, which was once Canada 's largest Department Store chain, partnered with development companies throughout the 1970s and 1980s to develop downtown shopping malls in cities across Canada. Each mall contained an Eaton's store, or was in close proximity to an Eaton's store, and typically the mall itself carried the "'''Eaton Centre'''" name. These joint-ventures represented a significant retail development trend in Canada during that period.
With the demise of the Eaton's chain in 1999 , and the retiring of the Eaton's name as a retail banner in 2002 , some of these malls have been renamed, although three of the larger ones continue to carry the Eaton name. Some malls in smaller urban areas, which were typically the least successful of all the Eaton Centre developments, have been demolished or converted to other, non-retail uses.
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- ''', one of Montreal's primary shopping districts, and is next to Eaton's former flagship Montreal store (which itself has recently been refurbished as a mall known as the Complexe Les Ailes ). The mall replaced one named "Les Terrasses", which was demolished after only a few years in operation.
- ''' store.
- ''', a former Eaton's competitor, moved into the former Eaton's store.
- ''''s "eatons" experiment, and afterwards by a Sears store. When Sears vacated the mall, the "Victoria Eaton Centre" was renamed to reflect the mall's new department store tenant, the Bay.
- , Burnaby, British Columbia : The Eaton Centre Metrotown opened in 1989. With the departure of the Eaton's store a decade later, the Eaton Centre and the nearby Metrotown Centre were incorporated into one mall.
- , (the site of the former downtown Eaton's store, now demolished).
Although neither has ever carried the Eaton name (both did, however, contain Eaton's stores), these two malls were developed by the Eaton's chain and its partners, and both are "Eaton Centres" in all but name.
- , to 1973 , this mall contained Eaton's flagship Vancouver store.
- '''- 1982 , Ottawa's "Rideau Centre" project had been subject to many years of planning. Prior to the mall's opening, Eaton's attempted to rename the mall the "Rideau Eaton Centre", but the chain was forced to back down due to the local outcry generated by the "eleventh hour" proposed name change. Nonetheless, Eaton's added an "E" to the mall's logo (although the letter has long since been removed).
Commencing in the early 1970s , Ontario 's provincial government poured millions of dollars over the course of a decade into the ODRP program in order to revitalize the downtown retail areas of smaller communities throughout the Province. Typically, this involved the construction of new downtown malls to compete with growing suburban shopping opportunities. However, there was no business case or market analysis to justify the construction of these downtown malls, and many residents noted that the enclosed facilities represented the antithesis to the one unique aspect of downtown shopping: street-related stores. Nonetheless, in a highly criticized business decision, Eaton's became a partner in the program, and its stores served as the anchor tenant in many of these malls. None of these malls ever enjoyed the success of some of the Eaton Centres in larger cities, and their failure contributed to the demise of the entire Eaton's chain.
- , Hamilton, Ontario : Unlike most communities subjected to ODRP projects, Eaton's had been present in Hamilton's downtown for many decades. Despite Eaton's years of business in downtown Hamilton, this mall was never successful. Now renamed "Hamilton City Centre", the top floor has been converted to offices.
- , Guelph, Ontario : With the departure of Eaton's, this mall was redeveloped as the Guelph Centre. The site of the Eaton's store now houses the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre, which is a large ice rink. The rest of the mall was converted to a galleria style pedestrian street, with offices above the shops. It has met with some limited success.
- , Brantford, Ontario : Eventually renamed simply "Market Square", much of this mall has been converted to non-retail uses.
- , Peterborough, Ontario : The former Eaton's store now contains movie theatres, and much of the mall is vacant.
- , Sarnia, Ontario : Renamed the Bayside Mall after the departure of Eaton's, much of this mall has been converted to office space.
- , Kitchener, Ontario : The former Eaton's store has been converted to offices.
- Galleria London, , the mall was very successful at first, due in large part to a lack of competition. The advent of suburban malls caused the slow decline of the mall, despite various efforts to refurbish the centre. The Eaton's store finally closed in 1999. The mall still exists, although a large amount of former retail space is now occupied by a public library and local educational institutions.
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