Two major commercial developments along Highway 35 could reshape shopping, employment, and the local economy in Lindsay and Kawartha Lakes, with Walmart and Home Depot at the centre of a new northwest retail district.

For decades, Lindsay’s retail landscape has changed slowly. That may be about to change in a big way. Two neighbouring commercial developments along Highway 35 North – the likely-SmartCentres project near Sylvester Drive and the adjacent Craft Development lands at Colborne Street West – are setting the stage for what could become Lindsay’s largest new concentration of retail and commercial space in a generation.

The developments are arriving alongside major residential growth, new road connections, and planned improvements to Highway 35. They could also bring hundreds of jobs, keep more shopping dollars within Kawartha Lakes, and attract additional businesses and services to Lindsay. Two familiar names stand out: Walmart and Home Depot. Neither retailer has publicly announced an opening date for a Lindsay store. But the connections between the two companies and the northwest development area are much stronger than the rumours residents have heard for years.

SmartCentres puts Lindsay on its growth map

Some of the strongest new evidence for the builds come directly from SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust. In a recent presentation to investors, SmartCentres identified Lindsay, Ontario as one of three key locations in its national Retail Development Growth Program, alongside Kingston, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. SmartCentres is one of Canada’s largest shopping-centre owners and developers. Its corporate reporting details a portfolio of approximately 200 properties, roughly 36 million square feet of income-producing space, and $12.3 billion in total assets. Its retail growth program highlights major national brand partners, including Walmart, Loblaws, Sobeys, Costco, Canadian Tire, TJX, and Metro.

The company also notes that its leasing pipeline includes more than 40 food stores, including Walmart Supercentres. Then SmartCentres turns specifically to Lindsay: One slide describes Lindsay as a community of about 27,000 people and prominently notes that it currently has zero Walmart locations. The next slide shows a site plan for a 16.2-acre commercial development containing more than 200,000 square feet of total floor space. At the centre of that plan is a large anchor building of roughly 143,000 square feet, along with seven smaller commercial buildings and extensive parking.

For Lindsay residents who have heard Walmart rumours for more than 20 years, the combination is difficult to overlook. SmartCentres has put Lindsay in its retail growth program; Walmart is one of the primary anchors highlighted in that program; the company explicitly notes Lindsay's lack of a Walmart; and the site plan contains a large-format anchor store. While SmartCentres has not publicly labeled the building as Walmart and Walmart Canada has not issued a formal store opening announcement, the evidence is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss as coincidence.

Home Depot has land next door

The SmartCentres site is only part of the northwest Lindsay retail story. The adjacent Craft Development at Colborne Street West and Highway 35 includes land registered to Home Depot. Land ownership is not the same as confirmation that a store will be built, and no opening date has been announced. However, that parcel takes on new significance when viewed beside the SmartCentres development. A typical Home Depot Canada store spans more than 100,000 square feet, plus approximately 20,000 square feet of outdoor seasonal space. If both developments attract their expected large-format retailers alongside additional commercial tenants, the Highway 35 corridor would represent much more than a single big-box arrival — it would mark the establishment of an entirely new regional shopping district.

Economic impact and jobs could follow

The economic impact of this commercial shift could be substantial. While official employment figures have not been released for either site, comparable locations provide a sense of scale: A 149,000-square-foot location opened in Edmonton with about 220 associates, generating more than 100 new store-level jobs alongside more than 100 construction and trade positions. The proposed Lindsay anchor is of a similar footprint. Home Depot Canada employs more than 35,000 associates across 182 Canadian stores (including 88 in Ontario), illustrating the significant employment base connected to the chain. The smaller retail stores, services, and drive-through restaurants surrounding the large anchors would add further staffing needs. Taken together, full development of the SmartCentres and Craft properties could support roughly 400-600 retail, trade, and service positions depending on the final tenant mix. Even accounting for part-time roles or shifts from existing employers, adding several hundred positions represents a noticeable addition to a local retail sector that counted 4,465 Kawartha Lakes workers in the 2021 Census.

Construction jobs come first 

The employment impact begins well before any cash registers open. Site servicing, grading, foundations, utility hookups, paving, and structural work require skilled trades and construction crews. With two commercial developments, multiple buildings, and related infrastructure work involved across the northwest corridor, the construction phase will create substantial temporary employment before permanent retail staffing begins.Keeping more shopping dollars at home 

The developments could also help retain consumer spending within Kawartha Lakes. Currently, many local residents travel to Peterborough, Oshawa, or Uxbridge for retailers and product selection not available in Lindsay. A Walmart, Home Depot, and surrounding retail cluster would give residents reasons to make those purchases locally while capturing regional shoppers from across Kawartha Lakes and surrounding rural areas. While some spending will naturally shift from existing local businesses, the recapture of dollars currently leaving the municipality represents a net economic gain.

Retailers may not be the only businesses drawn to a new Highway 35 commercial district. One possibility is a modern financial services centre operated by a major bank. As everyday transactions transition to digital apps and ATMs, banks are adapting physical locations toward advisory services like mortgages, investments, and business loans. Concepts like RBC’s Meeting Places or TD’s Help and Advice Centres prioritize private meeting spaces and relationship banking over traditional teller counters. A growing Highway 35 commercial district, offering direct vehicle access, surface parking, and proximity to new residential subdivisions, presents an appealing footprint for financial institutions adopting this appointment-focused model.

From plans on paper to work on the ground

For longtime residents, the biggest difference between today and past rounds of speculation is physical activity on site. Heavy equipment is actively working in the area — grading land, moving earth, and preparing infrastructure services. Plans call for extending Sylvester Drive west toward Highway 35, where a new signalized intersection will manage commercial and residential traffic at Highway 35. After years of servicing debates and planning reviews, northwest Lindsay is visibly transitioning from drawings on paper to work on the ground.

New commercial gateway?

These retail projects coincide with major provincial planning for Highway 35 itself. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is advancing an environmental assessment study for the Highway 35 widening project, which explores realigning Highway 35 and widening it to four or five lanes from Highway 7 through Colborne Street, past the new Sylvester Drive intersection, up to Thunder Bridge Road. That study includes the removal of the old railway overpass and a realignment of Kent Street.

For drivers entering Lindsay from the north, what was once an open rural approach into town is evolving into a major commercial and residential gateway. And with the Kawartha Lakes Municipal Airport sitting directly across the highway, it leaves locals asking one funny question: Are we about to get Canada’s very first fly-in Walmart?

What about downtown Lindsay?

This shift naturally raises questions regarding downtown Lindsay and Kent Street West. The new Highway 35 district is built around big-box retail, highway access, and vehicle traffic. In contrast, the downtown core relies on independent shopkeepers, professional services, dining, and pedestrian foot traffic. While the two commercial models can coexist, adding hundreds of thousands of square feet of new retail space along the bypass will likely spark renewed focus on downtown parking, streetscape investments, and strategies to keep independent businesses competitive.

More than the end of a Walmart rumour

For more than two decades, the northwest development story was reduced to a single question: Is Walmart coming? The broader reality is now clear. SmartCentres has formally placed Lindsay in its national growth program with a 200,000-plus square-foot site plan. Home Depot owns adjacent land. Nearby residential builds like Tribute Communities' Lindsay Heights are expanding, and major road widening projects are under study. Whether corporate logos are raised tomorrow or next year, northwest Lindsay is watching the emergence of an entirely new retail and service district.