Friday, April 8, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
A quick trip to the airport yesterday. Since we were already up at the north end of the city, decided to go a little further up the road and check out the monster shopping centre, Cross Iron Mills.
I’ve been there twice before. The first was to check out the Bass Pro shop, when it was about the only thing open and built on the whole site.
I’d never heard of Bass Pro before. This hunting and fishing supply store not only stocks everything from fish hooks to power boats and quads, it also has more taxidermy on display than I can remember seeing in the Provincial Museum. A herd of caribou being attacked by wolves, for example.
Each time I think of the store, I try to do the mental calculation of what the fixtures and fittings must have cost. I get bogged down though, because I’m not up on the market price of black bears, let alone the more exotic critters.
Today we didn’t go to Bass Pro, but into one of the several free-standing parts of the mall.
It’s all pretty new still, and clean, but even when it was brand new, it looked like it was built to last no more than 15 years. Maybe that’s the trend: disposable shopping centres.
If it wasn’t such a warped analogy, I’d say this is like natural succession from grassland to forest. The farmer’s field became a mall. First there are recognized mid-range brands. Then it will slide a bit, and the occasional dollar store will creep in. Maybe a no-name liquidator and a quick cash pawn shop. Empty stores. The odd bit of vandalism.
The For Sale sign will go up, the mall will come down, and row upon row of new houses will appear. By that time, all the surrounding farms will be gone, turned into housing subdivisions themselves.
We’ll see in 2021 or so whether I was right about this.
To be fair, people who like shopping probably love this mall. It’s got lots of stores, lots of parking, and lots of space.
jill