 2015 to the new Cineplex Cinemas and VIP in Downtown Markham. The space remained empty for nearly four years due to the difficulty of levelling the floors after the theatre left. There was a difference between the front and the rear area. The space is now occupied by Go Place, an Asian pool and spa complex. The complex contains seven pools and has a focus on water therapy. The mall also had a

Home Outfitters Home Outfitters (known as Déco Découverte in Quebec; originally called Bed, Bath & More) was a Canadian retail home decor chain, owned by Hudson's Bay Company, that sold bedding, towels, housewares, and other home accessories. All 37 remaining s ...

, a defunct Canadian home decor chain. It closed in fall 2018. The space is now occupied by FreshWay Supermarket since fall 2020. In 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

implemented a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

which ordered the mall to shut down. For a brief period, despite the mall being closed, customers were allowed into the mall to access the food court. However, tables and chairs were off limits to customers, therefore food had to be consumed elsewhere. Soon after, mall management prohibited customers from entering the mall to go to the food court while continuing to allow venders to prepare food inside the mall. To serve customers, venders had to move outside near the entrances. Due to the restrictions, vendors suffered greater difficulty running their businesses because of less customers, lack of protection from poor weather conditions, and difficulty with advertising without proper signage.

Transportation access

First Markham Place is located on Highway 7 in Markham. Along the Highway 7 corridor, the mall is served by

Viva Pink Viva Pink is a Viva bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Tok Transit under contract from the Region of York. Service on the Viva Pink route was suspended during the COVID-19 outbreak, and ha ...

and

Viva Purple Viva Purple is a line on the Viva bus rapid transit system in York Region, Ontario, Canada. The route primarily runs in an east–west direction along the Highway 7 Rapidway in Markham and Richmond Hill. It is operated by Tok Transit under contra ...

at Montgomery station on the

Highway 7 Rapidway The Highway 7 Rapidway in York Region, Ontario, Canada, is a bus rapid transit right-of-way that runs from Bruce Street in Vaughan to Birchmount Road in Markham. There are plans to extend it west to Highway 50 and east to Cornell Terminal. It ...

, along with

York Region Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time, rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva bus ...

Route 1 Highway 7. Street entrances are located along Highway 7 (eastbound traffic only), Fairburn Drive, and Rodick Road.

References

External links

First Markham Place official website
{{Structures in Markham Chinese-Canadian culture in Ontario Shopping malls in the Regional Municipality of York Buildings and structures in Markham, Ontario Buildings and structures completed in 1998

History

Transportation access

See also

References

External links