New Horizon Mall just found a tenant for 23,000-sq-ft of space.

While the behemoth of a shopping centre has been slow to get tenants into its smaller stores — there were only a few dozen shops operational by the 2018 holiday season, after the mall opened last summer — and faced scrutiny for initially being so empty, it has been slowly accumulating tenants in the seven months since opening.

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Things look to be on the up-and-up for CrossIron Mill’s new neighbour, however, as a release from New Horizon Mall states that a deal has been struck with Ken and Tracy Aylesworth of Shindigz Ventures Inc., the duo behind the Avenida Food Hall & Fresh Market and Symons Valley Ranch Farmers’ Market, to bring a fresh market to the shopping centre.

According to the release, the market expects to employ over 150 people once fully operational and will act as one of New Horizon’s main anchors, alongside the previously announced The Best Shop, which will occupy a 15,000-sq-ft space.

The 320,000-sq-ft building currently features just over 70 tenants, though has the space to fit over 500 small stores in a market-like arrangement.

When the mall will announce its official grand opening remains to be seen, as do the days of a New Horizon Mall with more stores filled than not — though it should be noted that Toronto’s Pacific Mall, which has a similar structure to that of New Horizon, took two years to achieve full occupancy, and is now a successful shopping destination.