On this edition of Journal, we look at the sad Vancouver tale of the rise and fall of Woodward’s on Hastings Street.

Built in 1903, the Woodward’s building was the place to be in Vancouver – a one-stop department store famous for its renowned food floor. Glory days.

But few things stay the same forever. The Woodward's decline began in the 1960s as both shopping patterns and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside began to change. Many shoppers chose the shiny new suburban malls rather than the deteriorating downtown location. The losses at Woodward’s began to mount company-wide until they declared bankruptcy in 1993, 90 years after its much-celebrated opening on Hastings Street.

But that wasn’t the end of the Woodward’s story. The heritage building remained empty until the city bought it in 2001, with grand visions of a revitalized anchor for the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, providing homes and services for the community. This project was controversial from the outset, with some fighting against this so-called gentrification, while others worried that too much social housing in one project would not work.

But reopen it did, in 2009 with much fanfare about the anchor tenants supporting the redevelopment: Nesters Market, TD Bank, London Drugs, J.J. Bean, among others. But that was then and this is now: TD bank has closed its doors, J.J. Bean is gone and now London Drugs has announced its imminent closure.

The reasons are all similar – increased crime and disorder on the streets, worry about safety for staff and customers, and financial losses.

Clint Mahlman, CEO of London Drugs, joins me to talk about this difficult decision.

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