The Chemainus Public Market will close at the end of January 2025. Warren Goulding, owner of the market, confirmed the closure to the Courier in an email, saying he was given notice by the building owner, Anthem Properties.
“What I can tell you is that a new tenant will be coming in. Anthem won’t reveal who that is but did say the building will be extensively renovated and the new tenant will be a retailer. That work will begin on Feb. 3, 2025.”
The market’s tenants were informed about the closure during the week of Dec. 16, making an already busy time of year even busier as vendors scramble to secure new commercial space in Chemainus.
At least one of those tenants has found a new space. Paul Fogerty will relocate his stained glass business to 2872 Oak St. in January with plans to open on Feb. 1.
Other tenants are unsure about their next steps, and some were angry, as they are still reeling from the unexpected news.
Elisha McCallum from Anthem Properties confirmed on Dec. 24 that Goulding was served with notice “that we need the space as of the end of January because we’re going to be doing some tenant improvements at the site in preparation for another tenant.”
McCallum couldn’t reveal the identity of the new tenant just yet but said, “It’s quite exciting.”
McCallum is aware that "exciting" may not be the word used by most of the tenants who are now scrambling to find new commercial space. She said Anthem is happy to hear from them about other potential spaces the company may have available for lease.
“We have had a number of individual vendors from the market contact us because they’re concerned and would love to have somewhere to go,” McCallum said. “We let them know that, where we have space, we’re happy to have them continue on with us directly.”
Look for more to come on this story as details become available.
