Abandoned department store in Toronto mall now being demolished

A former Hudson's Bay location at Toronto's Centerpoint Mall is about to be torn down to make way for a TTC subway expansion project.

The former department store at the Yonge and Steeles mall closed permanently in 2025 and is now in the early stages of demolition to accommodate the construction of the Yonge North Subway Extension (YNSE) project that will carry the TTC's Line 1's Yonge leg north from its current terminus at Finch.

Opened in 1974, the former Hudson's Bay location operated at Centerpoint Mall for just over half a century before the retailer permanently closed all stores and ceased operations in June, 2025. 

The wing at the east end of the mall has been on the chopping block since the planning of the YNSE, and its fate was sealed back in February, when a demolition permit was filed seeking the teardown of the two-storey department store down to its foundations.

The existing Hudson's Bay wing at the east end of the mall (far left). Canmenwalker via Wikimedia Commons.

The store sat abandoned for a year before demolition crews arrived on the scene in recent days to level this lost retail titan.

Teardown activity for the abandoned department store launched this week with the mobilization of crews and the start of interior demolition, with the razing of the exterior structure now imminent.

Metrolinx issued a construction notice on the demolition, warning local residents and businesses of trucks and construction equipment generating dust and noise, with mitigation efforts in place to cut down on disruption.

Rendering of Steeles Station on the YNSE. Metrolinx.

The YNSE will extend the Yonge subway north from Finch Station into Vaughan, Markham, and Richmond Hill, adding five stations along approximately eight kilometres of new track.