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(You Better) Shop Around
- Posted by: Tim Johnson on August 5, 2012
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I remember a time when shopping in Peterborough was a difficult thing. Faced with the prospect of only small malls and few major-brand stores, it was fairly routine, in the past, for people to travel to points southwest—Oshawa, or even Toronto—to shop for clothes, electronics and other things. When I was in grade school, my parents would often take my sister and me out of school on a Friday so we could spend the day browsing and buying at the Oshawa Centre—the simple prospect of finding good stuff to buy meant a road trip and an entire day in another city.
But times have definitely changed. In the past few years, Peterborough has undergone a shopping revolution. Now, people no longer leave town to shop—in fact, quite the opposite. A recent multi-million dollar revitalization of Lansdowne Place added almost 165,000 square feet of retail space, as well as comfortable lounge areas for those not spending in the shops, an expanded food court (complete with a fireplace and a stylish seating area), and much-improved facilities, all around; the changes have brought in a number of big-name retailers, including H&M, Old Navy, Roots and Bath & Body Works. The area around the mall has also seen a number of welcome additions, including Costco and a new Wal-Mart. And not to be outdone, the Chemong Road area in the city’s north end has seen retail and restaurant additions at Portage Place, and up and down the street. With apologies to Oshawa, it looks like these days, Peterborough won’t have any troubles keeping its shoppers here in town.
—Tim Johnson
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