General Retail News

[waterloowarrior]

News Article from [Friday, April 25, 2008] Barrhaven Crossing Joins Colonnade Development Portfolio


Colonnade Development’s retail portfolio continues to grow with the recent announcement by Investors Group that they have awarded the property management services contract for Barrhaven Crossing to Colonnade Development.
Barrhaven Crossing is a strip retail plaza located at 3500 Fallowfield Road. The 61,000 sq. ft. plaza is situated on a 5.1 acre site between Woodroffe Avenue and Greenbank Road on the south side of Fallowfield Road.
Current tenants of Barrhaven Crossing include First Choice Haircutters, Act II Consignment, Little Scholars Montessori, Pet Valu Canada, La Porto a Casa, Wan’s Chinese Takeout, Brown’s Cleaners, and Barrhaven Crossing Dental Centre.
Richard Getz, Colonnade’s Vice President of Retail Real Estate, will take on the majority of the leasing at the property. The property will be offering both retail and professional office space to the local market.
Colonnade Development will assume the management of Barrhaven Crossing effective May 1, 2008.

this plaza has been going downhill for a while as basically all the major tenants (shoppers, home hardware, grocery stores) have left, it should be interesting to see what the new manager plans to do with the site

[aesthetic]

Some of the stores opening up in the malls...

Stores opening in Rideau Centre:

Coach - August 2008
Lucky Brand - September 2008
Lacoste - October 2008
Marciano - December 2008

Stores opening in Place D'Orleans:

Aéropostale - Summer 2008
Shoe Warehouse - Summer 2008

Stores opening in Bayshore Shopping Centre:

Jean Machine - Upcoming on the site but no date.

[Radster]

There's an RBC branch, Jean Coutu pharmacy and an optometrist being built at the moment in the Plateau shopping area in Hull. Should be open this fall.

I was in Simons in Montreal a few weeks ago, and I asked, like I do every year, about their expansion plans and whether Ottawa or Gatineau are next, and they said no, not anymore. Instead they will be opening a store in Trois-Rivieres. So I replied that its too bad, because the Ottawa-Gatineau area is over 1 million people, way more than Trois-Rivières, plus I said that I know many people who travel to Montreal specifically to shop at Simons, and the manager replied that he is aware of all of this, and that he gets comments like this from Ottawa/Gatineau people on a daily basis, but that he has no answer as to why Simons hasn't picked our region for expansion.

I have a feeling that we will see 1 or 2 H&M stores in the near future though, they're expanding quite aggressively the last few years.

[harls]

Bank of Montreal is moving into the ground floor of the Confederation Square tower at Kent and Slater.. noticed that a while ago..

[clynnog]

Originally Posted by Radster

he has no answer as to why Simons hasn't picked our region for expansion.

For many Quebec companies the combination of high land costs in Ottawa vs. Quebec plus the frustration factor of dealing with the City of Ottawa Development Approval Process puts off many companies in Quebec (unless they have deep pockets and lots of patience).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Radster

I was in Simons in Montreal a few weeks ago, and I asked, like I do every year, about their expansion plans and whether Ottawa or Gatineau are next, and they said no, not anymore. Instead they will be opening a store in Trois-Rivieres. So I replied that its too bad, because the Ottawa-Gatineau area is over 1 million people, way more than Trois-Rivières, plus I said that I know many people who travel to Montreal specifically to shop at Simons, and the manager replied that he is aware of all of this, and that he gets comments like this from Ottawa/Gatineau people on a daily basis, but that he has no answer as to why Simons hasn't picked our region for expansion.

Even just Gatineau and surrounding areas on the Quebec side is almost twice as big as Trois-Rivières, and much more affluent as well.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by clynnog

For many Quebec companies the combination of high land costs in Ottawa vs. Quebec plus the frustration factor of dealing with the City of Ottawa Development Approval Process puts off many companies in Quebec (unless they have deep pockets and lots of patience).

Though it would take a lot of vision and a huge leap of faith, they wouldn't have to go to Ottawa and could easily build a store in central Gatineau (Vieux-Hull). It wouldn't be too difficult to find a large enough space for a two or three storey department store. Just today our mayor was quoted in the paper as saying he wants to invigorate downtown. A department in downtown Gatineau? What a revolutionary concept!

For those who can read French:

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20...3/6784/CPDROIT

[harls]

Originally Posted by Acajack

For those who can read French:

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20...3/6784/CPDROIT

Une trentaine de planches couleur, grand format, exposeront les solutions aux grands enjeux du centre-ville. La stratégie pour résoudre le manque de places de stationnement y sera expliquée en détail.

Hmm.. I'd like to see some of these ideas, are they online somewhere?

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Though it would take a lot of vision and a huge leap of faith, they wouldn't have to go to Ottawa and could easily build a store in central Gatineau (Vieux-Hull). It wouldn't be too difficult to find a large enough space for a two or three storey department store. Just today our mayor was quoted in the paper as saying he wants to invigorate downtown. A department in downtown Gatineau? What a revolutionary concept!

You're right Acajack, it would be a bold move and one that would probably be more successful than at first glance. First glance for a retailer would be parking, access, visibility, etc. and old downtown Hull has been so cut off from the rest of the urban area that it has little street life, a small resident population, difficult access and perceived parking shortages.

For something like this to work I would imagine that you'd need a developer willing to embark on a 20-storey residential project with a 2-storey retail podium he'd be willing to own for a good 5 years minimum, where residential sales could subsidize retail rent for those 5 years and parking sales could subsidize a separately-accessed retail garage. He may have to offer Simons free rent for a year and an opt-out if sales per square foot aren't up to a pre-agreed minimum. It's like front-ending an amenity, such as a park in the suburbs for subdivision developers.

Once it's in place though, the daytime population of downtown Hull, the cultural attractions that are there and are planned (Espace Dallaire etc.) and the summer tourist traffic to the big curvy museum, I think would have the store in good footing within a year of operation. Being the only one in the metro area would also attract people who'd have a retail purpose to come downtown.

[Mille Sabords]

I want to see some of this in downtown Ottawa soon. Look at the partnership here, Tribute Homes and RioCan. Finally, a residential developer and a retail developer have "found each other".

Your city apartment, above an urban Home Depot, the roof of which is a large terrace. I'm not worthy.

http://www.tributecommunities.com/queen_west_reg/


Photo source: Tribute Homes website

[Luker]

that is awesome! why do we lack the brainpower to achieve something like this?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

You're right Acajack, it would be a bold move and one that would probably be more successful than at first glance. First glance for a retailer would be parking, access, visibility, etc. and old downtown Hull has been so cut off from the rest of the urban area that it has little street life, a small resident population, difficult access and perceived parking shortages.

For something like this to work I would imagine that you'd need a developer willing to embark on a 20-storey residential project with a 2-storey retail podium he'd be willing to own for a good 5 years minimum, where residential sales could subsidize retail rent for those 5 years and parking sales could subsidize a separately-accessed retail garage. He may have to offer Simons free rent for a year and an opt-out if sales per square foot aren't up to a pre-agreed minimum. It's like front-ending an amenity, such as a park in the suburbs for subdivision developers.

Once it's in place though, the daytime population of downtown Hull, the cultural attractions that are there and are planned (Espace Dallaire etc.) and the summer tourist traffic to the big curvy museum, I think would have the store in good footing within a year of operation. Being the only one in the metro area would also attract people who'd have a retail purpose to come downtown.

Mille Sabords: Thanks for conceptualizing my pie-in-the-sky vision! Not likely to become reality unfortunately, as true vision is in short supply!

Par contre, je vais peut-être assister à l'une des rencontres du 17 ou 18 juin pour mettre la puce à l'oreille des gens de la Ville de Gatineau!

http://www.ville.gatineau.qc.ca/pren...le_volet_2.htm

Harls: this is all that's up on the Web for the moment...

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

I want to see some of this in downtown Ottawa soon. Look at the partnership here, Tribute Homes and RioCan. Finally, a residential developer and a retail developer have "found each other".

Your city apartment, above an urban Home Depot, the roof of which is a large terrace. I'm not worthy.

http://www.tributecommunities.com/queen_west_reg/


Photo source: Tribute Homes website

Man, why can't we get stuff like this in Ottawa?!

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix

Man, why can't we get stuff like this in Ottawa?!

The very fact we're talking about it means it will happen someday sooner or later. Maybe sooner than we think. Once a formula like that is rolled out and proves successful, there aren't that many cities in Canada where you can do this. We're one of them.

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Par contre, je vais peut-être assister à l'une des rencontres du 17 ou 18 juin pour mettre la puce à l'oreille des gens de la Ville de Gatineau!

Je pensais aller y faire un tour moi aussi, sans doute le 17. On s'y verra peut-être.

[aesthetic]

Puck drops today in Kanata for latest one-sport megastore

Daniel Drolet, Citizen Special
Published: Friday, July 25, 2008
A Montreal-based retailer is opening a hockey megastore in the Kanata Centrum today -- a 20,000-square-foot store that will not only offer what it says is Canada's biggest selection of hockey equipment, clothing and accessories, but also a good measure of entertainment.

It's the latest expression of a trend in retailing -- very large stores that focus on a single sport and combine shopping with entertainment. And it seems popular enough for the retailer, Pro Hockey Life, to be going nationwide with its hockey megastore concept.

[harls]

Ugh I hate the Centrum.. what a wasteland. More big monster marts will fit right in there.

other retail news.. Starbucks is opening up in Confenderation Square (the new tower that was just completed recently). There's already one a block and a half to the north (Marriott) and another locations a couple blocks to the west (Bank st).

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by harls

other retail news.. Starbucks is opening up in Confenderation Square (the new tower that was just completed recently). There's already one a block and a half to the north (Marriott) and another locations a couple blocks to the west (Bank st).

I thought that empire was closing 500 stores due to the drop in their stock value, and "going back to basics", e.g. brewing tasty coffee. Someone should report this opening to the NYSE.

[waterloowarrior]

New CTC site sold to Riocan (some good pics of the development in that link)... they are really starting to get into the more urban areas now.
http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com...6807385344.php

interesting article I found on UT

From Globe and Mail, Business section:

Property Report: MIXED USE

More bang for buck, and bucking a trend
Intensification of land uses seen as cost effective while sparing neighbourhoods of yet more high-rise condos
TERRENCE BELFORD

Special to The Globe and Mail

July 29, 2008

One Sunday evening last year, Edward Sonshine was driving through north-central Toronto to his son's home for dinner when he noticed something peculiar while passing a small shopping centre his company owns: The parking lot was full despite the fact the stores were closed.

"I thought to myself there has to be a better use for that lot than to provide free parking for the neighbourhood," says the president of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.

And with that single insight an idea was born that now promises to revolutionize the way Canada's 30-plus publicly traded real estate companies treat their holdings. RioCan became the first REIT to begin the process of making better use of its large pool of land by intensifying the size and number of structures that sit on it.

For example, in Toronto, RioCan has partnered with home builder Tribute Communities to create two projects that combine retail shopping space - RioCan's forte - and condominium housing; in Calgary, it is teaming with Knightsbridge Homes to expand RioCan's Brentwood Shopping Centre by adding up to 550,000 square feet of residential units.

Print Edition - Section Front
Enlarge Image

Meanwhile, Allied Properties REIT is looking at its 55 office properties to the east and west of downtown Toronto to see how it can intensify the number and size of structures that sit on the roughly 19 acres it owns.

At represent, they take up between 2.8 and three times the area of the land, but zoning bylaws allow for up to six times coverage, Allied president Alan Emory says. "That means we have plenty of room to intensify and create maximum value out of what we already own."

Others are certain to follow, says Rossa O'Reilly, managing director and real estate analyst at CIBC World Markets. "Many of these companies are sitting on very large land holdings, which are underutilized. One of the ways to realize increased value is to intensify what sits on the land," he says.

"It just needed one or two to start the ball rolling and RioCan seems to have done that."

But why was intensification never considered before? What makes it a clever option today? The short answer: the condominium craze.

"It is only recently that the juggernaut of inner city condos has created the financial rationale for redeveloping or adding to existing sites," Mr. O'Reilly says. "Major cities have stopped building out and are starting to build up."

Another positive factor for intensification is that politicians embrace the concept of intensification - if it combines retail and residential and shows sensitivity toward preserving the flavour and nature of existing neighbourhoods.

"I think projects like that reflect the future of this city," says Adam Vaughan, alderman for Toronto's Trinity-Spadina.

One of RioCan's projects occupies the corner of Queen and Portland streets in the heart of Mr. Vaughan's downtown ward. "What we want are vertical neighbourhoods that reflect the existing mix of commercial and residential."

In practical terms, that means forget traditional high-rise towers. Intensification demands imagination and projects that slip seamlessly into surrounding the community.

RioCan and Tribute's two Toronto projects have won support from politicians for taking that route. At Avenue Road and Fairlawn Avenue, they are tearing down a string of low-rise commercial buildings that include a bank, Blockbuster Video, Mr. Sub and a liquor store, and replacing them with a high-end, mid-rise condominium with retail on the street level.

"We have 22,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor and already all but 4,000 square feet is leased," Mr. Sonshine says. "When complete, it will add $250,000 more in cash flow than what is there.

"The only restriction I put on my leasing guys was no food operations. You can't have that in a high-end condo project."

At Queen and Portland, the same team is building a new mid-rise condo on a parking lot. The retail space will take up 2½ floors with a condo on top. One of the things that sets the condos apart is green space on the roof. The units facing Queen Street will have what is in effect their own front yards in the sky and all residents will share a large outdoor terrace - their own private park.

The retail levels will include both the city's first urban Home Depot outlet and a grocery store.

"Many developers looked at the site but almost all of them wanted to build a 22-storey tower," Mr. Sonshine says. "I saw the possibility for retail but the numbers didn't work. But when we combined retail and condos, the numbers were there."

Financially structuring a retail-condo project is little different from structuring a project where several condominium buildings share the same land, says Scott McLellan, senior vice-president sales and marketing at Tribute Communities, which is based in Pickering, Ont.

"There are separate meters for things like energy use, and when it comes to maintenance you just apportion costs according to use," he says. "For example, the ramp to the underground parking lot will probably be used 95 per cent for retail customers so the retail component pays 95 per cent of the upkeep."

Allied likely will follow a different course, Mr. Emory says. Its first priority will be to see whether adding more office space makes sense financially. After that, it will look at alternatives, such as housing.

"We would first look to see if the market can absorb the extra office space. We may find it is better for us to take development profits from partnering with a residential developer," he says.

Another option is for Allied to develop the skills needed for residential development internally and not rely on partnerships, he says.

"I think intensification is definitely the way to go," Mr. Emory says. "But to be successful, it will take vision and new forms of urban housing."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../?query=riocan

[fireicedog]

Since we're on the Starbucks topic, noticed one will be opening up inside rideau centre where there used to be a cafe supreme I think, just inside the sussex/rideau entrance. This will be the second one in the mall and the third counting the one inside chapters across the street.