After years of rumors, it was finally announced on Monday, March 4th 2024 that the Eau Claire Market will be officially closing it’s doors at the end of May.
“Very good news for the people of Calgary” – Alnash Irsamnani
The mall has had a household name among most Calgarians for 3 decades now and the unorthodox design of the building will surely make it hard to forget when it’s gone; Although that’s not to say that it’s removal has come as much of a shock.
One such person who didn’t quite get caught off guard with the news is store owner Alnash Irsamnani who runs Island Foods YYC, a store located just inside the Eau Claire Market.
While many store owners would more then likely not appreciate being uprooted in this manor, Irsamnani was able to find reason within the chaos, saying “Well when you look at the future of the city… now Eau Claire is a prime location so the city is looking to the future and how to best move forward and the building that they are building is very good news for the people of Calgary”.
Despite the negative effect that this change may very well have on his business, He believed that it was important that things change so that things can become even be
tter for the next generation, stating that he believes that is the best thing for not only his family in the future, but many other families throughout Calgary.
“It’s sort of bittersweet” – Jareth Downey
The green line will be the third and longest train line in Calgary by a good margarine at roughly 46km, joining both the blue and red lines in helping Calgarians get from place to place without having to spend a small fortune on gas and parking.
With how things currently are, the blue and red lines do an excellent job at covering a good portion of the city with an exception to the south east and most northern parts of Calgary.
The green line will be fix exactly that when it’s fully completed, with it starting in the far south-east in Seton and slowly moving northwest until finally hitting downtown where it will promptly move straight north, shooting the gap in between both the formerly mentioned red and blue lines.
It just so happens that this dart north begins right through Eau Claire which brings us back to where we started.
Despite a rather controversial history, the mall will be missed by some; It’s spot right next to Prince Island and the Bow River certainly gives it quite the spark and despite the inside of the mall often being described as empty, the outside will almost always have crowds of people in the summer time just enjoying the rather beautiful location not far from the cities core.
One of those people is Jareth Downey, a Calgarian who grew up visiting the mall with his friends.
He would say “It’s sort of bittersweet… it makes sense… it’s not exactly the most popular spot but having been there, there is some nostalgia there.”
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