- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

The second in a never-ending series on changes in Owen Sound.
As Sears Canada announced this week it was seeking court protection from its creditors, sales appeared brisk at the store in Heritage Place Mall. Maybe it was the simple marketing power of the repetition of a brand name on the news, or perhaps people thought there were deals to be had. The good news for us and the store's employees is that the Owen Sound store is not on the list of the 59 stores to close. For now. But current attempts to re-structure and re-brand may not stop what one analyst referred to as "the slowest moving trainwreck" in retail history.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the mall, the replacement of the outer cladding of the former Zellers (closed in 2013) and briefly Nagel's Overstock Outlet store with the soon-to-be bright yellow of an expanded Giant Tiger is continuing. In this case Georgian Bluffs' loss is our gain.
Urban Planet is also slated to move into the mall-facing space in that north-east corner, and a mystery tenant will apparently take up the 27,000 square feet between them.

 * More on Heritage Place Mall to come in future episodes, including the great story of me being escorted out of the mall by uniformed security as I was attempting to do a story for the Owen Sound Hub.

To follow up on the first of our series, because you asked: The proposed hotel on 16th Ave East remains just that – proposed. Legacy Hospitality Management and Development announced plans for the 6-storey 100-room hotel and conference centre with a saltwater pool and golf simulator back in 2013, anticipating it would be open within two years. In 2016, as work on their Kincardine hotel project was coming to a close, Legacy re-committed to the Owen Sound property "likely in 2017". To date, no preliminary site plans have been submitted to the City.