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| Le Seville, site of the 14,000 sq ft Marché Adnois [Image Source] |
Grocery retailer Marché Adonis has opened a urban-sized store in downtown Montreal. It's a model that may be copied for future locations as the grocer seeks space in urban centres. It could open a second Montreal store in the coming months, and it may expand further into Toronto and beyond.
For those unfamiliar, Marché Adonis is a Mediterranean-inspired grocery retailer with six locations in the Montreal area as well as one in Mississauga, Ontario. Most locations are in the 30,000-40,000 square foot range. It was bought by Metro in late 2011, and appears to be in expansion mode.
The new downtown Montreal Adonis is about 14,000 square feet and is located at the base of a new condo tower, Le Seville, on Ste Catherine Street West between Atwater and St-Mathieu Streets. Adonis may open a second similarly-sized location as part of a multi-building condominium development in Montreal's Griffintown, in a project called District Griffin by Devimco.
A source tells us that Marché Adonis could open one or more stores in Downtown Toronto. We won't elaborate until we can provide a confirmation.![]() |
| Entrance to Marché Adonis' downtown Montreal store. Image: Facebook |
Adonis' move is part of a larger trend that is seeing grocery retailers opening stores in downtown locations. Downtown Toronto and Vancouver are already home to a substantial number of grocery stores, and the trend is growing throughout Canada. Montreal continues this trend as new condos are constructed and more residents move downtown.
The above topic merits further comment. Canada is seeing a growing trend of car-free (or almost car-free) lifestyles. Urban food retail is adapting accordingly. We believe that walkable neighbourhoods should ideally have a food retailer (at least for staple items) within a five-minute walk, or about 400 metres from a residence's front door. The idea has succeeded in Manhattan for generations and is experiencing increased popularity in American cities like Chicago, where there has been a noticeable increase in grocery stores in its densely populated River North neighbourhood. Toronto's downtown core has seen considerable increase in grocery stores including a flagship Loblaws at the base of Maple Leaf Gardens. Vancouver's downtown core includes grocery chains and boasts three upscale grocery stores, each about 25,000 square feet, called Urban Fare.
We'll be writing more on urban grocery store retail, as we find the concept interesting. Living in a Downtown Vancouver condo tower, this author very much appreciates having three grocery stores within two blocks, helping make car ownership unnecessary.
[Marché Adonis website]
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August 13, 2013, 10:49 pm
Tumi will open its first free-standing Toronto store at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre. The store will be almost 1,300 square feet and will be located between Birks jewelers and Thomas Sabo. We expect the store will open some time in September.
It could technically be Canada's first Tumi store, as the one we reported on in Vancouver will be a combined Tumi and Rimowa retailer.
For those unfamiliar, Tumi is a New Jersey-based manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of travel bags and accessories. It has more recently branched into the lucrative handbag retail market. Tumi has over 120 stores worldwide and over 200 shop-in-store locations.
Tumi products are also available at various Canadian retailers including Betty Hemmings, Harry Rosen, Holt Renfrew and Taschen! stores.
Thank you to our source for this article, ACT7 of Urban Toronto. ACT7 first alerted us to Tumi's Toronto store in May, and just learned of its exact location.
[Tumi website]
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August 13, 2013, 10:50 pm
Saks Fifth Avenue will open in Montreal according to Freda Colbourne, spokesperson with The Hudson's Bay Company. It would be most likely within Montreal's downtown Hudson's Bay store, though there is the remote possibility of a smaller Saks space within an existing Bay store at Le Carrefour Laval.
Saks is expected to open between five and seven Canadian store locations, likely within existing Hudson's Bay real estate.
Montreal is affluent enough to support a Saks store. The city has a substantial number of high-earning households as well as high net-worth households. The Globe & Mail provides data showing Montreal as having the second-highest number of households earning over $200,000 in Canada (we won't mention Quebec's high income taxes). At the same time, Montreal lacks many of the free-standing luxury stores found in Toronto and Vancouver. Some of these luxury boutiques (e.g. Cartier, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Salvator Ferragamo) could be located within a new Montreal Saks store.![]() |
| Montreal has the second-highest number of Canadian households (after Toronto) earning over $200,000 annually. Image: The Globe & Mail |
Saks Fifth Avenue: Downtown Montreal
Locating Saks within the downtown Montreal Hudson's Bay store makes sense. HBC owns the building outright, meaning there would be no rent for Saks. The downtown Montreal Hudson's Bay store is the second-largest in the chain. It's about 655,000 square feet, smaller than the Toronto Queen Street flagship and slightly larger than the downtown Vancouver store. Montreal's flagship Bay could integrate Saks into existing square footage either by utilizing one or more retail floors, or it could occupy parts of several floors or even include smaller "Saks departments" throughout the Bay building.
The downtown Montreal Hudson's Bay store is geographically removed from luxury department stores Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy. Hudson's Bay is 800 metres (or about half a mile) from Ogilvy, and a further 350 metres away from Holt Renfrew. This separation could be beneficial for a Saks store within Hudson's Bay if it is considered far enough from Ogilvy and Holt's to secure such concessions as Louis Vuitton (located within Ogilvy) or the likes of Gucci and Prada (located within Holt Renfrew), among others.
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| Hudson's Bay, Le Carrefour Laval. Photo: Google Streetview screenshot |
Saks Fifth Avenue: Le Carrefour Laval
There is the slight chance that some sort of smaller Saks shop-in-store could open within Hudson's Bay's Carrefour Laval location. Hudson's Bay's Carrefour Laval store has a favourable long-term ground lease. It is 185,588 square feet according to landlord Cadillac Fairview. Given that Saks would likely occupy 75,000-130,000 square feet for a free-standing store, it would be more likely that a smaller Saks could be integrated into the Laval Hudson's Bay store. This is total speculation on our part and in our opinion, we think integrating small Saks spaces within Hudson's Bay stores would be a bad idea.Downtown Montreal's Hudson's Bay store is scheduled to open the luxury womenswear department 'The Room' in 2014. The roughly 20,000 square foot salon's future is in question, though, if Saks locates within in the Montreal flagship.
[Hudson's Bay website]
[Saks Fifth Avenue website]
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Montreal-based Metro Inc. will close and re-brand some of its Ontario grocery stores. It will also operate the in-store pharmacies at Quebec's Target locations.
Metro announced that it will either close or re-brand 15 of its Ontario stores to the Food Basics label. We have yet to learn which Ontario locations will be affected.
As mentioned above, Metro will operate Target's pharmacies in Quebec. This will increase Metro's pharmacy footprint by about 13.5%. Eric La Fleche, CEO of Metro says:
"The agreement with Target provides an excellent growth opportunity for METRO's pharmaceutical division, particularly for the Brunet banner, as it enables us to significantly increase our presence, our purchasing power and our sales potential in Quebec. In all, 18 new pharmacies, including 12 in the Greater Montreal area, will be set up by the summer of 2014, bringing the total of Brunet to 168."For more details on this story, a more comprehensive article was done by The Globe & Mail. A press release on Metro's Target pharmacies in Quebec can be found here. [Metro Inc. website]
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August 14, 2013, 10:32 pm
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| 100 Bloor Street West, Toronto. Photo is a screenshot from Google Streetview. |
Today, Toronto-based Roots turns 40 years old. Interestingly, it just opened its 100th store in Asia. It will celebrate its birthday in its flagship Toronto store, which it will eventually close.
For those unfamiliar, Roots is a "lifestyle brand" known for its leathergoods, athletic apparel and natural fiber clothing. It has 125 stores in Canada and the United States, as well as stores in Asia. It has furnished Canadian Olympic athletes.
The Toronto flagship store (100 Bloor Street West) will include an exhibit of the history of Roots. The original "negative heel shoe", with which the brand got started, will be launched again and sold nation-wide. A leather jacket made in collaboration with Smythe will be sold. Also, a commemorative coffee table book called Roots: 40 Years of Style will be launched.
At the same time, the 15,000 square foot flagship Roots store at 100 Bloor will be closing, with a 1,700 square foot replacement store set to open up the street. The landlord has raised rents at 100 Bloor, making the future of neighbouring retailers uncertain. We're not sure if Roots will open a new flagship in the Yorkville area, though rumour has it Roots could open in a renovated Hazelton Lanes.
[Source: Press Release]
[Roots website]
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August 15, 2013, 11:25 pm
Popular chef and media personality Jamie Oliver will become a spokesperson for Sobeys grocery stores. He will promote healthy food choices for Canadians, and collaboration will begin formally this fall.
For those unfamiliar, Jamie Oliver is a British chef, restauranteur and media personality. He is known for his culinary TV shows as well as his cookbooks. He has become an advocate for healthy food choices and was previously the public face of British grocery chain Sainsbury's.
Sainsbury's reportedly paid Oliver about £1.2 million/year to be its spokesperson, which ended in 2011.
Making Oliver a spokesperson for Sobeys is a smart move with increased grocery competition in Canada. Walmart and Target are both expanding their Canadian food offerings. Sobeys itself recently bought Canada Safeway for $5.8 billion. Adding Oliver as a spokesperson will benefit Sobeys, especially with the proposed Canadian expansion and increased popularity of competing health-focused Whole Foods.
[Jamie Oliver Wikipedia link]
[Sobeys website]
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August 15, 2013, 11:28 pm
Downtown Montreal's iconic Place Ville Marie will see a $100 million renovation, including substantial improvements to its retail component. Its landlord, Ivanhoe Cambridge, plans to make more investments in its other downtown Montreal retail properties as well.
Ivanhoe Cambridge purchased Alberta Investment Management Corp.'s 50% share in Place Ville Marie as part of a transaction valued at more than $400 million. More details are provided in this press release. Place Ville Marie includes 186,151 square feet of retail space. It was built in 1962 and was last renovated in 2006. It has about 75 tenants and is part of Montreal's vast "Underground City".![]() |
| Place Ville Marie's current retail plan |
Ivanhoe Cambridge is expected to further renovate its downtown Montreal real estate holdings including Complex Les Ailes, Place Montreal Trust and the Montreal Eaton Centre. These announcements will likely come in September or October, according to a source at Ivanhoe Cambridge.
Interestingly, Holt Renfrew once had two smaller locations within Montreal's Place Ville Marie (see image above). One was for women and the other for men.
[Ivanhoe Cambridge website]
[Place Ville Marie website]
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August 18, 2013, 10:12 pm
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| Hudson's Bay, Rideau Street, Ottawa. Image: Google Streetview screenshot |
Ottawa could get a Saks Fifth Avenue store as part of its announced Canadian store openings. Ottawa's Saks would likely be located within Hudson's Bay on Rideau Street. Hudson's Bay owns the 335,000 square foot Ottawa store outright, meaning Saks would pay no rent to occupy space within.
Ottawa could be a desirable city for Saks Fifth Avenue, given they city's relatively high incomes and a population exceeding one million. Ottawa's incomes are high compared to most Canadian cities, largely as a result of relatively high paying civil service jobs. Ottawa also lacks many upscale shops and designers available in other Canadian cities, meaning Saks could secure many of the designers it would want without having to compete with other retailers.
If a full-sized Saks opens within the Rideau Street Hudson's Bay, it would be in the 75,000 to 120,000 square foot range. Saks could also possibly occupy a floor or more of the existing store, or operate as one or more Saks "departments" within the existing store (we're not a fan of this option, given the vastly differing perceptions of Hudson's Bay and Saks as retailers).
Opening Saks within the Rideau Street Hudson's Bay could be a good move, as competitor Holt Renfrew is far removed at 240 Sparks Street in Downtown Ottawa. Holt's Ottawa store is only about 36,000 square feet over two floors, and it lacks many of the interesting features and designers found in larger Holt Renfrew stores. Holt's also lacks some labels Saks would desire, most noticeably Louis Vuitton. We think a Saks in Downtown Ottawa could see shops like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, and Ferragamo, among others.
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| Hudson's Bay, Rideau Street, Ottawa. Image: Bing.com/maps |
Saks Fifth Avenue's opening on Rideau Street would further create an exceptional shopping experience for the area. With anchors like Nordstrom, La Maison Simons and a renovated Hudson's Bay (as is planned) in the area, Saks as a fourth anchor, would likely make gains at Holt Renfrew's expense. It should be noted that despite planned renovations to Rideau Centre, Hudson's Bay will remain connected to the mall by an existing pedestrian walkway. Given the increased popularity of Rideau Centre, Hudson's Bay (and possibly Saks) should be breathing a huge sigh of relief.
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August 18, 2013, 10:12 pm
Shopping is the number one activity for visitors to Canada, according to The Canadian Tourism Commission. 2012 was the first year that shopping beat out sightseeing. Chinese visitors are substantially up, possibly benefiting Canadian luxury retail.
The above diagram highlights the numbers of foreign tourists, reflecting 2012 over 2011. About 16 million international visitors came to Canada in 2012, up from 2011. They spent about $12.3 billion, showing the importance of tourism to Canadian retailers. Not all regions saw equal tourist numbers, however.
Of 18.2 million visitors to Canadian provinces, 7.7 million (or about 42%) went to Ontario while 4.3 million (or about 23%) went to British Columbia. Quebec and Alberta had most of the rest.
Of that same 18.2 million visitors, about 60% are from the United States. Other top visiting countries include The United Kingdom, France, Germany and China. China's growth is what got us interested.
Chinese visitors to Canada increased almost 60% in 2012 over 2011. Many Chinese tourists spend substantial sums in stores abroad. Many seek expensive brand-name products. If a similar tourism trend continues, we could see more luxury retailers opening in Canada that cater to affluent Chinese tourists. A source at Holt Renfrew tells us that about 80% of luxury items purchased in its Vancouver store are to speakers of a Chinese language.
Canada lacks many of the luxury retailers found in some American and European cities. We expect that will soon change. We'll be doing articles on what new luxury retailers are expected to open, and we'll analyze what brands we expect will go where. Labels like Valentino and Bottega Veneta are likely on the horizon to open full-sized Canadian stores, for example. Keep reading for updates.
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For those unfamiliar, Kiehl's is a popular American cosmetics brand that specializes in skin, hair and body care products. Once difficult to find, the brand has almost over-saturated the market with both free-standing shops as well as department store concessions around the world.
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August 19, 2013, 10:06 pm
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| Maison Birks, Mapleview Shopping Centre, Burlington Ontario. Photo: Maison Birks |
Iconic Canadian jeweller Birks has just changed its name to 'Maison Birks', and it's opening new boutiques carrying only Birks-branded jewelry. These moves are partly a response to increased competition within Canada's premium jewelry market.
The first "mono-brand" Maison Birks opened last week at Mapleview Shopping Centre in Burlington Ontario, and a second opens this week at Montreal's Quartier DIX30. More mono-brand Maison Birks stores will follow.
The new stores are relatively small. The Mapleview Birks is 1,385 square feet, and the Quartier DIX30 Birks is about 1,500 square feet. As a comparison, Birks' largest stores are in the 15-20,000 square foot range.![]() |
| New Maison Birks logo |
Maison Birks has a new logo (inspired by a diamond - see above) and will commence a new advertising campaign. In addition, Maison Birks has launched 16 new jewelry collections that include bridal pieces featuring Canadian diamonds. Canadian diamonds have become popular in recent years and are being marketed by competitors including De Beers and Tiffany & Co.
Speaking of Canadian diamonds, Canada's fine jewelry market is becoming even more competitive. Tiffany & Co. has expanded substantially throughout Canada, opening both free-standing stores as well as smaller boutiques within several Holt Renfrew locations. Cartier is expected to open new Canadian stores including as many as two in Vancouver - one replacing an existing franchised Cartier store on Howe Street, the other possibly opening in Oakridge Centre. Diamond powerhouse De Beers will also open a store this fall in Vancouver, its first in Canada.![]() |
| Maison Birks, Mapleview Shopping Centre, Burlington Ontario. Photo: Maison Birks |
Fine jewelry competition will also come from the likes of Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Holt Renfrew will be expanding its jewelry offerings in order to carry more fine jewelry, while both Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue will include fine jewelry departments within their new Canadian stores. Given this increased competition, Maison Birks will hopefully have found the right time to modernize its brand.
Thank you to Retail Insider Ryan of blog http://immrfabulous.com for notifying us of Birks' rebranding.
[Maison Birks website]
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August 20, 2013, 10:45 pm
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August 20, 2013, 10:46 pm
Colliers Canada anticipates that Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) will open stores in Canada, according to a report released yesterday. If it opens in Canada, Designer Shoe Warehouse will create significant competition in Canada's discount-priced footwear market.
For those unfamiliar, Designer Shoe Warehouse is hugely popular in the United States, with almost 380 stores in that country. Its name says it all - it sells designer shoes at discounted prices. Stores average at around 22,000 square feet and each store carries about 24,000 pairs of shoes. The company has hundreds of millions in cash and no debt. We've posted a brief video below explaining the store's concept.If Designer Shoe Warehouse opens in Canada, it will face increasing competition from other new retailers that will also sell discounted footwear. Nordstrom Rack, Off 5th by Saks Fifth Avenue, Hudson's Bay Outlet and hr2 by Holt Renfrew will open stores nation-wide within the next three years. Nordstrom Rack will open up to 20 Canadian locations, Off 5th by Saks will open up to 25 locations, and hr2 is looking to open between 15 and 20 locations. That's a lot of discounted designer footwear (and we at Retail Insider couldn't be happier).
Given the success of Designer Shoe Warehouse in the United States amid extensive competition, we think Designer Shoe Warehouse will be successful in Canada. And though it wasn't mentioned in the Colliers report, we've heard that Designer Shoe Warehouse is already considering Canadian retail space.
[Link to Colliers report]
[Designer Shoe Warehouse website]
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August 21, 2013, 10:45 pm
We think Sears Canada's days are numbered, and we think Sears might be preparing to sell off more store leases and/or sell the entire company to another retailer. We'll explain how this could pave the way for more Canadian Nordstrom stores, as well as the entry of Macy's/Bloomingdale's into the Canadian market.
Sears Canada has been struggling and has already laid off a substantial number of employees. A couple of days ago, it let go 245 Canadian employees and announced that it was moving some of its IT, finance and payroll operations to India and the Philippines. We noticed that this announcement didn't come as part of a "broader strategy" for Sears. In fact, it's just more cost cutting. And this cost cutting, in our opinion, looks more like a retailer trying to make itself attractive for a takeover than a retailer trying to turn itself around.
If Sears were to sell out, we think it could be done in two ways. First, it could sell off a few more of its primely located stores, including locations at the Toronto Eaton Centre, Sherway Gardens, Polo Park in Winnipeg, West Edmonton Mall, and a few others. This could pave the way for more Canadian Nordstrom stores. Second, we know that Macy's has been considering the Canadian market for a while and is already considering bringing Bloomingdale's to Canada. Buying Sears Canada could be a strategic move for Macy's, as it could gain some prime retail space that would be impossible to build completely from scratch. We'll reveal more on Macy's/Bloomingdale's possible arrival to Canada soon.
Readers may remember that it was originally Sears Canada's selling back some leases that led to Nordstrom's coming to Canada. Sears also recently sold back three prime Toronto area store leases, possibly opening the door for La Maison Simons in Toronto.
Several insiders tell us that morale at Sears Canada is low, both in its offices as well as its stores. We encourage everyone working at Sears Canada to hang in there, as there may be new positions coming available at some new, exciting retailers.
[Sears Canada website]
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August 22, 2013, 10:52 pm
Vancouver based Plenty will open its first store outside of British Columbia next month. It will be located in Calgary's Chinook Centre. The store will be about 2,400 square feet and will be located on the mall's second level near the new Nordstrom store, currently under construction.
For those unfamiliar, Plenty is a women's and men's multi-brand retailer. It was started in 1989 and carries private label merchandise as well as other designer labels. It has four stores in the Vancouver area and one in Victoria. Calgary will therefore be Plenty's sixth store location.
Thank you to our source Ryan, aka Mr. Fabulous, for providing us with this tip. You can find his blog here: http://immrfabulous.com and you can follow him on Twitter.
[Chinook Centre website]
[Plenty website]
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August 22, 2013, 10:59 pm
Another smaller-format grocery store has opened in Montreal. This one is called Les 5 saisons (with a small s) and it is located at the base of the luxury condominium building, 1250 Avenue Greene, in Westmont. It opened Thursday, August 15th.
This Les 5 saisons is only about 10,000 square feet. In comparison, suburban grocery stores are typically several times this size. This store is at the base of a condominium tower where units start at 1510 square feet and go up to 5089 square feet. Units were priced in excess of $1 million. Although there are only about 20 residences at 1250 Avenue Greene, we can safely say that Les 5 saisons has an adjacent population of millionaires.We recently discussed the increase in urban-sized grocery stores in Canadian cities. Our last article mentioned Marché Adonis, which opened at the base of another condominium tower a few blocks east of Les 5 saisons. Our August 13th article provides further reading on our opinion and analysis of urban grocery store retail.
[1250 Avenue Greene website]
[Les 5 saisons website]
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August 25, 2013, 11:35 pm
Canada's only free-standing St. John store will vacate its current Hotel Vancouver space. It will be replaced by a two-level luxury retailer. We're not sure yet where St. John will move, though rumour has it St. John could replace Griffins, a restaurant in the hotel.
For those unfamiliar, St. John is an upscale American womenswear label known for its knitwear and classic designs, popular among affluent women over 40. It is carried at several Canadian retailers, including selected Holt Renfrew stores. It will be carried expansively in new Canadian Nordstrom stores, as most American Nordstrom stores feature large dedicated St. John areas.
The Hotel Vancouver's retail component, owned by Ivanhoe Cambridge, will see significant changes in the coming months. We'll periodically announce new tenants slated to open in its newly configured, two-level retail spaces.
Source: Van23H, Vancouver Skyscraper Forum
[Hotel Vancouver website]
[St. John website]
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August 25, 2013, 11:36 pm
The landlord for Vancouver's Oakridge Centre is courting high-end American department stores including Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. We've highlighted part of a report noting this, in a new space estimated to be about 155,000 square feet.
The image below is part of page 51 of the 74-page Oakridge Centre Retail Impact Assessment, prepared for the City of Vancouver by Coriolis Consulting Corporation. Oakridge Centre will substantially expand and is seeking the City's permission to add new retail space, including three newly built anchor stores (and an adjacent grocery store).![]()
These three department stores aren't just random examples chosen for the report, according to source Van23H of Vancouver Skyscraper Forum. Oakridge wants one of these stores. We'll do a quick analysis of the three possible anchors:
Saks Fifth Avenue at Oakridge Centre:
Saks Fifth Avenue will open its first Vancouver store within the current downtown Hudson's Bay store. A second location at Oakridge might seem redundant, given its close proximity to Downtown Vancouver. It should be noted, though, that Oakridge's expansion won't be finished until after 2020 and Saks wants to be in Vancouver by late 2014. Given competition in Downtown Vancouver from Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew, it is possible that Saks could eventually exit Downtown Vancouver's Bay to open a large Oakridge store by 2021.
Nordstrom at Oakridge Centre:
In our opinion, Nordstrom is the least likely of the three potential department stores to move into Oakridge. Nordstrom's Downtown Vancouver store is simply too close to Oakridge, despite the somewhat differing demographic that shops at Oakridge versus Downtown Vancouver. We're not saying 'no' to Nordstrom at Oakridge, but we'd be surprised if Nordstrom opened two stores within a few minute drive/Skytrain ride from eachother.
Bloomingdale's at Oakridge Center:
We expect Bloomingdale's to be the front runner for Oakridge, despite the new anchor only being about 155,000 square feet. Bloomingdale's has already been looking at opening in Canada and its new stores are getting smaller. Three new American Bloomingdale's stores will be 120,000-150,000 square feet each, making the 155,000 square foot Oakridge space large enough.
See Also:
Van23H of Vancouver Skycraper Forum tells us that Oakridge's landlord Ivanhoe Cambridge isn't interested in having La Maison Simons as the mall's third anchor. We've gotten word, however, that Simons may have finalized a lease in another Metro Vancouver location. We'll discuss this more in the next couple of weeks.
Thank you to 'jlousa' of Vancouver Skyscraper Forum for directing us to Coriolis Consulting's report for the City of Vancouver (.pdf)
[Oakridge Centre website]
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August 26, 2013, 11:26 pm
Construction of a two level Old Navy store in Downtown Vancouver is nearing completion. It's located at one of the most prominent retail addresses in the city: The south-west corner of Granville and Robson Streets. There will be office space above the building's retail component.
We've been told that Old Navy will span both main floor as well as the second floor retail space. We previously reported that Old Navy had leased the second floor of this building, and it now appears it has decided to occupy valuable ground-floor retail as well.
The building is directly across the street from Vancouver's future Nordstrom store, set to open in 2015.
[Old Navy website]
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August 26, 2013, 11:26 pm
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New Hazelton Lanes renderings, including the Avenue Road/Yorkville Avenue corner. Photo: Greybrook Realty Partners |
Toronto's Hazelton Lanes will grow even larger than anticipated, and it could include an upscale department store. We previously reported that Hazelton Lanes' landlord was seeking to renovate the mall for luxury tenants, and we posted the originally proposed lease plans for the project. The mall's owner has since secured space for further development. Hazelton Lanes will therefore become even larger than we expected, expanding to the corner of Yorkville Avenue and Avenue Road.
Originally, that corner site was to be developed by landlords Empire Communities and Greybrook Realty Parnters. It would have included some retail underneath a luxury residential highrise. Empire/Greybrook have decided to align with Hazelton Lane's landlord First Capital Realty to create a substantially larger Hazelton Lanes with a corner retail presence. This development was first mentioned in a Toronto Star interview, which was published on website Urban Toronto.
This latest expansion will create a substantial amount of new retail space for the Yorkville area. However, being about two blocks north of popular Bloor Street, the expanded Hazelton Lanes may have difficulty attracting desired luxury tenants. A possible solution would be securing an upscale anchor which would attract more shoppers to Hazelton Lanes, thereby setting the stage for the luxury retail it desires. One such anchor would be a department store like Bloomingdale's. This would be a score for the mall's landlords.
Bloomingdale's stores have traditionally been over 200,000 square feet. Lately, though, Bloomingdale's has been opening smaller stores. Its new Glendale and Palo Alto California stores will be about 120,000 square feet, and its Honolulu store will be 167,000 square feet. An expanded Hazelton Lanes could possibly offer space for such an anchor.
We would like to be clear that Bloomingdale's at Hazelton Lanes is speculation. At the same time, we've been told that there are rumours that Bloomingdale's may be part of the retail assortment being proposed to brokers seeking to fill Hazelton Lanes with luxury retailers. We doubt Bloomingdale's would move in, though we're keeping an open mind. We'll keep you updated on the expansion and renovation of Hazelton Lanes.
[Hazelton Lanes website]
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