VICTORIA -- A Vancouver Island Walmart employee has confirmed that a new Walmart Supercentre is coming to the Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria.
The employee tells CTV News that staff were informed of the new store during a staff meeting in late 2019.
Earlier that year, a different staff meeting suggested that a new Hillside Walmart location was in the works in the space previously occupied by Sears.
When asked at the time, the shopping centre said it was unable to comment on a business leasing one of its spaces until a binding deal had been reached.
The employee says the franchise is focusing on completing significant renovations at their Langford location before shifting attention to the upcoming Hillside store.
The Supercentre's opening will mark the third Walmart to come to the Greater Victoria area, with the other two located in Saanich's Uptown mall and in Langford.
The Hillside space measures nearly 149,000 square feet, second to Uptown's approximately 221,000-square-foot location.
A statement from the Hillside Centre’s leasing agency, BentallGeenOak, to CTV News confirmed the mall has completed a deal with a retailer for the former Sears space, with an eye to opening by fall 2021.
