Lowe’s Canada says Monday (May 11, 2015) that it will take over the leases of 13 former Target Canada locations in Canada and in so doing has raised speculation that it might open in the vacant store at the north end of the East York Town Centre. There is nothing more to support this except Lowe’s absence from the affluent Midtown market. Lowes Home Improvement stores sit on Castlefield Ave. and Warden Ave with the town centre about midway between the two. The Overlea Bvd. location may not be as well located as space in the Smart Centre’s “Walmart Plaza” being built on Wicksteed Ave. On the other hand, the town centre might be better strategically for the East York market. And then there is the synergy to be had with a proposed Costco across the street at 42/46 Overlea. That location, former site of the Coca Cola operations in Toronto, is sitting ready for the builder and City Council approval. But today, apart from the news release, Lowes is silent on what it is doing or where it is going.
