General Retail News

[kevinbottawa]

I really hoped the Rideau Centre expansion would've included a new Holt Renfrew on Rideau Street, I guess that's not gonna happen. One rumour was that the empty parking lot and the Ogilvie building would be home to luxury retailers. I don't think that's happening with Nordstrom coming.

[Nepean]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'm not a fan of a Casino and I definetly don't want it in either the CBD, Market or Rideau area. I think they should have gotten their act together back in the 80s and 90s. Gatineau beat them to it, so too bad.

I agree with you. A casino in downtown Ottawa would be a disaster, as it would effectively cutoff part of downtown to non-gamblers.

I like poker and have gone to the Hull casino several times. However, I also know that a lot of people dislike gambling, and that if a casino is put anywhere in downtown Ottawa these folks will stop going to that area.

Casinos only work if you isolate them, e.g. the Montreal Casino on Île Notre-Dame, the Gatineau casino which has a buffer area, or cities like Las Vegas, Reno or Atlantic City that are adult playgrounds. But to place a casino in the middle of a normal urban community, that is just stupid.

Again, I like playing cards and sometimes frequent casinos. However, I also know that I am part of a larger community, and that we shouldn't implement urban plans that exclude non-gamblers from parts of their own downtown.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Agreed.

I don't see how Nordstrom could support a space as big as this anyway. Besides, before the Rideau subway station was moved, wasn't the food court turning into an entrance? Wouldn't they have made preliminary plans to move the food court? Or will they move it to a new expansion?

I hope Nordstrom at least gives the horrible Sears façade a major, overdue facelift!

nordstrom stores are usually pretty big, most of the seattle area ones are 3 floors, the downtown flagship is about 4 floors

i am not familiar with rideau centre space but one of the floors if available could be the nordstrom rack

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

nordstrom stores are usually pretty big, most of the seattle area ones are 3 floors, the downtown flagship is about 4 floors

i am not familiar with rideau centre space but one of the floors if available could be the nordstrom rack

I guess your right. From Wikipedia;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordstrom

At 383,000 square feet (35,600 m2), the downtown Seattle location is the chain's largest store. By contrast, the smallest Nordstrom store (as of September 2008) opened in 1980 in Salem, Oregon and has a total area of just under 72,000 square feet (6,700 m2).

With Rideau Centre's Sears at 240,000, it would be mid-sized.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I really hoped the Rideau Centre expansion would've included a new Holt Renfrew on Rideau Street, I guess that's not gonna happen. One rumour was that the empty parking lot and the Ogilvie building would be home to luxury retailers. I don't think that's happening with Nordstrom coming.

Well, they would still have the opportunity to expand out into the parking lot and Ogilvy building, and yes I agree that would be good to be moved over...a lot more business potential at Rideau Street than Sparks Street.

[kevinbottawa]

There's a website for the Bayshore redevelopment. That mall's gonna look nice. Can't wait to shop there.

http://www.bayshoreredevelopment.com

[kevinbottawa]

Here's one of the renderings.

[J.OT13]

That is pretty nice.

[kevinbottawa]

According to the Globe & Mail, Nordstrom is opening its first Canadian stores in 2015.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...79/?cmpid=rss1

I wonder how Cadillac Fairview will use the Sears space at the Rideau Centre until then. Hopefully they move some stores/the food court there temporarily until the expansion is done so they can improve the shopping experience along Rideau Street.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

According to the Globe & Mail, Nordstrom is opening its first Canadian stores in 2015.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...79/?cmpid=rss1

I wonder how Cadillac Fairview will use the Sears space at the Rideau Centre until then. Hopefully they move some stores/the food court there temporarily until the expansion is done so they can improve the shopping experience along Rideau Street.

Likely 2-3 years of renos and modernization.

[J.OT13]

Nordstrom may not arrive at the Rideau Centre until 2015

http://www.openfile.ca/ottawa/blog/2...tre-until-2015

[J.OT13]

Nordstrom to open stores in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver

TORONTO — High-end U.S. retailer Nordstrom is coming to Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver starting in the fall of 2014.

The announcement this morning in Toronto sees Nordstrom join a fast-growing field of foreign chains vying for coveted Canadian consumer dollars.

Officials from the Seattle-based department store chain and Cadillac Fairview say Nordstrom will be moving into space vacated by Sears and then renovated at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, Calgary’s Chinook Centre, and Rideau Centre in Ottawa.

A new store will be built at Toronto’s Sherway Gardens. The tentative timeline for the stores opening is; fall of 2014 in Calgary; spring 2015 in Ottawa and Vancouver; and fall 2016 in Toronto.

Vancouver will get the largest Nordstrom store, with three levels and some 230,000 square feet planned.

The Ottawa store will be two levels and approximately 157,000 square feet, the Calgary store two levels with approximately 140,000 square feet, and the Toronto store will have two levels with some 138,000 square feet.

OT is 2 floors; so Kevinbottawa, you might just get your Mackenzie King Bridge food court. Sears is currently 240,000 sqft, take away 157,000 sqft and you get 83,000 sqft of space left. We will have the second largest store in the country.

[Requin]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

OT is 2 floors; so Kevinbottawa, you might just get your Mackenzie King Bridge food court. Sears is currently 240,000 sqft, take away 157,000 sqft and you get 83,000 sqft of space left. We will have the second largest store in the country.

Mackenzie King is the 2nd floor of Sears. If Nordstrom is 2 floors, I would assume they would be Mackenzie King and the upper floor. The lower floor of sears (2nd floor of the mall) would presumably be open for another retailer.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by Requin

Mackenzie King is the 2nd floor of Sears. If Nordstrom is 2 floors, I would assume they would be Mackenzie King and the upper floor. The lower floor of sears (2nd floor of the mall) would presumably be open for another retailer.

Another option is to have it over 3 floors, but unevenly placed - using half of the 2nd and 3rd and all of the 4th (based on mall levels). Ideally, the food court needs to be on the 3rd floor of the mall near Mackenzie King Bridge (right as soon as you get off the bus). A food court there would be more beneficial to DND employees and better spread the food options around the area (considering some also exist on Rideau Street outside the mall). Some of the stores along the bridge entrance on the east side (including the OC Transpo kiosk) would need to be relocated to open the area up. As for the 2nd floor, a new mall wing with about 10 new stores leading to the tunnel beneath the Mackenzie King Bridge would likely be the best idea.

That food court should IMO be done in 2013, at the first stage. The existing food court should be freed up for stores on Rideau Street.

[J.OT13]

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Retail/2012-...ideau-Centre/1

Nordstrom taking Sears space in Rideau Centre

High-scale American fashion retailer Nordstrom confirmed on Thursday that it is heading to the Rideau Centre and will fill the top two levels of the soon-to-be-vacated Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) store.
Topics : Cadillac Fairview , Sears , Rideau Centre , Calgary , Vancouver , Canada

Partnering with Rideau Centre landlord Cadillac Fairview, Nordstrom will expand into four of the commercial real estate investor’s Canadian malls in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

"It's exciting to finally have this opportunity to better serve our Canadian customers closer to home and we can't wait to open our doors," stated president Erik Nordstrom in a company release.

"Cadillac Fairview has been instrumental in helping us get started in Canada, and we're thrilled to be part of these premier shopping destinations.”

Nordstrom will open its doors to Ottawa in spring of 2015 with its new 157,000-square-foot location. Sears has a footprint of 240,000 square feet spanning three storeys in the mall.

Rideau Centre's general manager Cindy VanBuskirk would not comment on who will fill the bottom floor of the Sears store.

"The additional space will be leased to other best in class retailers, but it’s premature to comment," Ms. VanBuskirk said.

Nordstrom also announced it will continue exploring opportunities to open additional stores as part of the company's future expansion into Canada.

“Nordstrom is an excellent fit for all four locations,” stated Cadillac Fairview president and CEO John Sullivan. “Not only will they transform our shopping centres, but enhance the Canadian retail landscape as a whole.”

Rumours of the company’s Canadian expansion began to swirl earlier this year with speculations that Nordstrom would take over three locations that Sears will leave this fall.

In March, Sears announced it would be closing its 240,000-square-foot Rideau Centre store by the end of October, along with locations in Vancouver and Calgary.

Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, Nordstrom is now one of the leading fashion specialty retailers in the United States with 234 stores across the country and an online boutique.

Cadillac Fairview is wholly owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Top 2 floors. I don't think the bottom floor will be used by another retailer since it is isolated from the rest of the mall (Daly ave.). Not desirable for retailers or a food court due to low visibility.

My theory is connection between OCC and possible hotel on the south east corner or, maybe eventualy, an expansion to the OCC.

[Kitchissippi]

Interesting note related to the first post on this thread. It seems Carbon Computing is going against the flow of former Westboro stores moving to Hintonburg. They are moving from Hintonburg to Westboro, into the old martial arts place between the Works and Newport.

Seems like a slew of changes are coming to the heart of the village, with Newport relocating, Westboro Sports closing, and Beckta opening a restaurant in the old TD location — 3 of the 4 corners of Richmond/Churchill will have something new. Lots of other construction and renos up and down the retail strip, hopefully it will diversify retail mix.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Retail/2012-...ideau-Centre/1



Top 2 floors. I don't think the bottom floor will be used by another retailer since it is isolated from the rest of the mall (Daly ave.). Not desirable for retailers or a food court due to low visibility.

My theory is connection between OCC and possible hotel on the south east corner or, maybe eventualy, an expansion to the OCC.

I don't see how it's isolated from the rest of the mall, it's at the corner of the two main corridors on the principal level. I could see it being an ideal location for a Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, or heck, even a Whole Foods.

[J.OT13]

Depends how you look at it, with the grade diffrence all over the place and the Mackenzie King Bridge, it gets kind of confusing.

I might be wrong, but Sears lower level is below the Mackenzie King bridge (at grade with Daily and Nicholas no man lands and the first level of the OCC), the second level is the bridge, to be taken over by Nordstrom which is connected to the mall in two places and the third level, also to become Nordstrom, connected to the mall on the north side.

That bottom level is not directly connected to the mall. But there is a poorly used tunnel to the DND and east bound bus platform as well as an escalator to the MK level ( connecting the tunnel).

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Depends how you look at it, with the grade diffrence all over the place and the Mackenzie King Bridge, it gets kind of confusing.

I might be wrong, but Sears lower level is below the Mackenzie King bridge (at grade with Daily and Nicholas no man lands and the first level of the OCC), the second level is the bridge, to be taken over by Nordstrom which is connected to the mall in two places and the third level, also to become Nordstrom, connected to the mall on the north side.

That bottom level is not directly connected to the mall. But there is a poorly used tunnel to the DND and east bound bus platform as well as an escalator to the MK level ( connecting the tunnel).

No, that level is connected to the mall. It opens to what used to be called Eaton Court, on the same level as Apple, the Gap, etc. The second level is the MacKenzie King Bridge level, and the third level is a level above the rest of the mall and thus has no connections to it.

That poorly used connection to DND is at the same level, but because of grade changes, as you noted, appears lower.

That tunnel brings up an interesting angle though, as it creates a natural end to a new corridor. Perhaps Kevinbottawa's idea for a food court on this side of the mall would work well there, as it would connect nicely to the major employment point, DND.

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Depends how you look at it, with the grade diffrence all over the place and the Mackenzie King Bridge, it gets kind of confusing.

I might be wrong, but Sears lower level is below the Mackenzie King bridge (at grade with Daily and Nicholas no man lands and the first level of the OCC), the second level is the bridge, to be taken over by Nordstrom which is connected to the mall in two places and the third level, also to become Nordstrom, connected to the mall on the north side.

That bottom level is not directly connected to the mall. But there is a poorly used tunnel to the DND and east bound bus platform as well as an escalator to the MK level ( connecting the tunnel).

The bottom level opens out into "Eaton Court" in the mall. The bottom level has a weird exit into the bus station tunnel and a second weird exit toward Nicholas street (sorta the butt end of the complex) The third level has no connection to the inside (or outside for that matter) of the mall.

There are enough US retailers looking for space here plus the fact that it is still a decent sized space, I can't imagine the mall having too much difficulty finding someone to rent out the bottom level. The Apple store is also just up the hallway. The traffic is pretty decent.

Poking around on Google. It would be possible to add a store exit from the third level to the roof - although I am not sure why you would want to.

As an aside, I also note the letters from the EATON'S sign are still up there:

https://maps.google.com/?ll=45.42401...h&deg=180&z=20