Rona no longer moving to former Target location in Chilliwack

It looks like Rona will not be moving into the old Target location at Cottonwood Mall after all.
Kristal Hambly, the General Manager at Cottonwood, has confirmed to us that Morguard Investments and the home improvement retailer couldn’t reach a deal, despite productive talks. She says a few significant issues on Morguard’s side weren’t resolved before the court deadline. Rona is going to stay put at its current location on Yale Rd for the time being. Hambly says now that the location is no longer controlled by a lease or a court process, “Morguard is actively pursuing several other alternatives”.  Target made a swift exit from Canada last year, and the Chilliwack location closed its doors in May.  It’s believed that Lowe’s is going to be moving into the old Target location in Abbotsford.  It was announced on Wednesday morning that Lowe’s had struck a deal to buy Rona for $3.2 billion.

Statement from Morguard:

Rona was the successful bidder for the Target lease at Cottonwood in the Target CCAA process.  As a result, Morguard Investments Limited and Rona engaged in discussions, which were very productive, concerning the conversion of the Target store at Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack to a Rona store.  However, a few significant issues for Morguard were not resolved before the deadline imposed by the court in the Target CCAA process with the result that an agreement was not concluded with Rona and the Target lease was disclaimed.  Since the store is no longer controlled by a lease or a court process, Morguard has been actively pursuing several other alternatives for remerchandising the former Target store.