History
The mall began in 1968 with a Famous Players theatre, Woolco and Steinberg's. A mall expansion was supposed to be anchored by Morgan. But by the time the expansion was completed in 1972, the Morgan chain had been renamed to the Bay and the store at Centre Laval inaugurated under the new banner. Centre Laval had two more expansions before reaching its current size in 1988.
In the late 1980s/early 1990s, the Famous Players theatre was expanded to twelve screens. Steinberg's went bankrupt in 1992. Unlike most stores which were sold, the Centre Laval location was not sold and was closed instead, as Club Biz took the former Steinberg's space shortly thereafter.
Woolco became the current Walmart in 1994 after F.W. Woolworth Company sold Woolco to Walmart. Club Biz was acquired by Staples in 1996 and became the current Bureau en Gros. Greenberg's closed in 1997 and mall space took over the former Greenberg's site. Famous Players closed in 2003, and its space was divided between The Brick & Future Shop. Bouclair left the mall in the 2000s, and Best Buy takes the former Bouclair space.
Other tenants that closed in the past years: Music World and Palais des Copains video arcade. The Scotiabank branch, an original anchor from 1968, moved to the Quartier Laval open air shopping centre across the street.
Walmart will leave Centre Laval in November 2012 to relocate as a Walmart Supercentre in nearby Centre 2000. Following this date, Walmart's location at Centre Laval will be demolished to make room for a new Target store slated to open in Winter 2013. It will be the first Target location in Quebec that is not replacing a former Zellers store.
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