North Hill Centre

North Hill Centre is a shopping centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It opened in 1958 as the Calgary Centre and is generally identified as Calgary's first shopping mall. At its opening, the centre was promoted as the largest shopping centre in Western Canada, with approximately 30 shops and services. Its early format combined an enclosed or semi-enclosed retail area with a freestanding Simpsons-Sears department store, offering consumers a consolidated destination for department-store merchandise, everyday services, and later grocery shopping. The centre developed through several major phases. Stores began opening in June 1958, followed by an official grand opening in October of that year. A 1973 expansion added approximately 20 stores and enclosed the shopping area, transforming the original strip-mall arrangement into a more conventional enclosed mall. During the following decades, the property was anchored by major retailers including Sears, Canada Safeway, and Super Valu, while a smaller Zellers store also operated there for part of the period. Entertainment facilities added to the site in the 1960s included the Fairview Bowling Alley and North Hill Cinema, both of which operated until the late 1990s. A major redevelopment completed around 2000 modernized the interior. The renovation removed the original irregular columns, raised and unified the ceiling, added shops and services, and created a new food court. It also relocated Canada Safeway to the western side of the centre, replacing the former Super Valu space, while the former cinema and bowling-alley structure was demolished to create additional parking, retail space, restaurants, and externally accessed businesses. In 2004, The Renaissance condominium development added two eight-storey residential towers beside the centre and above a new covered parking area, strengthening the property's mixed-use character. North Hill Centre has remained connected to several important Calgary destinations and transportation patterns. Its eastern parking area has been used by students at the nearby Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, visitors to the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, and CTrain users, although that area became pay-only by the mid-2010s; western parking remained free according to the cited account. The mall's tenant mix changed significantly after Sears Canada closed its location on January 8, 2018, following the chain's nationwide liquidation. The former Sears ground-floor space was subsequently used by Showhome Furniture. Dollarama and Winners were added as junior anchors in 2018–19. By 2025, the centre was pursuing a more specialized retail strategy designed to attract visitors from beyond its immediate neighbourhood. Recruitment focused on collector-oriented and enthusiast businesses, including retro-video-game, action-figure, collectible, sports-card, and trading-card-game retailers. This repositioning sought to make North Hill Centre a destination for hobby and collector communities rather than relying exclusively on conventional comparison shopping and everyday retail. The centre remains an active Calgary shopping property, although ownership, financial performance, and a complete current tenant directory are not established in the supplied sources.

North Hill Centre originated as a Calgary retail development that opened in 1958 under the name Calgary Centre. Its first stores began trading in June, and the formal opening followed in October. The centre was promoted as the largest shopping centre in Western Canada and contained roughly 30 shops and services. Its original arrangement combined a strip-mall-style shopping area with a freestanding Simpsons-Sears department store, reflecting the transitional retail formats of the period. In 1967, the property added entertainment facilities in its parking area. The Fairview Bowling Alley replaced an earlier bowling facility located in the mall basement, and North Hill Cinema opened above it. These uses expanded the centre beyond shopping and helped establish it as a leisure destination as well as a retail property. Both facilities continued operating until 1999. The most important early redevelopment occurred in 1973. Approximately 20 stores were added, and the formerly open strip-mall arrangement was enclosed. The resulting interior was characterized by a central corridor, columns of differing sizes, and varying ceiling heights. During the 1990s, the principal anchors included Sears and Canada Safeway, while Super Valu occupied the western end. A smaller Zellers store was also present for part of that decade. The combination of department-store and grocery anchors gave the property a broad everyday-shopping role in Calgary. A comprehensive renovation around 2000 updated the centre's physical design. Interior columns were removed, the ceiling was raised to a consistent level, and new shops and services were introduced. A food court was created, while Canada Safeway moved from the eastern side near Sears to the western end, replacing the former Super Valu operation. The freestanding cinema and bowling-alley building was demolished in 1999 as part of the redevelopment program, allowing space for parking, additional building area, restaurants, and businesses with exterior entrances. The centre's mixed-use setting expanded in 2004 with construction of The Renaissance, comprising two eight-storey condominium towers adjacent to the mall and above a new covered parking area. By the middle of the 2010s, parts of the property also functioned as an important parking resource for students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, visitors attending events at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, and CTrain users. The easternmost parking area became pay-only, while the western lots remained free in the cited account. North Hill Centre experienced another major tenant transition when Sears Canada closed its store on January 8, 2018, following the chain's national shutdown. Showhome Furniture subsequently occupied the ground-floor portion of the former Sears premises. Dollarama and Winners were added as junior anchors during 2018–19, helping replace some of the traffic traditionally generated by Sears. In 2025, the centre adopted a more targeted leasing strategy. Management pursued collector-oriented tenants, including Gaming Lounge for retro video games, TFTOYS.CA for action figures and collectibles, Overtime Cards, and Bento Gaming for sports and trading-card products such as Pokémon. The objective was to draw customers from a broader catchment area and position the mall as a destination for collectors and hobbyists. The property's history also includes an environmental issue associated with a Sears-operated gas station in the parking lot. A leak that persisted for at least two decades contaminated soil and groundwater, leading to monitoring wells and meters in nearby residential areas. The supplied material does not identify the current owner, operator, financial results, or a complete current tenant roster.

• 2025

  Collector-oriented retail strategy expands

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The centre recruited specialty stores serving retro-gaming, action-figure, collectible, sports-card, and trading-card communities.

• 2018

  Sears Canada location closes

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The former anchor closed on January 8 during Sears Canada's national liquidation; Showhome Furniture later occupied the ground-floor space.

• 2018

  New junior anchors are introduced

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Dollarama and Winners joined the centre's tenant mix during 2018–19.

• 2004

  The Renaissance residential towers are added

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Two eight-storey condominium towers and a covered parking area were built beside and above part of the mall property.

• 2000

  Major renovation is completed

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The interior was modernized, a food court was added, Safeway was relocated, and new retail, restaurant, parking, and exterior-access space was developed.

• 1999

  Cinema and bowling structure is demolished

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The cinema and bowling-alley building ceased operations and was removed in preparation for the major redevelopment completed around 2000.

• 1973

  Shopping area is expanded and enclosed

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The centre gained approximately 20 stores and was converted from its original strip-mall format into an enclosed shopping area.

• 1967

  Bowling alley and cinema added

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Fairview Bowling Alley and North Hill Cinema opened in a structure in the mall's parking area, adding entertainment uses to the retail complex.

• 1958

  Calgary Centre opens

  [1]North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Stores began opening in June, and the official grand opening took place in October. The development was promoted as the largest shopping centre in Western Canada and later became known as North Hill Centre.

A long-established Calgary neighbourhood shopping centre that combines everyday retail, grocery and service tenants, restaurants, and increasingly specialized collector-oriented stores.

• Retail and services · 1958

  Shopping-centre retail and services

  North Hill Centre's core offering is a multi-tenant retail environment rather than a proprietary product line. Over its history, the property has hosted department-store, grocery, discount, apparel, service, restaurant, and specialty tenants. Its role has shifted from a broad traditional mall anchored by Sears and supermarkets toward a more mixed and specialized neighbourhood destination.

• Food and beverage · 2000

  Food court and restaurants

  The 2000 redevelopment added a food court and expanded restaurant space, including businesses with exterior-only access. These facilities form part of the centre's convenience and dwell-time proposition, although specific current operators are not established in the supplied material.

• Specialty retail · 2025

  Collector and hobby retail

  The 2025 leasing initiative emphasized stores serving collector communities. The cited examples cover retro video games, action figures, general collectibles, sports cards, and trading-card games, including Pokémon-related products. This category was intended to give the centre a destination function reaching beyond its immediate neighbourhood.

• Sears-operated gas station groundwater contamination

  A gas station operated by Sears Canada in the mall parking lot was found to have leaked gasoline into soil and groundwater. The leak reportedly continued for at least two decades and resulted in monitoring sites, wells, and residential meters in the nearby Hounsfield Heights/Briar Hill area.

  Source

Read more

• 2025Collector-oriented tenant recruitment

  Calgary · Alberta

  North Hill Centre pursued an aggressive recruitment program focused on collector and hobby businesses. The effort brought in or promoted retailers associated with retro gaming, action figures, collectibles, sports cards, and trading-card games.

  Outcome. The cited account characterized the new mix as helping turn the centre into a destination stop for collectors and attract visitors from farther away.

  Source

• 2025

  Target collector and hobby communitiesStrategy

  Background

  The centre sought ways to draw customers from a wider area than its conventional neighbourhood catchment.

  Action taken

  Management pursued collector-oriented tenants covering retro games, action figures, collectibles, sports cards, and trading-card games.

  Aftermath

  The strategy was intended to make North Hill Centre a destination for collectors and hobbyists.

  Source

• 2018

  Replace the former Sears anchor after its closureOther

  Background

  Sears Canada closed its North Hill Centre store on January 8 during the chain's nationwide shutdown.

  Action taken

  The former Sears ground-floor space was subsequently used by Showhome Furniture, while Dollarama and Winners were added as junior anchors during 2018–19.

  Aftermath

  The changes replaced the traditional department-store anchor with furniture and discount-oriented uses and diversified the centre's tenant mix.

  Source

• 2000

  Modernize the centre and reposition its tenant layoutStrategy

  Background

  The property required a substantial physical update, and its grocery and entertainment components were being reorganized.

  Action taken

  The renovation removed columns, raised the ceiling, added a food court and new shops, moved Canada Safeway to the western end, and replaced the former cinema and bowling structure with expanded parking and building space.

  Aftermath

  North Hill Centre gained a more standardized interior, additional restaurant and retail capacity, and a revised anchor configuration.

  Source

• 1973

  Convert the original retail layout into an enclosed mallStrategy

  Background

  The original development consisted of a strip-mall-style shopping area alongside a freestanding Simpsons-Sears store.

  Action taken

  The centre added about 20 stores and enclosed the shopping area.

  Aftermath

  The redevelopment established the enclosed-mall format that defined North Hill Centre for subsequent decades.

  Source

1. 1North Hill Centreen.wikipedia.org