# Halifax Shopping Centre

Halifax Shopping Centre, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Atlantic Canada's largest multi-building shopping centre. The centre is owned and operated by Primaris REIT. The property consists of an enclosed shopping centre with 641,585 square feet (59,605.2 m$^2$) of leasable area, which attracts over 110,000 people each week, and an adjacent property with larger format retailers and office tower called Halifax Shopping Centre Annex with an additional 419,776 square feet (38,998.5 m$^2$) of leasable area, including a 53,846 square feet (5,002.5 m$^2$) office tower, Chebucto Place. Mumford Professional Centre is immediately adjacent to the annex property and represents an additional 237,084 square feet (22,025.8 m$^2$) of leaseable space.
The centre is open 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5:00 p.m on Sunday.

## History

The first public record of the Halifax Shopping Centre was filed in 1956 when Eaton's applied for a re-zoning of a property which was formerly the site of the St. Patrick's Boys Home. Work on the future site of the enclosed Halifax Shopping Centre site began in February 1961.
The centre was developed by Webb and Knapp (Canada) Ltd. It was designed and engineered by staff members at Webb and Knapp in consultation with The Graham Company and Associate Architect Gregory Lambros. Anglin-Norcross Maritime Ltd. served as general contractors on the initial construction.
Halifax Shopping Centre was opened at 9:30 A.M. on Tuesday, September 11, 1962 – billed as "The Marketplace of the Maritimes". The grand opening publicity claimed that "never in the history of Halifax have so many stores opened on one day!" The Thursday, September 13 edition of The Chronicle Herald included a thank you from Halifax Shopping Centre's owners, by Triton Ltd., which estimated the opening day crowd to have been 27,000 people.
A three-storey, 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m$^2$) office-retail addition to the shopping centre opened in September 1975.
In 1989, Halifax Shopping Centre was expanded to include a food court, an additional 75,000 square feet (7,000 m$^2$) of retail space and three parking decks.
In 2001, Halifax Shopping Centre purchased and renovated the former Sears store and surrounding land on the opposite side of Mumford Road, boosting total leasable area to over 1,061,361 square feet (98,603.7 m$^2$). The redevelopment was renamed Halifax Shopping Centre Annex. The Metro Transit (now Halifax Transit) Mumford Terminal was also relocated at this time.
In 2007, Halifax Shopping Centre underwent a major renovation to update the enclosed shopping centre, its decor and way-finding.
In 2008, Halifax Shopping Centre purchased the West End Mall and redeveloped it into the property now known as the Mumford Professional Centre, boosting the total leasable area of the Halifax Shopping Centre development to 1,298,445 square feet (120,629.5 m$^2$).
In 2015, a mass shooting to take place at the mall was foiled by police only a few hours before the attacks would have begun.
Also in 2015, a new $70 million renovation was underway at the Shopping Centre, replacing the Fairlanes bowling alley with a new food court called the Terrace. Several stores were being expanded, as well as 75,000 square feet (7,000 m$^2$) of leasable space being added to the Shopping Centre's main building, along with taller ceilings, more exterior windows, and a 14,000-foot skylight. Construction was completed in fall 2016.
In November 2023, Halifax Shopping Centre was acquired by Primaris REIT for $370 million.

## Stores and services

Halifax Shopping Centre contains over 170 stores within the enclosed mall and adjacent annex. The majority of the enclosed centre's vendors are fashion and premium fashion purveyors. This is the only Atlantic Canada location for many prominent retailers, including Apple, Aritzia, Browns, Club Monaco, L’Occitane en Provence, Michael Kors, La Maison Simons, and Torrid.
The centre also contains stores specializing in cosmetics, athletic and casual footwear for men, women and children, children's clothing stores, bath and beauty products, electronics, jewellery, sporting equipment, specialty foods, greeting cards, vitamins and supplements, cellphone and tablet cases, books, gifts, and other unique items.

## Transportation

Halifax Shopping Centre is located in the west end of the Halifax Peninsula. It is accessible by car from Bayers Road and Mumford Road. The Halifax Shopping Centre Annex property stretches from Mumford Road to Chebucto Road and the nearby Armdale traffic circle.
The shopping centre also includes a Halifax Transit terminal, referred to as Mumford Terminal, which is located in the Annex development, immediately across Mumford Road from the enclosed primary shopping centre building. The Halifax Shopping Centre Annex parking lot is also a designated Park and Ride location.
Mumford Terminal is accessible via the following Halifax Transit routes:
There are plans to build a new, enlarged Mumford Terminal on part of the shopping centre parking lot. The project, endorsed by Halifax Regional Council in 2019, is intended to add capacity and improve the passenger experience.