[Airboy]

They were soft opening last week when I went by for a beer but ended up with a cocktail next door at Rhubarb. Ashford should make for a pretty good patio in the summer. with the 3 places. The Ashford house could do a good business just supplying food to Arcadia

 

[Gronk!]

I may need to visit soon

'Our own kind of community': Local businesses thriving at Manchester Square

After getting off to a slow start, business is booming at Edmonton's Manchester Square. The development in Queen Mary Park opened in March 2020, right as the pandemic began.

edmonton.ctvnews.ca

 

[IanO]

I have to give it to the developer and tenants who have 'bought in'. This is turning out better than expected, even if a slow start, and will be a pretty unique destination when all said and done.

 

[7-8-0]

I'll admit I hated this thing when it was first built. I went to Arcadia Brewing last summer and it's actually quite nice. The patio area is the best part. I wish they would have used up more of the parking lot to make it even bigger.

 

[soupcrate]

I find the big parking lot distasteful as well, but if it brings in suburbanites that otherwise wouldn't come anywhere near Downtown then it's still a win.

 

[IanO]

There is room/potential to add a strip along 107Ave if they wanted to do so later on.

 

[Platinum107]

Man, this project has really proven past me wrong. At its heart it is still a strip mall, sure, but it really has taken off and become a destination. They even went out of their way to link the walkway with the railway corridor bike path directly and provided convenient bike racks right in front. So cool, and I hope that it gets even more successful and an expansion fronting 107th is built. Way to go Manchester Square!

 

[Clearshades]

Compared to the miniature Superstore-like sitting there before, I will take this anytime. To expect anything more than this at this stage is quite silly as far as I'm concern.

 

[cmd uw]

Man, this project has really proven past me wrong. At its heart it is still a strip mall, sure, but it really has taken off and become a destination. They even went out of their way to link the walkway with the railway corridor bike path directly and provided convenient bike racks right in front. So cool, and I hope that it gets even more successful and an expansion fronting 107th is built. Way to go Manchester Square!

They will never build an expansion fronting 107 Ave. What's there is there. TBH, while I still have my issues with its design, it has attracted some great tenants and has become a place that people are attracted to. The mural is also a nice touch. In general, these types of places are good for the city and the community.

 

[Airboy]

I sat there last year and watched people. There was a constant flow of people coming just to look at the place and take selfies. Its nice that the pet stores are next to the off leash. The mix of food services is getting better. I believe there will be a lot of cross over on the patio. There is a covered walkway that is nice to sit in on a cold day.

 

[supaflyryguy]

I find the big parking lot distasteful as well, but if it brings in suburbanites that otherwise wouldn't come anywhere near Downtown then it's still a win.

Or those of us who live ~10 minutes away by car but 2 hours by transit. AKA, most of Edmonton, even those that frequent downtown.

 

[_urbanite]

So this one has grown on me too. Frankly, If they had completely torn down the old building instead of repurposing part of it, we may very well ended up with another boxy stucco and glazing type strip mall instead. So I give the owners credit for creating something that's unique, visually interesting to look at, and a place people want to be and be seen at

 

[David A]

It seems to have been a very thoughtful approach, which perhaps you are more likely to get with local people leading the the development.

It is also nice how it seems to have an interesting variety of unique and local retail and not so much the usual chains.