Scarborough Town Centre

Scarborough Town Centre (STC or Scarborough Town) is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre district, it is adjacent to Scarborough Centre station, the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal and the CTV Toronto studios (9 Channel Nine Court). Opened in 1973, the mall is the fourth largest shopping mall in Canada and third in Toronto by retail space.

Description

The mall is located on the north side of Albert Campbell Square, across from the Scarborough Civic Centre.

History

The mall was constructed in 1972 and opened on May 2, 1973. At that time, it included two major Canadian department stores, Simpson's and Eaton's. Miracle Food Mart, a supermarket, was also located in the mall; part of the Steinbergs chain, it was co-located with a Miracle Mart, a discount department store. It was designed to serve as part of the civic and commercial centre of what was then the Borough of Scarborough. Scarborough Town Centre opened with 130 stores adjacent to the borough's administration buildings. It provided a central landmark in an otherwise newer suburban area of Toronto.

Originally Y-shaped, with its stem towards the Civic Centre, a second phase of construction added the northern former The Bay department store and two wings. The construction added of retail space and was opened on August 8, 1979. This made STC the second shopping mall in history (after Quebec's Promenades Saint-Bruno) to simultaneously have Eaton's, Simpson's and The Bay.

In 1991, Simpson's rebranded as The Bay. The former The Bay store was emptied and extensively refurbished before reopening on September 25, 1991, as a Sears with essentially the same staff as the previous occupant. It was the largest of the eight locations that Sears acquired from the dismantling of the Simpsons chain. Walmart opened its 160,000 square foot store on July 26, 2001.

The mall's latest renovation in 2010, branded "Lighten Up," gave retailers such as Victoria's Secret interest in retail space. Victoria's Secret opened one of Canada's first Pink stores in the former Disney Store in July 2010. Other major retailers, Forever 21 and Aritzia, have replaced Sport Chek and Birks. The mall has the largest Zara store in the east GTA at . On August 23, 2023, an IKEA store opened on the lower level of the former Sears space. On October 14, 2023, a Decathlon store opened on the upper level of the former Sears space and on May 13, 2024, a Toys "R" Us opened. Hudson’s Bay closed on June 1 as part of the company’s liquidation. In Summer 2025 a Winners is set to open replacing Gap and also replacing The Old Sukoski Mart Store, Victoria's Secret, and Muji. Decathlon closed on July 31st 2025, which became a temporary location for Urban Behaviour, which reappeared in the mall.

On June 1, 2025, Hudson's Bay permanently closed after 47 years of operation.

On June 25, 2025, it was announced the Decathlon would be permanently closing along with all other GTA locations; the store was closed on July 31, 2025.

On August 21, 2025, a man was shot and killed in a shooting inside the family washroom near the lower-level food court. The victim was identified as 19-year-old Daniel Amalathas. Police have deemed the shooting a homicide. On August 29, two 17-year-old boys were arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting.

On October 7, 2025, it was announced that IKEA City would be closing down after two years of operation, with the location permanently closed on January 5, 2026.

After Christmas 2025, the Toys "R" Us permanently closed after one year of operation along with 40 other Canadian stores.

Proposed development

Currently, multiple plans are proposed for the shopping mall and its surroundings.

Scarborough Subway Extension

The extension of TTC's Line 2 Bloor-Danforth subway line is currently under construction, which will extend the line 7.8 kilometers. The extension will start from Kennedy station and go north towards McCowan Road and Sheppard Avenue with a station at the centre. This will replace the current Line 3 Scarborough that passes through the centre. The extension is expected to be complete around 2030.

Redevelopment of the centre

A proposal was created by Oxford Properties to redevelop the centre. For the first phase, the existing Cineplex Cinemas would be demolished to create space for the subway extension to the mall and a new transit hub. The current theatre would be replaced with a new movie theatre adjacent to the former Sears location. The Sears location would be renovated and divided into at least 18 retail units with three levels. A pedestrian walkway will connect the mall with the new movie theatre.

Gallery

File:STC Centre Court 2015.jpg|Centre court, 2015

File:Scarborough Town Centre Food Court 2022.jpg|Food court, 2022

File:Toronto scarborough town centre balloons4.jpg|The mall in the mid-2000s with miniature hot-air balloons

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Anchors

File:Liquidation at Hudson's Bay, Scarborough Town Centre, May 28 2025 (01).jpg|Former mall entrance of Hudson's Bay

File:Winners, Scarborough Town Centre (54729451055).jpg|Winners formerly Gap

File:IKEA City Store 2025 Scarborough Town Centre.jpg|Former IKEA City

File:Flyzone.jpg|Kids Footlocker Fly Zone

File:Nike, Scarborough Town Centre (54613539314).jpg|Nike

File:Decathlon, Scarborough Town Centre (54678986280).jpg|Decathlon This store has now closed.

File:Walmart, Scarborough Town Centre (54678881419).jpg|Walmart

File:Toys R Us at Scarborough Town Centre, November 29 2025 (01).jpg|Former Toys "R" Us