Centerpoint Mall

Centerpoint Mall is a shopping centre in Newtonbrook, Toronto, Ontario, situated on the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue at Toronto’s boundary with York Region. The property is a major retail destination serving northern Toronto and nearby communities, and is identified with the Centerpoint Mall name adopted in 1990. Before that rebranding, the enclosed centre operated as Towne and Countrye Square. The mall began operating in 1966, during a period when enclosed suburban shopping centres were expanding across the Toronto region. Its early anchor lineup included Sayvette and Super City Discount Foods, followed later by Miracle Mart. These tenants reflected the period’s combination of discount department-store retail, food shopping, and general merchandise. Over time, the property changed substantially as individual retail chains disappeared, changed format, or were replaced by successor businesses. Miracle Mart was converted into a Canadian Tire location, while the Super City/Loblaws site was demolished and rebuilt as a two-storey Zellers store. The Bay subsequently opened an adjacent department-store building on the Yonge Street side of the site in April 1974. The mall’s anchor history illustrates the broader transformation of Canadian retail. Sayvette ceased operations in 1975, and its former space became Woolco. After Woolco closed, the location was repurposed for food retail under Loblaw Companies, first as a Super Centre and later as Loblaws. It is now occupied by No Frills. The former Zellers space followed another succession of large-format operators: Target acquired the leasehold and opened there on March 19, 2013, but Target’s Canadian operations closed in early 2015. Lowe’s then opened in the former Target premises in late November 2016, before closing by the end of February 2019. Canada Computers began operating in part of the space on December 14, 2019, using only the first floor. Centerpoint’s physical configuration is organized around a cross-shaped mall layout. The centre also includes food and grocery uses with operating arrangements that are partly separate from the enclosed mall. Congee Queen is accessible to customers through an exterior entrance, while its interior-facing doorway is reserved for staff and deliveries. The supermarket is connected to the mall interior, although shopping carts are restricted from entering the remainder of the centre. These features demonstrate how the property combines enclosed-mall circulation with specialized, independently functioning retail spaces. The site’s future became a major planning issue in the 2020s. On December 9, 2021, the owners submitted an application to the City of Toronto for redevelopment of the property. The proposal contemplated demolishing the existing mall over several years and replacing it with a mixed-use district comprising residential, retail, and office development blocks, a network of new public and private streets, a central public park, and privately owned publicly accessible spaces. The proposal indicates a shift from a traditional enclosed shopping-centre model toward a denser, transit- and community-oriented urban complex. The existing mall nevertheless remains an active retail site, with its long history of anchor replacements and format changes continuing to shape its identity.

Centerpoint Mall originated as Towne and Countrye Square, an enclosed shopping centre that began operations in 1966 in Toronto’s Newtonbrook neighbourhood. Its location at Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue placed it near the municipal boundary between Toronto and York Region, giving it a trade area that extended beyond the immediate neighbourhood. The original retail concept combined discount department stores, food shopping, and general merchandise in an enclosed mall format. The first major anchors included Sayvette and Super City Discount Foods. Miracle Mart was later added, broadening the centre’s department-store offer. As Canadian retail chains evolved, the mall’s tenant mix changed repeatedly. Miracle Mart’s former premises became a Canadian Tire store. The Super City operation, later associated with Loblaws, was demolished and replaced by a two-storey Zellers building. The Bay added a department-store building adjacent to Yonge Street in April 1974, reinforcing the property’s role as a regional shopping destination. Sayvette ceased operating in 1975. Its former space was converted to Woolco, another major discount retailer. When Woolco later closed, the space was reused by Loblaw Companies for food retail, first as a Super Centre and then as Loblaws. The grocery operation subsequently became a No Frills store. These changes reflect the replacement of national department-store chains by grocery, discount, and specialty formats as the Canadian retail market changed. The centre adopted the name Centerpoint Mall in 1990. The rebranding gave the property a distinct identity while retaining its established role as a local and regional shopping destination. Its cross-shaped interior layout and mixture of enclosed retail, grocery, food-service, and specialty premises allowed the centre to accommodate different forms of shopping. Some businesses operated with arrangements that were partly independent of the enclosed mall. For example, Congee Queen used an exterior customer entrance, while the interior-facing door served staff and deliveries. The supermarket remained connected to the mall but restricted shopping carts from entering the rest of the centre. The former Zellers anchor entered another phase of transition in the 2010s. Zellers closed in 2012 after its leasehold was purchased by Target. Target opened at the property on March 19, 2013, but its Canadian stores closed in early 2015. Lowe’s then occupied the former Target premises from late November 2016 until the store closed by the end of February 2019. Canada Computers opened in a smaller portion of the premises on December 14, 2019, using only the first floor. In the 2020s, the property became the subject of a major redevelopment proposal. On December 9, 2021, the owners applied to the City of Toronto for permission to redevelop the site. The plan envisioned the phased demolition of the existing mall and the creation of a mixed-use urban district with residential, retail, and office buildings, new public and private streets, a central public park, and privately owned publicly accessible spaces. This proposal would transform Centerpoint from a conventional enclosed shopping centre into a denser mixed-use neighbourhood while retaining retail activity as one component of the site. The Bay’s Canadian operations later became another source of change to the property’s anchor landscape. According to the supplied reference material, all remaining Hudson’s Bay stores in Canada closed in June 2025, leaving the two-storey department-store building at Centerpoint vacant. The same material states that demolition began in 2026 to support construction associated with the Yonge North subway extension. These later developments should be checked against current municipal and operator records because the property’s status may change as redevelopment and transit-related construction proceed.

• 2021

  Mixed-use redevelopment application submitted

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  The owners applied to Toronto to redevelop the property as a mixed-use district with housing, retail, offices, streets, and public open space.

• 2019

  Canada Computers opens

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  Canada Computers began operating on December 14 in part of the former Lowe’s space.

• 2016

  Lowe’s opens

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  Lowe’s opened in the former Target premises in late November.

• 2015

  Target exits Canada

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  The Target store closed as part of the shutdown of the company’s Canadian operations.

• 2013

  Target opens

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  Target opened in the former Zellers anchor space on March 19.

• 2012

  Zellers closes

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  The Zellers store closed after Target acquired its leasehold.

• 1990

  Mall renamed Centerpoint Mall

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  The shopping centre adopted the Centerpoint Mall name, replacing the Towne and Countrye Square identity.

• 1975

  Sayvette exits and Woolco takes over its space

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  After Sayvette ceased operations, its former premises were converted for Woolco.

• 1974

  The Bay joins the centre

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  A Bay department-store building opened adjacent to Yonge Street in April, expanding the mall’s large-format retail offer.

• 1966

  Towne and Countrye Square begins operations

  [1]Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org

  The enclosed shopping centre opened under the name Towne and Countrye Square, with Sayvette and Super City Discount Foods among its initial anchors.

A longstanding community-oriented shopping centre serving northern Toronto and the York Region border, combining enclosed-mall retail with grocery, food-service, large-format, and specialty tenants.

• Retail property · 1966

  Enclosed shopping-centre retail

  Centerpoint Mall provides enclosed retail space arranged around a cross-shaped interior layout. Its tenant mix has historically included department stores, discount retailers, grocery stores, specialty retailers, restaurants, and service businesses. The centre contains approximately 59,005 square metres of retail space and functions as a multi-tenant shopping destination rather than as a single-product retailer.

• Food retail · 1966

  Grocery retail

  Food retail has been part of the property’s anchor mix since the original Super City Discount Foods operation. The site later hosted Loblaws formats, including a Super Centre and Loblaws, and is now associated with No Frills. The supermarket is connected to the mall but uses controlled cart access so carts do not circulate through the rest of the enclosed centre.

• Restaurants

  Food service

  The centre includes restaurants and prepared-food businesses serving mall visitors and the surrounding community. Congee Queen is configured with a customer entrance from outside the enclosed mall, allowing it to operate separately from the main mall’s opening and circulation arrangements.

• Anchor retail space · 1966

  Large-format anchor premises

  The property has repeatedly adapted large anchor premises for changing retail formats. The former Zellers space later housed Target, Lowe’s, and part of Canada Computers. This succession demonstrates the mall’s ability to reuse substantial floor area as department-store, home-improvement, and specialty-electronics demand changed.

• 2021

  Proposal for phased mixed-use redevelopmentStrategy

  Background

  The existing property is a large, established enclosed shopping centre at a major Toronto arterial intersection, with a long history of replacing traditional department-store anchors.

  Action taken

  On December 9, the owners submitted a municipal application proposing phased demolition and replacement with residential, retail, and office development blocks, new public and private streets, a central park, and privately owned publicly accessible spaces.

  Aftermath

  The proposal positioned the site for transformation from a conventional enclosed mall into a mixed-use urban district. The ultimate approval, construction schedule, and completion status are not established in the supplied material.

  Source

• 1990

  Rebrand from Towne and Countrye Square to Centerpoint MallStrategy

  Background

  The enclosed shopping centre had operated since the 1960s under the Towne and Countrye Square name and had experienced substantial tenant and anchor changes.

  Action taken

  The property adopted the Centerpoint Mall name.

  Aftermath

  The Centerpoint Mall identity became the continuing name of the Toronto shopping centre.

  Source

1. 1Centerpoint Mall (Toronto)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Centerpoint Mall official websitecenterpointshops.com