Next month, Sandor's Clothing Ltd. will become the latest Qwanlin Mall business to close its doors there and open up shop elsewhere.

Sandor's will be moving into the Chilkoot Centre at the bottom of Two Mile Hill in what owner Sandor Elek calls the 'third incarnation' of the store.

It's expected to open between March 1 and March 15.

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Elek said the decision to move came from a number of issues.

They included the high vacancy rate at the Qwanlin Mall after a number of businesses have moved out; the high cost of rent; and because Argus Properties Ltd., which owns the Chilkoot Centre site, was good to deal with.

'They were straight, above-board,' Elek said of the Kelowna, B.C.-based company. He noted business seems to be moving toward the north end of the downtown sector, where the Chilkoot Centre is located, and also to Main Street.

A number of businesses have left the Qwanlin Mall. They include CD Plus, which opened up shop on Main Street; Reitman's, which, before recently closing its Qwanlin Mall shop opened another at the Chilkoot Centre; the lottery booth; San Francisco, Photovision and Hallmark.

The Real Canadian Superstore also closed at the mall in 2003 to open a stand-along store and gas bar on Second Avenue. Staples then moved in.

Extra Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart, Bentley and Athletes World are also operating at the mall.

Elek had considered a move to Main Street, as his former Qwanlin Mall neighbour CD Plus did recently. However, he noted that moving into a completely new building allows for more versatility in setting up his shop.

The store will be 'completely revamped,' Elek said.

Without giving away too many surprises, he has planned for the new location. He said the back third of the store will include snowboards and skateboards, with the two-thirds in the front being a high-end boutique similar to shops on Robson Street in Vancouver or Yonge Street in Toronto.

He's also hoping to give Whitehorse residents a chance to do some evening shopping through the week by keeping the new store, which is one-quarter bigger than his current location, open until 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Elek noted the new hours will give shoppers a chance to go home from work, eat dinner, then go shopping if they choose.

The extra space and extended hours will see the Sandor's staff double as new employees are hired to work with the current two full-time and one part-time employees currently at the store.

The new store will be a 'high-tech modern' location as it makes use of website technology, video camera capabilities and other technology.

In the meantime, as Elek prepares to open the new store, a progressive wipe-out sale is being held at the Qwanlin Mall location.

For at least one store remaining at the mall, the departure of so many neighbouring stores means it must rely on its faithful customers.

Athletes World manager Lori Kafperski said for now, the store's head office is taking a 'wait and see' approach to the situation to find out if anything is done to improve business at the mall.

She noted decisions on whether to move or remain at the location is up to head office.

Unlike its heydeys of the 1970s and '80s, when it had the anchor tenants of the former Super Valu and Woolco, there's little traffic moving through the mall. That means there aren't a lot of new customers wandering into the shop during a visit to the mall, she pointed out.

'It's a repeat customer all the time,' Kafperski said.

It appears those loyal shoppers are being good to the store though, with sales last month up from January 2004.

January is typically a good sales month at Athletes World.

'Everyone's going back to the gym,' Kafperski explained.

As Athletes World takes the 'wait and see approach', the mall's owner, First Commercial, isn't saying much about what they plan for the building, which opened in the early 1970s.

Wanda Haraga, First Commercial's regional manager, said today from Vancouver the company will likely provide an update on the mall's future at the end of the month or in early March. She wouldn't comment beyond that.

Several years ago, new washrooms were installed to replace the limited, cramped facility off the mall's main corridor.

The owners of Coffee, Tea and Spice, a long-time tenant of the mall, were unavaiable for comment this week.

In 2003, Chris Sorg, president of the Main Street Yukon Society, met with First Commercial to suggest it open up access to the mall from Third Avenue. Currently, a brick wall prevents access from Third Avenue.

Sorg suggested such a development could mean more traffic for shops in the main downtown core and at the mall, as well as spurring redevelopment on Third Avenue.

At the time, Haraga said First Commercial was looking at many different options for the building.

During the 1990s, there was an unsuccessful proposal to close Ogilvie Street and join the mall to what was then The Bay (now the Canadian Tire store).