Algo Centre Mall
Rescue efforts at Algo Centre Mall
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| Location | Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada |
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| Coordinates | 46°23′04″N 82°39′00″W / 46.38444°N 82.65000°WCoordinates: 46°23′04″N 82°39′00″W / 46.38444°N 82.65000°W |
| Address | 151 Ontario Avenue |
| Opening date | August 1980 |
| Closing date | 2012 |
| Developer | Algocen Realty Holdings Ltd. |
| Management | Rhonda Bear |
| Owner | Eastwood Mall Incorporated, Toronto (2005-present) Elliot Lake Retirement Living (1999-2005) Algocen Realty Holdings Limited (1980-1999) |
| Architect | James Keywan |
| No. of stores and services | 50 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 190,000 sq ft. (17,600 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (retails) 2 (hotel) |
| Parking | Ground level and roof |
| Website | Archive of website |
Preparing to lift cut the beam, and lift it out.
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| Time | 2:20 pm EDT |
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| Date | June 23, 2012 |
| Location | Algo Centre Mall |
| Cause | Failure of a weld on a steel connector due to corrosion |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 22 |
The Algo Centre Mall (legally Eastwood Mall since 2005 but almost never referred to as such) was a mall and hotel located in the middle of Elliot Lake, Ontario's commercial district on Highway 108. It was the largest commercial complex in the area. When the community was hit by uranium mine closures in the 1990s, the complex gradually refocused, hosting multiple services, such as a library, constituency offices, and public health offices. In recent years, many businesses located in the mall either closed or moved to outside locations. Still, the mall was a community hub, with most of the area's clothing stores and its largest grocery store, employing upwards of 250 local residents. It accounted for 10% of community's retail space and 6% of the total wages.
The mall was plagued by structural problems and leaks throughout its history. It underwent a partial structural failure on June 23, 2012, when a 12m x 24m (39'-by-79') segment of the rooftop parking deck collapsed into the building, crashing through the upper level lottery kiosk adjacent to the food court and escalators to the ground floor below. More than 20 people received non-life-threatening injuries and two people died in the collapse. An investigation and class action lawsuits into the collapse are ongoing and the mall has been demolished.
Algocen Realty Holdings Ltd., the real estate branch on the Algoma Central Railway first commissioned The Algo Centre Mall project. The project was subsequently approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in 1978, with an estimated cost of $10 million. Construction then began in 1979 with the project being finished the next year. The 80-room Algo Inn, the town's largest hotel and retirement residence, was also built into the mall. In its first year, 1980, the mall featured Woolco, Dominion, and Shoppers Drug Mart, and a total of 35 units. A distinct architectural feature of the building was rooftop parking.
After the closure of the uranium mines in Elliot Lake, in 1990, the revenue prospects of the mall dropped sharply, with no recovery in sight. This prompted the Algoma Central Company to write off over $5 million in lost property value, despite 98% occupancy.
In 1996, a report commissioned by the Town, Downtown Core and Industrial Area Improvements, presented a less-than-favourable assessment of the structure's exterior:
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