New Horizon Mall is Strange!
When it gets cold we find things to do inside. Below minus twenty and you might find us mall walking for example. Got to keep fit somehow during an arctic blast even if it means channelling our inner senior citizen. One freezing day March of 2019, we found ourselves exploring something new to us, the much talked about New Horizon Mall just north of Calgary in Balzac. It’s infamy mainly comes from one thing alone…that it’s a literal ghost town. No one speaks of it’s magnificence, just how empty it is and all that lost potential. There’s a mere handful of retailers operating (about sixty as of our visit*), relative to the total number of spaces available, and hallway after hallway of vacant store fronts. There’s room for five hundred but the occupancy rate was then perhaps twelve percent.
And of customers, there’s few. Most people seem to be here to take in the odd spectacle that is New Horizon and not to shop. Here it’s a place brand spanking new, clean, tidy that should be a hit, that shows almost no signs of life. Patterned after a similar Asian Mall in Ontario, with tiny stores rarely more than a few hundred square feet in size, this one appears to be suffering. Build it and they’ll come? Not here it seems. Come explore it with us….it’s beautifully weird and wonderful.
Update: This is how it was for us the day we dropped by, half a year ago. Business has since improved…somewhat. This is not an anti-NHM piece – we actually enjoyed our visit – so store owners quit calling to complain. Here it’s an honest and fanciful look at how it was for us that day and nothing more. We love strange and the mall delivered in that respect. And then some!
1) Arrival @ 11:19:48am. Seems we’re the second car in the parking lot. Fact is there was more than just the two vehicles seen in our picture, with most visitors choosing the heated underground parkade to escape the frigid temperatures. Still, we counted only some forty or so vehicles overall down there, some which must belong to those who work here. The lot we picked incidentally fronts on the busy Queen Elizabeth Highway and is consistently empty (not just on our visit, always) which must give the wrong impression to those passing. Is it even open?
1) March 2019: this is going to be strange.
2) 11:22:40am. Our first photo inside. There’s three stores in quick succession and beyond a big void. As far as the eye can see, there’s not a soul about. All that stark white, sterile and cold, but not as cold as outside, is too hospital-like and not particularly inviting (our opinion of course), yet still arguably pleasing in its own right.
3) 11:23:20am. Another hallway and a whole lot of empty. You got to wonder the cost to heat and light the place. With help from Google Translate: Xīn shìyě gòuwù zhòng xīn hěn qíguài or 新视野购物中心很奇怪 (New Horizon Mall is Strange! In Chinese).
4) 11:30:50am. Lunch calls! Upstairs at the “food court” the first signs of people. Go to the light…
5) 11:33:00. Later we’ll be entertained – here a performer gets ready for a show.
6) 11:42:06am. Food from Matty’s Asian Fusion Grill, the only dining option this day. They’ve got a monopoly! We’ve since heard a couple more food outlets have since opened there. These eats are reason enough to go back – yummy stuff this.
7) 12:04:52pm. Share Tea had an opening soon sign dated almost six months prior. The map at the New Horizon Mall’s website shows that business open now.
8) 12:12:12pm. Back to walking. We explore this hall and that, each looking much like the last. That we ran into the same people over and over tells us were not the only ones here to get some exercise. Security guards, looking bored out of their chicken, are quick to engage. Briefly comes a smile, some small talk and they’re gone. We suspect they have little to do but stroll about.
9) 12:13:36pm. A sale! But no customers. A lone soul looks out over an empty parking lot and we imaging him pondering life and its hidden meanings. Why are we here? What’s it all about? Why the heck am I not next door at Cross Iron where the action is? Bass Pro has a freakin’ sale on camo! Cross Iron Mills, a mega-shopping centre just to the north, is always busy, yet oddly New Horizon doesn’t seem to benefit from any spill-over traffic from there.
10) 12:16:08pm. Smart Deals, eh? We rough counted and found some sixty or so places occupied (recall, of some five hundred spaces). Given all the vacancies that total seems like less though. Interestingly some stores didn’t open the day of our visit. Or maybe they never do. We heard from security during one of those chit-chats that some owners have simply up and walked away, never to return. And they spoke further of others who have taken on second jobs to underwrite their New Horizon businesses, resulting in sporadic hours for those shops. Ahh, now it makes sense.
11) 12:16:58pm. We’ve been in the middle nowhere Saskatchewan, the remote backroads of BC, dozens of clicks from the nearest sign of civilization in Alberta, and no else have we felt more alone than at New Horizon Mall. Might as well have been on Mars.
12) 12:18:40pm. While these places looked open, there seemed no one about. Refer to what we said two paragraphs above. Selection in some stores, as is evidenced here at Il Forno, was often minimal, further exacerbating the customer problem. Little on the shelves there too buy. All the vendor stalls are glass-sided like this.
13) 12:26:18pm. A calendar from June 2018, one month after the building opened. No signs of recent activity in this shop, something we saw repeated a lot as we walked about. Seems a fair number of people leased store fronts, not in hopes of opening a business, but rather on speculation with plans to flip them for big $$ on the mall being a success. With that not happening many landlords have essentially abandoned their spaces with some reverting back to mall ownership. Others have them for sale at liquidation prices. There are “condo” type fees to pay regardless if you’re open or not. Can you say hemorrhaging money! In June 2018, we were here and much warmer: Off The Beaten Path en España.
14) 12:27:32pm. Far in back the busy QE2. The vehicle count out front holds steady at two. With help from Google Translate: 뉴 호라이즌 몰은 이상해 (New Horizon Mall is Strange! In Korean).
15) 12:35:08pm. Practising for a show. And while there’s an audience of one here, later a fair number of folks would show up, few of them hanging around once it all ended.
2) With not a soul about.
16) 12:38:52pm. The Fame Zone is gone now and does not show on recent New Horizon Mall Maps. Seems there wasn’t enough of a market for leggings after all. Stores on the outer walls, as this one is, are the smallest running about 145 square feet (with a few one quarter sized bigger). People spotted! We’ve some new friends! God, we’re lonely.
17) 12:48:16pm. Fizz & Dazzle, a place for bath bombs. New Horizon Mall is strange!
18) 12:50:52pm. There’s this peculiar optimism at the leasing office…or maybe it’s a state of denial. There’s broad smiles all around, brochures and posters speaking of the money to be made, and the success had in owning one’s own business and all manner of things contradicting the reality we’re witness too. They’ve got rose-coloured glasses on! This was in contrast shop with shop owners where smiles appear forced and the look was one of nervousness or outright despair.
19) 12:56:26pm. Someone’s coming! A new friend?! Ten bucks it a security guard, who incidentally were little concerned with us photographing things, even if the signs at the front suggest it’s prohibited (but we asked before hand). No, only Connie. Not seen, an aggressive store owner hot on her tail intent on selling her something. We encountered a few vendors which were pushy – for the third time I don’t need nail polish! – but most looked at us with pathetic lost puppy-dog eyes. Please, buy something from me. Felt sorry for most of the store owners here – can’t help but feel it’ll not end well for many.
3) Empty is the theme.
20) 1:01:30pm. Stepping outside, a break from the crowds and mayhem. The skies are blue, the snow white, yes, the world has not ceased to be.
21) 1:12:50pm. High key: a photography technique where the background is of extreme contrast (white) so as to bring out colours on the main subject. See how the pink pops? In back, a sign shows how they’ve set up the various halls as though streets.
22) 1:46:16pm. By days end we’d put on about ten kilometres. Walking is what keeps us strong. So many empty stores on Second Ave. Curious as to the layout, south to north it’s 2nd through 8th Avenue, skipping 4th. No 1st here. And west to east it’s 76th Street through 98th Street skipping 94th and 84th. Professor Google tells us eights and nine are particularly lucky in Chinese Culture which helps explain this arrangement. Four is real no-no, hence its complete absence. We just learned something today, together. BTW, our website applies numerical values to all posts for keeping track of things and this one is #40463. Oppsie!
23) 4:02:32pm. After a break from the picture taking, the show begins. And comes a crowd, out of nowhere. Here it’s a fashion show and a model totally owning it. That intensity. And the drums played.
24) 4:03:08pm. Those colours! If anything the sterile decor helps all this amazing coloured clothing really stand out.
25) 4:11:58pm. Lots of people now but when the show’s over, they’d quickly vanish and New Horizon would be quiet and empty again. But for a moment though, the place looked like it was happening
26) 4:26:58pm. The noise echoed up and down the building breaking the otherwise ever-present silence. Boom, boom, boom, it was as though a war zone with the big guns sending out barrage after barrage.
27) 4:46:22pm. Those that know us are familiar with our predilection for the colour yellow. Bright yellow that is. Maybe one day we’ll explain why. Some elegant ladies here but the left most one stands out to us.
28) 4:50:52pm. How do we get people to pose? We tell them we’re pro-photographers shooting a piece for the Times. Or the Journal. Really, that’s all it takes! No silly, we ask nice and tell them our intentions. Here’s a decked-out pair rockin’ some vivid costumes.
29) 5:06:14pm. And here, looking incredible too, more participants in the show. Smiles all around…looking good. Connie’s the people shooter.
30) 5:08:02pm. In winter the sun sets way too early in this part of the world. Full on dark at 6pm is damn hard on the psyche.
31) 5:10:18pm. Just one vehicle in the front parking lot, our lonely little POS car.
32) A glint of sun on the glass exterior. Beautiful. But it’s to be appreciated for but a moment…the freezing cold had us making a bee-line for the doors.
33) 5:11:42pm. Rolling thunder! They play fast and furious, the beat intense and the skill incredible. A picture does this drummer no justice. You had to see it, and hear it, in person. We watched enthralled for a long time.
34) 5:51:16pm. The show’s over, the quiet returns and the halls are again empty. New Horizon is supposes to close at 8pm but after the show, we saw at least a couple stores shutting down early.
35) 5:52:50pm. The store map. Welcome! Yellow (nice colour), are units that are occupied. And with one more lap done – that’s like the thirtieth one – and all possible photo angles exhausted, we decide the adventure is done. What an experience. With help from Google Translate: Trung tâm thương mại Horizon mới lạ (New Horizon Mall is Strange! In Vietnamese).
4) Wait, we see people!
36) 5:54:02pm. Next order of business, warm up the beast. The last bit of light of day is pleasing. And we’re the only ones out here enjoying it. We call this a magic moment – an adventure done and the final curtain, Mother Nature’s Wonder putting on a show just for us. In parking lot. Odd how these play out.
37) Finale @ 5:55:16pm. With the car making all manner of odd noises warming up, account that bitter cold, a photo of the New Horizon Mall sign facing the QE2. There’s room for announcements, but those spaces are vacant. Why even bother I guess. Empty is the theme here. An advertising opportunity lost – tens of thousands of cars per day pass in sight of it. And I bet most question whether if anything there is even open.
One last look back and we’re gone. Turning to each other, it comes in unison “New Horizon Mall is strange!” But that’s what we like.
*Since our visit more stores have moved in, something like a hundred on top of what’s was there on on our visit. Still, the place is far more empty than full. And the retailers have been vocal recently in the news on how badly things having been going in regards to business. More people visit, but few it seems are buying anything which suggests many stores are hanging on by a thread. Dead pools have predicted its demise many times but even we wonder how soon before it flat lines.
We’re toying with the idea of going back just to see how things are going today.
They’re saying…
So glad you know how much your posts and pictures are appreciated! Irene Storteboom.
Something like this…
Goin’ Waydowntown – the similarly empty Plus 15 on a Sunday.
Winter adventures…
Roaming Nanton.
Calgary’s Best Walks #20 (sorta).
Interesting Inglewood.
If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!
Date of Adventure: March, 2019.
Location: Balzac, AB.
Article references and thanks: New Horizon Mall, Calgary Korean Woman’s Association, Calgary Korean Association, Korean Art Club, Calgary Traditional Chinese Fashion Show Association, Calgary Chinese Music Club, Shine Dance & Lady Club.
5) An entertainer getting ready.
6) Good food from the one and only.
7) Yes, the selection is limited!
8) Large gaps of nothing between stores.
9) A sale where no one came.
10) One of perhaps sixty.
11) What it’s like to be utterly alone.
12) Lights are on…
13) From June 2018…and it has us thinking back.
14) Vehicle count holding at two.
15) An audience of one.
16) Kardashian famous?
17) Fizz & Dazzle.
18) An optimistic vibe at the leasing office.
19) The sound of footsteps & a familiar form.
20) Outside, relief from the the crowds.
21) High-key heaven.
22) Walk up, walk down & it’s ten clicks behind us.
23) The show begins & out of nowhere, a crowd.
24) Bright costumes contrast with the sterile & stark decor.
25) When the show ends, they’ll all vanish.
26) And it echoed up and down the halls.
27) Liking the yellow in particular.
28) We’re pro-photographers don’t you know…
29) Happy to pose.
30) Comes the setting sun.
31) Meanwhile in the parking lot.
32) Outside it’s bloody cold.
33) Pound those skins!
34) With the show over, a return to this.
35) A map to guide the way – treasure awaits!
36) Yup, the BIGDoer-mobile is still there.
37) All that’s left is a shot of the sign.
SKY CASTLE!!! Go see the new anchor tenant. It must be such a welcome relief…this place was full to the brim on the upper level & they own TWO play places inside!! Wow wow wow! So I took my kiddos to what seems like the only source of revenue for New Horizon. I’m going to go broke thanks to SkyCastle. The general manager Ronelle(sp??) was SOOO accommodating to my autistic child. 50% off for him & normally loud places bother him. But she showed us “mini-town” which was directly across from the mothership SkyCastle so we could enjoy some quieter time. she literally understood that he might need breaks. So THANK YOU for that!
I do feel bad for the other tenants as literally hundreds make a bee-line for the escalators to get to the “castle”. I hope some of the business Sky Castle brings to the mall spills over to support the other shops.
New Horizon is an enigma! Glad to see someone making a go of it there, but truth is I doubt there’s much spill over traffic benefitting other merchants. We’ve been back since, but saw little change on the main floor. That new place in the basement seemed to be doing a good business, but people shopping there were not patronizing other shops. We saw it! How the mall’s still open amazes us and we feel sorry for those not doing well (so most). Thanks for your comment.
When I first read about this concept I thought ownership would be attractive to many business owners. But accessability? Perhaps a mall operated shuttle ,on the hour, from Chinatown to the mall.
However , the attempt to turn every last sq.inch into a revenue generator seems to have backfired. What may be required is to knock out a bunch of walls to create a couple of 10,000+ sq.ft.units that could be offered at silly low lease rate to “anchors”.Perhaps a high volume Asian grocery and a destination retailer such as a discount appliance/furniture outlet.
Is it too late ?
The Best Shop, I think that’s what it’s a called, took over a large space in the mall. But it’s so far removed from the rest of the shops (in the parkade level) that while generating a fair bit of traffic, it seems to benefit no one else. Ouch! The mall recently announced they were half full now. The reality is a lot of shops are open sporadically so it’s not the big deal suggested. In spite of some advances, many still have New Horizons on death watch.
You folks are heroes for contributing to a truthful view of New Horizon Mall as bizarre and wonderful as it is.
We love to document things a little different and outside the norm.
Big fan! Have you been back to the mall since?
Awesome! Yes, we did recently. That new anchor Best Shop seems to be busy but it’s alone on the parking level and it seems most folks shopping there don’t visit the rest of the mall. We watched. New Horizon itself has easily double the shops compared to our first visit, but we still see big problems. Many places were closed, like a third to half, and it was the peak-shopping period of mid-afternoon on a Saturday. Cross Iron was total gridlock by the way. Other shops have many barren shelves like they’re winding down business or lack the funds to restock. A number of those in business on our first visit are gone now. Some businesses had big half off sales which reeks of desperation and suggests they’re getting out while they can. Also, just how many cell phone case shops does the place need? There’s an oversupply of them. There were lots of “coming soon” signs on vacant units, which sounds positive until you notice many have dates going back months or a year. There’s more than a few half completed stores, that they started work on but appear to have abandoned. While the main aisles had okay traffic, at the outer wall shops (the smallest ones by the way) it’s still a ghost town. A store owner we spoke with called it “desperation alley”. Many shop owners were quite brazen and forceful in an attempt to get us into their business. That pushy attitude in the end will drive customers away. The game store seems to be doing well and has expanded, and the hair salons were busy, but for the rest, there was more traffic passing but still few customers. Over all, it still does not bode well for the place. Those who are betting types probably have their money on it failing. The concept is good, but the execution badly flawed.
Channeling your inner old fart is more like it!
You can’t see it, but I’m shaking my cane at you!
Awesome up and coming mall! There are SO many amazing stores, my favourite place to shop at is prowlers.
Ah…yeah. Your post does not sound the least bit suspicious. Store owner perhaps?
Nice moody pics! Stopped in one day. It was just empty shop after empty shop. Whoever designed the mall obviously wasn’t thinking. There are two bathrooms in the whole place both at the far end and neither on the main floor. Everything looks the same, no color or feeling to they layout and it comes across as a white sterile maze. It’s sad the shops that have opened are suffering because there was no “must be filled by” date for the empty stores, therefore no business comes into an empty mall. Shops are way to small add a person or two in them and your rubbing elbows pretty much. Just a depressing sad place that’s dying before it even started.
That sums it up well. Most leave the mall scratching their heads account these very reasons. Thanks for commenting.
Eerie!
I know! It was so cool exploring it with you. We got lots of calls from tenants, some angry on seeing this as a damning piece – what the heck, it’s simply a fanciful tour of what we saw – with others expressing frustration and heavy with worry that their worlds might be falling apart right before their eyes. If anything, it’s brought out emotions. And time will tell what the future will hold.
Just reading made me feel lonely. Great job of capturing the vibe. Or lack of vibe, really. The photographs have an eerie quality. Kinda like when we photographed the abandoned neighbourhood in High River.
Yes! Love that whole “has the world ended and no one’s told me” quality. Everything’s in place but with no people to be seen.
Very strange.
Indeed!
investors in that lil mall…………right next door to a major mall in the country……………fooled themselves…………2 minutes of thoughtful consideration should have sent them elsewhere
I think you hit the nail on the head, as much as it’s a hard truth.
Well now I’m curious – I’ll have to make a point of checking it out.
You might just like it. Even if it’s for that odd empty vibe.
…I’ve worked all the malls in Calgary over the years. News always highlights particular malls only. Reality is there are malls that struggle right now.. Especially when news misinforms public of how busy they supposedly are. I have had days where no one walks by for hours… Even at Christmas.
We live not far from what is perhaps Calgary’s most depressed mall, Westbrook. If New Horizon was in town, it of course would take the title. Anyway, you can shoot a canon down Westbrook’s main concourse and worry not about hitting a soul some days. Seems Chinook and South Centre are doing the best.
My husband and I stopped in there once when we were visiting Calgary. We saw the big OPEN sign so we went in. We were like WHAT THE HELL!? So strange!!! We really liked it though. So sad that they can’t get people in it. I think it would be amazing if they could. We loved the game store, haha.
We actually wish everyone there well, but the reality is something big has to happen soon, we think, or maybe it’s curtains. If you like the strange empty angle, it’s fabulous!
Why they built there, is beyond me. They’ll never compete with Cross Iron. Even Deerfoot is completely revamped and it’s thriving, adding more competition.
I don’t know that New Horizon is a direct competitor to X-Iron. More complementary – or at least in plan and not necessary execution. They don’t seem to be getting much spill over traffic which speaks volumes on how their plans are not working.
As malls go, it is pretty ugly and boxy!
Very airport-ish as one commentor mentioned. All that blinding white light!
The owners claim they have an Anchor tenant to be announced soon.
A T&T type place might help. That’s a destination store. Or maybe the mall is doomed no matter. Our instincts keep going back to that eventually.
It’s a shame, but malls have been on the decline since the late 1980s, and even more so with the exponential growth of online commerce. Another example is the closure of the Northridge Mega Mall northwest of downtown Milwaukee, WI some nearly two decades ago. Minneapolis’s Mall Of America is also seeing decline in shoppers and vacant store fronts because they cannot thrive due to high leasing costs and fierce online competition.
Over building and online competition are no doubt very big contributing factors to the decline of the indoor shopping mall. And New Horizon might just be the last new build out this way for a while.
…As its a condo mall and people own the stores it takes awhile for all stores to open up. We have come a long way so keep coming back as there will be something different each time.
Based on the angry calls from tenants, many who feel this write up is “fake news” (WTF?!), and from someone in your office who similarly said so, I’m not convinced we’ll be welcome! Haha. I’ll make sure to not wear anything yellow!
Sad, this happens when you build a mall next to an already established mall and have now grand opening or advertisements of any kind. I was kind of expecting this would happen.
New Horizon has not been promoted well.
a fool and his money are soon parted,how many shopping malls do we need….:]
It seems at least one too many…
Any issues with security? I’ve heard stories of them hassling other bloggers and YouTubers when they are in there shooting photos and videos.
We went straight to the office, showed them who we were and spoke of our intentions. They let us roam about freely taking photos.
I was there 2 weekends ago…..I’m sure the businesses that are there are lovely, but it is an odd format and with so many stores empty it feels unfinished? We wanted to support the food court but there were only 2 places up and running. We also wanted to sit out on the balcony area but it was locked off to customers 🤔 We did stumble into the closed Haunted House in the underground parade though, which was extra creepy during the day….with no one around….*shudder*. I will be surprised if it fills up and works out only because of the distance from the heavy foot traffic and ease of access.
Comment of the day! The place is strange indeed.
Hey Chris. I actually work at this mall. My family owns a store here, no it’s not almost completely empty of stores or customers. There are well over 100 stores open and several opening up soon, including a farmers market that opens up this weekend. Yes there are 500 store spots, and it’s been a slow growth, but it is growing and gaining in popularity. All the units have to be finished by the business, including flooring, paint, electrical signage etc. It takes time to open a store, including permits and inspections. It’s not a simple process at all. There is a lot involved
Yes There are days where it’s quiet and customers are not around, mostly due to weather (today in particular because of the snow and the cold) but on the weekends it gets very busy. It’s a shame that you have not bothered to update your opinion of this mall and come back and see how Much it has changed since March before posting this.
Saw you in the Herald. I think you hit the nail on the head there in that piece. We have no doubt you face many challenges, but the view from here, as an outsider, makes them look gargantuan. Best of luck. We don’t have a bad opinion of New Horizon but don’t see it succeeding if it’s forever in a holding pattern. Something big has to happen soon me thinks. A look at the mall’s website today shows it hovering at about 25% occupancy. We understand from other tenants that perhaps only half to three quarters of them are open any one day. Yikes!
Only been there once and had to leave. There was some kind of Karaoke thing going on at the ground level in the centre of the mall. The volume level was ridiculous. Even on the second floor on the opposite side of the mall you had to raise your voice to speak to the person next to you. We had a baby with us an it was no environment for a child. We had to leave. As we were leaving I told every vendor we walked past why. They were also not impressed with the unnecessary noise driving away customers. I have seen some of the loudest rock bands in history perform iam used to loud music but this was just beyond comprehension for being in a shopping mall.
Motorhead loud?
Ill have to check this out next time I’m down thst way. Didn’t even know it was there.
For strange factor alone, it’s worth it!
Not suprised to see how empty this mall is. The mall where I live, had a few empty stores. Now it’s being renovated, in to big box store type format.
If anything New Horizon Mall is clearly demonstrating to us that the concept seems to be on the way out.
I feel it was built far to close to the other Cross Iron Mall. Bad location.
I think location is in part a big problem – hard to get to for some. But New Horizon Mall is sick in many other ways.
It is a fabulous location to get your daily steps in – the “streets & avenues” inside are long & there are long stretches where there is no window shopping to distract a person. It is a puzzle on many levels.
It felt very Twilight Zone-ish.
…We do community relations for New Horizon and you are right when you say this concept worked really well in Ontario. We aren’t’ going anywhere and while things are progressing more slowly then we’d like, its is an incredible time if you ever wanted to operate a store. Follow up with the leasing folks to confirm but have a look at this news release as it shows its possible to get a store for $400 per month:
And more from the other side…
ugly mall, looks like an airport. no benches.
Yes that blinding white and sterile airport vibe. Waited hours for our West Jet flight before we realized we’re in the wrong place!
Good place to go to to get a winter walk in. No crowds and no temptation to impulse buy. Wonder how they can keep it going. The utility costs alone probably aren’t covered by the tenants they have.
I think those who bought a spot but as yet done anything with them are contributing to the mall’s bottom line too. Still, the burn rate must be incredible.
Same down here…our mall at 40% occupied and I think I might visit once in 12-18 month spans.
I think New Horizon would kill to see 40%!
Hi Folks – this is a condo mall, more of an upscale marketplace where the owners have bought their store, so just like developers can’t control when people decided to move in their house. At places like Market Mall, operators are fined if they don’t open. Please Google “New Horizon Mall” and hit the news tab to see all the media we have generated for New Horizon. There has been a ton of publicity. We have come a long way and once people release its not your typical mall, things make a lot more sense.
Thank for chiming in. It’s always good to hear opposing views.
With the current economy and move of shoppers online .. only a matter of time until it is empty and abandoned.
And then we’ll go back in together and document the abandonment.
Great mall-a-logue 😁. But I’ve wondered why such a mall was built so close to X-Iron. With all the stores there, who would cross the hwy to go to yet another mall? Nobody, obviously.
Glad you like it. While it’s close to Cross Iron, it’s different in scope. Still, you’d think they’d get some spill over traffic at least, but that seems minimal. It’s just not working.
Same investors as Pacific Mall in Scarborough, Ont.
It took a while but PM is at nearly capacity. It is know mostly as an electronics haven.
Not sure about this Calgary version. Me thinks it is too far from reliable transit and has been promoted poorly…
I’d agree that those two reasons would be contributing factors. No one knows its there and getting to it is not all that easy for a lot of folks.
I think it’s still less than 25%. I go to Cross Iron Mills, just across the road, but there is no advertising, so I have no idea what stores are there, to make me want to go to New Horizon Mall.
Mall defenders have been calling us a lot saying it’s filled up since our visit. Some made it sound like it was bursting at the seams with new stores. But New Horizon’s own website paints a different picture. It’s still only quarter full or so, which is pretty sad really.
About the only Mall thriving is Mall Of America, Bloomington(Minneapolis/St. Paul)MN. But it a ‘Famous’ destination mall.
Yes, a few like MofA are thriving. Over all, however, these places are on the decline. They seems to be doing a bit better in Canada, than the US, but winter weather I believe helps explain some of that.
The idea is an Asian style condo mall where the merchants own the kiosks. Like the idea a bazaar or souk concept like many other places in the world but it is slow to fill up. Wish them all the best! The T&T centres seem to be successful because they have a grocery store anchor to draw people.
The distance from town must be partly responsible for the high vacancy rate at New Horizon. But I’m sure it’s far more complex, with other reasons. That many who bought stalls with no intention of opening a store but rather to flip them, must be a contributing factor.
A stark nothingness right out of some post apocalyptic movie. You mentioned a few pushy tenants. It happened to us too, which we found off putting. Great write up dude!
It almost feels like some kind of complex social experiment. Like we’re hamsters in a maze, the mighty brain trust watching our every move, for some in depth experiment. One person chased Connie down trying to sell something – yeah that’s not good. I’d be willing to bet some stores have zero paying customers on the slowest days, so we can understand why, but not approve of the method. Sad, really. We feel bad for most of the businesses there.
Strangely dystopian.
There’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop,
the Twilight ZoneNew Horizon Mall!Went in last week and it’s still a ghost mall.
New Horizon’s HQ messaged us and told us while the growth has been slow, things are on the cusp of taking off. They said it as though gospel. Time will tell. On the mall website they list 138 tenants (as of today) and that’s just over a quarter occupied. Interestingly, that’s a tad misleading as it’s been shown that a number of stores are only open sporadically.
Worth visiting just for the weird value. When we stopped by last month there we counted less than ten people inside, at least a couple of of them security guards. Feels like a ghost town. The food at Matty’s was good though.
When the show was on the place was pretty busy, but it seemed those folks were only at the mall to watch. Before and after, there was rarely more than a handful of people inside, including us. Almost as many guards, and more store owners, than shoppers.
An eerie shell of a mall. The vast majority of the units are empty with only a real estate agent’s sign sitting in the window. Unfortunately there is very little reason to visit in it’s current state unless you’re like Chris & Connie and go for the strange vibe angle. Great travelogue, by the way with excellent photos. I sincerely hope the mall is a success but my instincts say otherwise.
You hit the nail on the head here. Something big has to happen or they’ll forever struggle. Or worse, perish. We did enjoy our visit, but quite honestly it was because it felt abandoned, more than any other reason.
A set for The Walking Dead… Wow! Viral Video!
Malls!
Commencing!
Seph you old dog, where have you been? Nice to let us know you’re still alive. I know malls are your domain so excuse us for stepping on your toes.
What a strange place. There are so many unused stalls that it feels abandoned. Hopefully they’ll bring in more stores and more food options.
They’re slowly building up the tenant base, still, we wonder what the future holds. After a year and half and it’s still only a quarter full, up a bit from when we visited.
Chris, what you wrote is a story of what hell must be like – utter despair and loneliness. At any time during my read I was expecting to come to a chilling account of a store owner suddenly pulling out a gun and blowing his brains out. Stephen King could learn a thing or two from you.
There was a strange sense of despair. On this hand the mall is all shiny and new and shows great potential, but on the other, a palpable sense of uneasy from store owners (as it was on our visit). You could see it on their faces. It’s an odd contrast for sure, this sparkling clean, well polished hell. Glad you picked up on the vibe.