It’s been a very busy time for leasing in the past year or so for Mic Mac Mall, which is Atlantic Canada’s largest enclosed shopping centre, located in Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax.
And the popular centre, owned and operated by Mic Mac Mall Limited Partnership and managed by Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services, is close to getting final permit approvals for the planned development of the site surrounding the shopping centre that will be called the “M” District.
This new development will include over 1,000 residential units including senior living, two office towers and a major family entertainment area/destination of approx. 60,000 square feet.
“The proposed mixed‐use development . . . would create a vibrant destination and community hub for the entire municipality. The combination of high‐density residential towers with diverse retail and commercial opportunities creates spaces where both residents and visitors can enjoy new services and amenities, while the increased density will in turn revitalize the interest in the current shopping centre,” said a written submission to the city by WM Fares Architects on the proposed development.
“Outside of the buildings, the current non permeable asphalt parking surfaces will be largely transformed into landscaped pedestrian corridors, curating the circulation paths as people make their way through the site. Underground parking facilities and a limited circumferential service road will limit the amount of vehicular traffic on the surface of the site, placing the pedestrian experience at the forefront of the design concept. Located on a Transit Priority Corridor, the addition of the new transit terminal will ameliorate the user experience and promote the use of public transportation to and from the site.
“In terms of active transportation, the site will look to plug into the existing trail networks as a node between the Shubie Canal Greenway Corridor and Lake Banook Trail. This will offer bicycle and walking access points for visitors, and escapes to green spaces for residents along the Trans Canada Trail, aligning the proposal with as much of the Integrated Mobility Plan as possible.”
Mic Mac Mall is just under 690,000 square feet over three levels and is six kilometres to downtown Halifax.
“We are on trend with the Canadian Retail Industry. Our comparable traffic volume has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic, however comparable sales have matched and in fact surpassed 2019 sales in most categories. We are very pleased with our 2023 sales results,” said Lisa Flux, General Manager.
“Shopping trends have changed, as they do. Our dwell time has increased by 20 or so minutes. This is indicative of a knowledgeable shopper, one who has a plan. You see that reflected in the food court and specialty food sales. Sales in these two categories are significantly above 2019 numbers. Again, this trend is one we have noted across our portfolio from province to province.
“2022 was a historical recovery year and our Retailers are reporting similar growth again this year. In 2023 specialty retail sales reflected a 13 percent increase over 2022; and our temporary tenants, or specialty leasing, they had a hectic year, bringing change and some unique events to to Mic Mac Mall, in all rising comparable sales by 7 percent in 2023.“
Lori Stuart, Senior Leasing Manager at Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services, said occupancy in the mall is about 91 per cent.
“We’ve made great momentum in the last 12 months. We’ve done about 46 leasing transactions, about 160,000 square feet,” she said.
New retailers (in the past 18 months) include: Orange Theory Fitness, Griffin Jewellery Designs, Glamour Secrets, Freak Lunch Box, Presotea, Pizza Delight, Labels, Mobile Care, Milestones Grill + Bar and many more.
“We’re happy to boast that we do have some exclusive tenants to the market as well,” said Stuart.
Exclusive tenants in the market at Mic Mac Mall include Decathlon, Eddie Bauer, Build-A-Bear, Talbots and Modern Golf.
“The momentum keeps going and in 2024 we’ll see some new tenancies as well. We’ll welcome NVA which is Canada’s leading veterinary care clinic. They’ll take about 24,000 square feet on site,” added Stuart. “And many others leasing about 15,000 square feet we’ve got in the works right now and then the re-set of a former Winners box that’s 53,000 square feet. So we’re re-demising that and going to be announcing some new tenancies in the coming months. There will be multiple units there.”
Flux said NVA is quite unique and world-renowned.
“There’s one in PEI but it will be the only other one in Atlantic Canada that does super specialized procedures that this particular clinic is known for. This is a really unique service,” she said.
Mic Mac Mall will also have 25,000 square feet of current tenant relocations and renovations planned for 2024. And a number of local and national retailers that have expressed interest in Mic Mac Mall that it is working with to add to its merchandise mix.
Daniela Vicino, National Specialty Leasing Manager at Cushman & Wakefield, said there is about 70,000 square feet of specialty leasing at Mic Mac Mall.
“Specialty Leasing has 27 activations with nine new for 2023. Some of our most notable additions are Mind Games, first to market; also, a first retail location called Little Luxuries (Soapworks). Some others are Maritime favourites such as Twiggs. They’ve been renewed for a few years in a row now. We’ve implemented Fresh New You, Incandescent, Mesh Barns, Freddy’s Fashion and Karma Spa. And we also have our usual seasonal roster that encompasses the Calendar Club, Hickory Farms. We have the Halloween superstore Glow come in again,” said Vicino.
“This year specifically we were one of the 10 chosen locations for the Merry Berry Buble Pop Up that went across Canada . . . We had a stellar year between leasing and specialty leasing. We have a quite diverse roster of tenants within Mic Mac.”
Also activated in 2023 were CHATR, and Just Cozy.
It is the 50th anniversary of the mall and there will be events to celebrate that achievement.
