New Horizon Mall

New Horizon Mall is a shopping centre in Balzac, a hamlet in Rocky View County within the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta, Canada. The mall occupies approximately 30,000 square metres, or about 320,000 square feet, of retail space. Its distinguishing feature is a flea-market-style layout composed primarily of small stores rather than the large national chains and department stores that anchor conventional suburban malls. Most of the units are compact, and the individual spaces were sold as commercial condominiums to investors and operators. This ownership model was intended to support a broad mix of independent merchants and culturally diverse businesses under one roof. The project was announced by the Torgan Group in 2013. Construction was originally expected to begin in 2014 and finish in late 2016, but delays postponed groundbreaking until June 2016 and shifted the anticipated completion date to late 2017. Ledcor was awarded the construction work. By August 2017, the developers said the mall was expected to be complete by March 2018 and reported that more than 95 percent of the units had been sold. New Horizon Mall opened to customers on May 1, 2018. Although nearly all of its 517 units had been sold by October that year, only a small number were operating as retail businesses. The developers described the slow initial occupancy as an anticipated feature of the condominium model, comparing the project with the longer ramp-up experienced by Pacific Mall in Markham, Ontario, which served as a design and operating reference. A grand-opening event planned for October 2018 was postponed to 2019 as the mall continued to build its tenant base. Occupancy remained a central challenge during the mall's early years. By October 2019, 109 of the 517 units were occupied by operating businesses, and the mall held a meeting with unit owners to discuss low traffic and related concerns. The project subsequently added larger attractions and food-related tenants intended to generate regular visits. The Best Shop, a large Chinese-oriented discount retailer, became the first announced anchor tenant in 2019 and opened later that year. Prairie Horizon Fresh Market was announced as a second anchor in April 2019; its planned March 2020 opening was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and initially emphasized online ordering and fresh-food delivery. The mall reported exceeding 50 percent retail-tenant occupation in February 2020, around the time that Sky Castle, a planned indoor playground and family entertainment centre, was announced for the second floor. Sky Castle eventually opened in June 2021. Other listed features include a food court, an event stage, heated underground parking, and Playmore Tables and Games. New Horizon Mall's long-term proposition is therefore based less on a conventional department-store hierarchy than on a collection of independent shops, specialty services, food businesses, entertainment venues, and community-oriented attractions. Its development history illustrates both the potential and the operational difficulty of selling mall units individually: sales of real estate units could be strong before the centre achieved comparable levels of active retail occupancy.

New Horizon Mall was announced in 2013 by the Torgan Group as a major retail project for Balzac in Rocky View County, Alberta. The development was conceived as a shopping centre modeled partly on Pacific Mall in Markham, Ontario, with many small stores arranged in a flea-market-style environment. Rather than relying on a conventional landlord leasing units to a relatively small number of national chains, the project sold its retail spaces individually as commercial condominiums. The approach was designed to attract independent merchants and investors while creating a very large number of retail locations. The initial construction plan called for work to begin in 2014 and finish in late 2016. Delays changed that schedule substantially. Construction was awarded to Ledcor, with the project originally associated with a reported construction cost of approximately $200 million, although the available reference material does not establish a final cost. Groundbreaking took place in June 2016, after which the expected completion moved to late 2017. In August 2017, the developers said the mall should be finished by March 2018 and that more than 95 percent of the units had already been sold. The mall opened on May 1, 2018. Its physical capacity was approximately 30,000 square metres, or 320,000 square feet, divided among 517 units. The strong sales figure did not translate immediately into operating stores. By October 2018, 99 percent of the units had reportedly been sold, but only 11 were open for business. Management characterized the low initial occupancy as expected for a project using this model, pointing to Pacific Mall's gradual tenant build-out as a comparison. A formal grand opening planned for October 27, 2018, was postponed until 2019. The slow growth in active tenancy and customer traffic became a recurring issue. By October 2019, 109 units were occupied by operating businesses. The mall convened a meeting to address concerns from owners about traffic and occupancy. At the same time, management pursued larger anchors and attractions that could create destination visits and support smaller shops. The Best Shop was announced in March 2019 as the first anchor tenant and opened four months later in a space of approximately 15,000 square feet. Prairie Horizon Fresh Market was announced in April 2019 as another anchor, occupying a planned 23,000-square-foot space. The market's opening in March 2020 coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Its launch therefore relied substantially on online ordering and fresh-food delivery rather than a fully conventional grand-opening event. In February 2020, New Horizon Mall said that retail-tenant occupation had passed 50 percent. A further attempt to broaden the mall's appeal came through Sky Castle, a planned 34,000-square-foot indoor playground and family entertainment centre on the second floor. Sky Castle opened in June 2021. The mall's tenant mix has continued to be described through its independent-store format, food court, event stage, heated underground parking, and entertainment-oriented facilities. Listed anchors and attractions include The Best Shop, Sky Castle Indoor Playground, and Playmore Tables and Games. New Horizon Mall remains notable for the contrast between the sale of nearly all its units as real estate and the slower process of converting those units into active retail businesses. Its operating concept combines shopping, specialty commerce, food, and family entertainment rather than following the traditional department-store-anchored suburban mall model.

• 2021

  Sky Castle opens

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Sky Castle opened as a large indoor playground and family entertainment centre on the mall's second floor.

• 2020

  Reported occupation exceeds 50 percent

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The mall reported that more than half of its retail tenant space was occupied as it prepared for the arrival of Sky Castle.

• 2019

  Anchor-tenancy expansion begins

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The Best Shop and Prairie Horizon Fresh Market were announced as major tenants intended to increase customer traffic and broaden the mall's offer.

• 2018

  Mall opens

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  New Horizon Mall opened to the public on May 1, 2018.

• 2018

  Unit sales near completion

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  By October, 99 percent of the 517 units had reportedly been sold, although only a small number were operating as stores.

• 2017

  Developers announce revised completion target

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The developers said the mall was expected to be completed by March 2018 and reported that more than 95 percent of units had been sold.

• 2016

  Construction begins

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  After schedule delays, the project broke ground in June 2016, with Ledcor responsible for construction.

• 2013

  Project announced

  [1]New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The Torgan Group announced plans for New Horizon Mall in Balzac, Alberta, with a small-unit, flea-market-style shopping format.

A large, independently operated, flea-market-style shopping centre using individually owned commercial condominium units to provide a diverse mix of small retailers, food businesses, services, and entertainment attractions.

• Retail space · 2018

  Independent retail units

  The mall's core commercial offering is a collection of individually owned and generally small retail units. Many spaces are under 300 square feet, with a substantial number under 150 square feet. This format supports independent specialty stores, services, and niche merchants rather than a small set of large chain tenants.

• Discount retail anchor · 2019

  The Best Shop

  The Best Shop is a large discount-oriented retail anchor described in reference material as a Chinese-oriented equivalent of a broad general-merchandise store. Its approximately 15,000-square-foot footprint was intended to provide a stronger customer draw than the mall's many small-format stores.

• Fresh food market · 2020

  Prairie Horizon Fresh Market

  Prairie Horizon Fresh Market was planned as a roughly 23,000-square-foot anchor focused on fresh food. Its opening occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the launch to emphasize online ordering and delivery alongside the physical market concept.

• Family entertainment · 2021

  Sky Castle Indoor Playground

  Sky Castle is a large indoor playground and family entertainment centre located on the mall's second floor. With an announced footprint of approximately 34,000 square feet, it was added as a destination attraction intended to increase visits and support broader mall occupancy.

• Games and recreation

  Playmore Tables and Games

  Playmore Tables and Games is listed among the mall's anchor or major attraction offerings. The available reference material identifies the venue but does not provide further operational or product detail.

• 2020

  Broaden the mall through family entertainmentStrategy

  Background

  The mall sought to improve customer traffic and tenant occupation by adding a destination attraction rather than relying only on small retail stores.

  Action taken

  Sky Castle was planned as a 34,000-square-foot indoor playground and family entertainment centre on the second floor.

  Aftermath

  Sky Castle opened in June 2021 and became one of the mall's listed major attractions.

  Source

• 2019

  Add larger anchor tenantsProduct launch

  Background

  Low traffic and low active occupancy created pressure to add attractions capable of drawing visitors beyond the mall's independent stores.

  Action taken

  The mall announced The Best Shop and Prairie Horizon Fresh Market as larger anchor-style tenants.

  Aftermath

  The Best Shop opened later in 2019, while the market's launch was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and initially relied heavily on online delivery.

  Source

• 2013

  Adopt a condominium-based small-store modelStrategy

  Background

  The project was designed around hundreds of individually owned retail units and a flea-market-style layout, distinguishing it from department-store-anchored shopping centres.

  Action taken

  The developer marketed and sold the mall's units separately to investors and business operators, while targeting independent and culturally diverse merchants.

  Aftermath

  Unit sales progressed rapidly, but the conversion of sold units into operating businesses was considerably slower after opening.

  Source

1. 1New Horizon Mallen.wikipedia.org