It has been an exciting past year or so at CF Masonville Place in London, Ontario, as the shopping centre has introduced several new retailers.
And more is to come.
Most recent tenants have included Oak+Fort, Specsavers, Hillberg & Berk as well as an expansion of Bath & Body Works.
“Also important to note, during COVID we had three great openings such as NIKE. NIKE opened right in the midst of COVID and they’ve done quite well since then. American Eagle expanded their footprint and lululemon as well too,” said Sandra Lorentiu, General Manager for CF Masonville Place.
“And we are excited to announce that Athleta will be coming to town, opening their first store in London in the summer of 2023.
“Cadillac Fairview does a great job at continually assessing the changing retail landscape. We listen to our consumers through our regular research that we do, as well as always looking to deliver on our promise of a heightened experience by offering a compelling mix of best in class retail, dining and entertainment. I think these retailers certainly add to that overall offering.”
The shopping centre has been around since 1985 and is just over 630,000 square feet over two storeys. The mall is located in the north end of London near the intersection of Fanshawe Park Road W and Richmond Street.
“CF Masonville Place has been the leading shopping centre in southwestern Ontario,” said Lorentiu. “We service a vast trade area of upwards of 700,000 people serving as far west as Windsor, north to Sarnia and east to Kitchener-Waterloo.”
The sales per square footage at CF Masonville is $1,030.
Lorentiu described current occupancy at the mall as “very healthy” in the high 90s per cent.
“We have been very fortunate to see our sales increase from last year, as well as a lot of our categories are either meeting or exceeding their 2019 volume. I think that will just continue as our momentum and our traffic continue to increase,” she said. “Over the last three years, no doubt it’s been challenging. Cadillac Fairview has pivoted quickly to backfill some vacancies.
“Unfortunately we saw some poor performing clients shut their doors, but we’ve been quick to engage new concepts to backfill those vacancies to ensure the high occupancy. A great example of that is we introduced the IKEA Design Store in 2022, a first to Cadillac Fairview, which has resonated well with our clientele here in the market.
“I think it’s important for Cadillac Fairview, especially CF Masonville Place, to pride ourselves in not only welcoming international and national brands, but also welcoming a diverse mix of local entrepreneurs and businesses. A great example of that we have local entrepreneurs and restaurateurs such as The Green Window, Thaifoon, Happiness Cafe, that are new to our mix here in London. The Perfect Image, a tattoo and piercing location, which we probably would not have looked at pre-COVID, but has been a great new addition as well.”
Lorentiu said it’s important for shopping centres today to diversify their mix and make them more experiential for clients both for the retail and the overall dining and food offering.
“Fast food and specialty food volumes have increased exponentially since COVID and it’s important for us to make sure that we have a well-rounded mix. We have The Rec Room, which we introduced about four years ago which resonates well now.
“Happy to see SilverCity with all these blockbuster movies being launched and the foot traffic returning to the centre. So it’s the overall experience that we’re focusing on to grow our shopping centre.”
A trend today in shopping centres is to densify their sites by adding other commercial and residential use to under-utilized space. Cadillac Fairview and other real estate property owners in the country have launched initiatives in that regard in recent years.
Will CF Masonville Place do so as well?
“We do have a densification application in with the City of London. We are currently working with them and are in active discussions,” said Lorentiu. “It will be a combination of multi-use and I think it’s a phased approach for us to ensure we are, within north London, the destination currently and adding densification with different services and uses that can better service the community.”
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Additional Images from CF Masonville Place
