The Pen Centre shopping mall is located at the heart of the Niagara Region. The single level building was built in 1959 and was originally an outdoor mall. The Pen Centre was formerly known as the Niagara Peninsula Centre which started with Loblaws and 50 retail stores. Ten years after it was built, The Pen Centre became the fourth largest shopping centre in Canada by adding Simpson-Sears and 80 new stores. It still remained as an open-strip mall with landscaped walkways in between. In the 1970s and 80s, with a cost of 2 million dollars, the strip mall was enclosed and became a climate-controlled environment. In 1994, Pen centre had another renovation and expansion project which added 100,000 square feet and over 70 new stores. This renovation resulted in the Pen Centre becoming the largest shopping centre in Niagara. Then in 2005, the Pen Centre created a new chapter in its history with yet another expansion and the completion of a new 50,000 square foot retail plaza that featured five new retail stores. In 2011 and 2012, with 13 million dollars worth of renovations to the mall's common area, they have created a brighter, refreshed and greener shopping experience which was inspired by the Niagara's vineyards, parks, gardens and trails. This was another major redevelopment adding 170,000 square feet which offers the same classic Pen Centre architecture with high ceilings, bright skylights and spacious hallways.

Literature Sources

1. Big changes coming to Pen Centre in 2019. (November 08, 2018.). Retrieved from https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/9025674-big-changes-coming-to-pen-centre-in-2019/

2. Paul Theil Associates. (1972). Pen Centre - St. Catharines, roads & parking. [map]. Paul Theil Associates. Brock University Map, Data & GIS Library-MC C306-Main Map File Call # G 3464 S35 Q44 1972 P45.

3. The Pen Centre History. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://thepencentre.com/pages/thepencentre-history

4. Villanueva, R. M. (1997). The suburban shopping mall as a gendered landscape : a study of consumption and gender identity at the Pen Centre. Brock University, Dept. of Geography. Brock University Archives & Special Collections-10th Floor-Stacks (FC 3155.45 P55 V54 1997).

Municipality: St. Catharines

Local area name: The Pen Centre

Other identifying names or descriptions: Niagara Peninsula Centre

Latitude and longitude: 43° 08' 9.60" N and -79° 13' 30.00" W

Physical Dimensions

Surface Area: Approximately over 1 million square feet

Elevation:

Highest: 130m / Lowest: 159m

The Pen Centre has been at the center of retailing in the Niagara Region, located next to the Highway 406. This approximately 1 one million square feet of floor space features 180 stores, a supermarket, a movieplex and several department stores. In 2011 and 2012, with 13 million dollars worth of renovations to the mall's common area, they have created a brighter, refreshed and greener shopping experience which was inspired by the Niagara's vineyards, parks, gardens and trails.Today, the former Sears space is currently undergoing in an another massive redevelopment. The space will then be divided into five or six bigger-sized tenants. While in the east side of the mall, Walmart has finished its construction work on the former Target store, that includes a massive addition to create another 110,000 square-foot store on one level.

Map 1:Location of the Pen Centre (Source: Google Maps)

Google street view of Pen Centre, looking at the on the entrance/exit. (Source: Google Street View)

The major biotic features of Pen Centre includes the cultivated plant group."This is the group of plants that is the product of horticultural science - the cultivation and selective breeding of plants to satisfy the environmental and cultural demands of urban conditions." (Hough, 2010) Since Pen Centre wants to create an environment that is inspired by the Niagara gardens and parks, they have different plants inside and outside the mall. The plants the are around and inside Pen Centre must be resistant to insects, leaf rusts and growing number of diseases. The plants outside must withstand the drought, restricted soil conditions and doses of road salts during winter time. The plants should be able to tolerate poisonous gases and particulates in the urban atmosphere, especially there is a lot of car presense in the area.They should also be able to resistant to breakage from snow and high winds.

Based on the air photos from 1934-1955, the land where Pen Centre now is standing on was a farmland. "Farmland, field and woodland species declined drastically as urbanization advanced and as suitable habitat was reduced." (Hough 2010) Urbanization has radically changed both wildlife communities and natural habitat. Any animal and plant species that used to be present in this area has relocated or removed.

The Pen Centre is surrounded by parking lots which are covered with concrete. "Urban surfaces alter the microclimate and the rate of precipictation, reduce infiltration and encourage runoff." (Alberti, 2008) The water moves over the impermeable surfaces, and collects a of organic and inorganic pollutants before it reaches a body of water or a treatment plant. The Pen Centre has drains, pipes, and sewers in order to move rain water to a hydrological system that supports humand activities. There are consquences for ecosytem that is caused by the changes in the hydrological cycle. The Pen Centre is part of the urban stuctures that causes changes in microclimate known as urban heat islands. The land-atmosphere exchange of water is altered because of increased precipitation and decreased evaporation. Because of the vast paved parking lot in Pen Centre, it stops rainfall and snowmelt from inflitrating the soil and therefore incraesing the volume and speed of runoff.

The Pen Centre is managed by Cushman and Wakefield Asset Services. It is a single owner and has public access permitted to this area since it is a shopping mall. The land ownership and jurisdiction have any influence on the way the Pen Centre looks today by creating a brighter, refreshed and greener shopping experience for their shoppers. The Pen Centre also fall under a zoning by-laws that brings the needs for growth and residents' expecations. The zoning granted the development of the restaurants at the parking lot of the Pen Centre and other redevelopements. The control affected the attributes of your landscape over time by allowing them to make changes that would help the growth of the mall. And creating a place for residents to go and enjoy with their family and friends. The Pen Centre also employs landscaper in order to maintain their good appearance to the public.

Marketing Manager

Helen Edwards - helen.edwards@cushwake.com

Centre Manager

John Bragagnolo - john.bragagnolo@cushwake.com

Operations Manager

Terry Venus - terry.venus@cushwake.com

Alberti, M. (2008). Hydrological Processes. In Advances in Urban Ecology: Integrating humans and ecological processes in urban ecosystems (pp. 133-161). New York: Springer. Brock University Library Catalogue, EBSCOhost (accessed Sept 28th, 2014).

Big changes coming to Pen Centre in 2019. (November 08, 2018.). Retrieved from https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/9025674-big-changes-coming-to-pen-centre-in-2019/

Hough, M. (2004). Plants and Plant Communities. Cities and Natural Process : A Basis for Sustainability. (pp.

Paul Theil Associates. (1972). Pen Centre - St. Catharines, roads & parking. [map]. Paul Theil Associates. Brock University Map, Data & GIS Library-MC C306-Main Map File Call # G 3464 S35 Q44 1972 P45.

The Pen Centre History. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://thepencentre.com/pages/thepencentre-history

Villanueva, R. M. (1997). The suburban shopping mall as a gendered landscape : a study of consumption and gender identity at the Pen Centre. Brock University, Dept. of Geography. Brock University Archives & Special Collections-10th Floor-Stacks (FC 3155.45 P55 V54 1997).

Map References

Niagara Air Photo Index - https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=33873be71555423db62472eebf317042

Air Photo of Pen Centre from 1965 (Left) to 2015 (Right)

This Local Landscape Report was prepared by Mark Ryan Gito for the Brock University course TMGT 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems on November 01, 2019.

All copyrights for cited material rest with the original copyright owners.