Balzac Mall Maul

Who puts a mall in Balzac?

Somewhere right now there is a group of people, probably seasoned professionals, sitting around a table. These people are agreeing that building a mall in Balzac is a good idea. Not only do they think that a mall is a good idea, they think it should be a super-mall ala West Edmonton Mall.

No doubt they have charts, they have research and they have statistics that support this idea. These people not only think that a super-mall is financially tenable, but that it’s likely to turn some kind of profit. While I’m no expert, my gut feelings says no, they’re totally wrong.

The news of course, sounds like a regurgitated press release and states that most of the retail space is already leased, that the mall will feature wondrous shopping and entertainment and will take advantage of a booming Alberta market. They’re forgetting the most important thing though – will anybody go there?

I realize Calgary’s exponential outward growth makes Balzac pretty close to the city limits, but unless you actually live on the northwest/northeast corner of the city, it’s not a convenient location. One of the things that makes West Edmonton Mall appealing for its core shoppers, Edmontonians, is that it’s reasonably fixated within the city. A Balzac mall is a drive for someone relatively central and is almost Odyssey-an for anyone living in the deep southwest or southeast.

And, unless you can get Calgarians to go there regularly, you’re not going to turn a tidy profit. Tourists alone won’t be enough to carry a mall of this size.

I’m all for ambition, but this venture already has a bad location on its side. If Canada (and partly Alberta) ever slides into recession like the US, we could be looking at one of the biggest and most expensive financial disasters in Calgary, or not quite-Calgary’s, history.