Toronto Premium Outlets shopping centre officially reopens today

Hot on the heels of the province entering Stage 1 of its framework to reopen the economy, Toronto Premium Outlets has announced it will reopen on Friday, May 22.

The property, which has been closed since March 19, has published a comprehensive COVID-19 Exposure Control Policy, developed in conjunction with a team of leading experts in the fields of Epidemiology and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS).

The policy was developed in order to deliver an elevated set of safety standards on site.

All tenants of the property have been notified of the standards and are expected to adhere to them in their spaces.

“The health, safety, and well-being of the community we serve will always be our highest priority, and we have developed a thorough and detailed set of protocols highlighting the exceptional measures we’ve implemented for shoppers, retailers and employees as we reopen,” said Helena Moniz, general manager of Toronto Premium Outlets, in a release.

“We also recognize that individuals and families in our community are suffering significant hardship as a result of both COVID-19 and the economic shutdown, and we believe that reopening our property will not only help people get back to work during these challenging times, but also enable us to use our property to further support charitable initiatives.”

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The complete set of safety protocols encompasses the following areas:

• Enhanced sanitization and disinfecting, with an emphasis on high-traffic locations like dining areas, restrooms, escalators, stairs, directories, trash bins, and doorknobs.
• Shopper safeguards that include making protective masks, sanitizing wipes and temperature testing available at entrances or property offices, as well as the encouragement of pre-visit health screenings
• Hand sanitizing stations and signage promoting guidelines for maintaining personal hygiene will be deployed throughout the property
• Pre-emptive employee health screening will take place to ensure that employees do not arrive at work within 72 hours of exhibiting coronavirus or flu-like symptoms
• Employee safety protections including implementing COVID-19 frequent hand-washing protocols, and offering personal protective equipment in addition to other recommended practices
• Promotion and enforcement of social distancing practices, including occupancy limitations, furniture and restroom spacing, closure of play areas and strollers, as well as coordinated traffic flow with traffic signage and distance markers

Toronto Premium Outlets cites its reopening as a “much-needed economic boost to the local community.” The outlets claim to provide more than 1,000 jobs and contributing $5.3 million in property tax revenue to the city.

“Our property is an integral part of our community not only in terms of shopping, dining, and entertainment, but also job creation, small business growth, and community support. We look forward to once again serving the needs of our community, and do so in a safe and responsible manner,” said Moniz.

The property has joined forces with local non-profits to support initiatives aimed at assisting those in the community experiencing hardship during these times.

In addition to reopening, the outlets have joined an international initiative to host food banks, clothing donations, mobile testing, and blood drives as part of an outreach to 1,300 health providers, government agencies, and non-profits in Canada and the US.