rdaner
Senior Member
To the Mods: I am not sure where to put this but could I make a suggestion for a Planning: Distillery District thread in either projects or architecture similar to the Planning: West Queen West Triangle thread.
Regardless:
(Di)still evolving
As The Distillery District Expands Residentially, Some Commercial Tenants Feel The Site Is Just Not Neighbourly Enough
Zosia Bielski, National Post
Published: Wednesday, August 08, 2007
When the men behind the Distillery took a reporter for a tour last week, we began not on the cobblestone lane-ways, but inside a stark white sales centre for Clear Spirit, the second condominium selling like mad on the industrial Victorian site.
Although City Hall has yet to approve the 40-storey Clear Spirit tower, it is already 70% sold, says lawyer John Berman, one part of Cityscape Development Corp., which owns and manages the 5.6-hectare site it began remaking as an arts community four years ago. Clear Spirit's sister condo, Pure Spirits, is rising 32 storeys on Mill Street --and is fully sold.
Mr. Berman, his business partner Matthew Rosenblatt, a real estate broker, and Danny Roth, City-scape's PRman, whisk me next to Thompson Landry Gallery.
Here, Mr. Rosenblatt takes on the journalist's role, peppering his tenant, co-owner Joanne Thompson with questions. Ms. Thompson says that in the 18 months since she opened, her client list swelled to more than 2,500. "We would like more space," she says.
Next stop, Balzac's Coffee, one of the Distillery's original tenants. Owner Diane Olsen laughs about being cornered; her landlords step away. She says Balzac's is now in a "win-win situation," her tourist clientele now bolstered by devout regulars and new locals from the recent Doors Open and Luminato festivals hosted here.
Next, we head to Soma Chocolatemaker. I am offered Mayan hot chocolate, which I sip as Mr. Berman points out the bustle. Soma is one of several Distillery retailers that have expanded, he says, in this case, from 600 to 3,000 square feet.
Owner David Castellan is humble, saying chocolate basically sells itself. He chalks it up to psychology: His robin's eggshell blue factory suits the Distillery's industrial context perfectly. His customers linger longer, and drink more chocolate.
So is he a happy tenant? "I think we're one of the few," he offers quietly, his eyes scanning the room.
What the Cityscape reps leave off the tour are the district's less buoyant retailers who say they've been struggling to attract customers for years. The National Post spoke to staff at eight shops and three galleries --half of them criticized Cityscape for mismanaging the site.
"Eight months out of the year, this place is a tomb," says Craig Urquhart, co-owner of Artifex Furniture. He cites a number of grievances, including a dwindling number of promotional events and a leaky roof.
"We made a mistake. We were sold a vision for the site which never materialized ... It's more or
less a retail failure. There's just no one here and it appears to be getting significantly worse as time goes on, not better."
Two days after Mr. Urquhart said this, his landlord seized some of the store's sofas and armchairs, in lieu of unpaid rent, Mr. Urquhart says. Mr. Rosenblatt says the legal process to seize the furniture began in mid-July.
On Friday, amid negotiations between Cityscape and Artifex about the shop's lease, Mr. Urquhart says, the National Post received a letter from Michael Garfin, a lawyer representing Artifex. Mr. Garfin wrote that Mr. Urquhart wanted to retract statements made "in the heat of the moment" during an interview. Mr. Urquhart later said the landlord had asked his lawyer to send the letter.
Mr. Rosenblatt denies knowledge of any letter to the Post. He says any business's failure is its own fault, not the Distillery's.
"You have weaker things, in this particular instance, weaker businesses, and they become extinct because they're not quality, people don't want them. But it doesn't relate to the entire entity of the community, and this is a very strong community ... If a retailer was to leave here, we can instantaneously fill it up with other strong people."
Mr. Urquhart's complaints echo those of a number of retailers here, some of whom did not want their names used. Five-year leases are up in February, and most expect their lease to jump to at least market rate, regardless of traffic.
Tenants agree that the Distillery's management has improved since Dundee Realty Management Corporation signed on in
2004. Still, several shopkeepers complain the construction hoarding for Pure Spirits has killed their visibility since last February. All told, the two condos will bring about 2,500 new neighbours to the area by 2010.
Literary quotations on the hoarding speak of grand visions: "Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination," reads one courtesy of Oscar Wilde. But Roy Banse, owner of Fluid Living -- an upscale home decor shop he moved from a lucrative location on Queen West -- suffers from something more mundane: a lack of shoppers. "As soon as the hoarding went up for the condo tower, we saw a huge drop in traffic and we saw a huge drop in sales."
"My first year and a half here was basically a construction zone," says Len Curtis, owner of Auto Grotto, which sells transportation memorabilia. Business was so slow and sandwiched by the hoarding that Mr. Curtis moved Auto Grotto into another space that vacated on the site.
Mr. Curtis says things are better this year, but notes that events like Woofstock, which brought him more customers in a day than he'd see in a month, have "fallen off radically."
On a sunny summer Monday, the place is dead. Two women sit at the Mill St. Brew Pub patio, otherwise deserted. Elderly tourists snap photos of Gooderham and Worts' lovely hunter green fixtures, then balk at a $66 T-shirt at Lileo, the upscale clothing shop.
Mr. Rosenblatt contends that foot traffic is not a measure of success here, especially for the internationally acclaimed galleries -- these often come with their own client lists. Stores that do well here, he says, are destinations.
Michael Ber, who moved Sound Designs from an industrial area in Richmond Hill, says his sales come from architects' referrals, not walk-by traffic or impulse buys. "The rent is justified," he concludes.
"We're very satisfied with where we are today," Mr. Rosenblatt says, reminding that the district is only four years old.
Others say the evolution is incomplete.
"This was always laid out to be a destination site for the city, encompassing retail shops, restaurants and cafes and art galleries, sort of a Soho-type feel," says Mr. Banse. "I think essentially it does have that feel. Where it differs is that this is a site, not a neighbourhood. And a site has to be serviced. There has to be ample parking, ample lighting and there has to be enough of a draw to get people down here to shop, as well as just walk around with a coffee. And I don't think that has been fulfilled yet."
zbielski@nationalpost.com
Regardless:
(Di)still evolving
As The Distillery District Expands Residentially, Some Commercial Tenants Feel The Site Is Just Not Neighbourly Enough
Zosia Bielski, National Post
Published: Wednesday, August 08, 2007
When the men behind the Distillery took a reporter for a tour last week, we began not on the cobblestone lane-ways, but inside a stark white sales centre for Clear Spirit, the second condominium selling like mad on the industrial Victorian site.
Although City Hall has yet to approve the 40-storey Clear Spirit tower, it is already 70% sold, says lawyer John Berman, one part of Cityscape Development Corp., which owns and manages the 5.6-hectare site it began remaking as an arts community four years ago. Clear Spirit's sister condo, Pure Spirits, is rising 32 storeys on Mill Street --and is fully sold.
Mr. Berman, his business partner Matthew Rosenblatt, a real estate broker, and Danny Roth, City-scape's PRman, whisk me next to Thompson Landry Gallery.
Here, Mr. Rosenblatt takes on the journalist's role, peppering his tenant, co-owner Joanne Thompson with questions. Ms. Thompson says that in the 18 months since she opened, her client list swelled to more than 2,500. "We would like more space," she says.
Next stop, Balzac's Coffee, one of the Distillery's original tenants. Owner Diane Olsen laughs about being cornered; her landlords step away. She says Balzac's is now in a "win-win situation," her tourist clientele now bolstered by devout regulars and new locals from the recent Doors Open and Luminato festivals hosted here.
Next, we head to Soma Chocolatemaker. I am offered Mayan hot chocolate, which I sip as Mr. Berman points out the bustle. Soma is one of several Distillery retailers that have expanded, he says, in this case, from 600 to 3,000 square feet.
Owner David Castellan is humble, saying chocolate basically sells itself. He chalks it up to psychology: His robin's eggshell blue factory suits the Distillery's industrial context perfectly. His customers linger longer, and drink more chocolate.
So is he a happy tenant? "I think we're one of the few," he offers quietly, his eyes scanning the room.
What the Cityscape reps leave off the tour are the district's less buoyant retailers who say they've been struggling to attract customers for years. The National Post spoke to staff at eight shops and three galleries --half of them criticized Cityscape for mismanaging the site.
"Eight months out of the year, this place is a tomb," says Craig Urquhart, co-owner of Artifex Furniture. He cites a number of grievances, including a dwindling number of promotional events and a leaky roof.
"We made a mistake. We were sold a vision for the site which never materialized ... It's more or
less a retail failure. There's just no one here and it appears to be getting significantly worse as time goes on, not better."
Two days after Mr. Urquhart said this, his landlord seized some of the store's sofas and armchairs, in lieu of unpaid rent, Mr. Urquhart says. Mr. Rosenblatt says the legal process to seize the furniture began in mid-July.
On Friday, amid negotiations between Cityscape and Artifex about the shop's lease, Mr. Urquhart says, the National Post received a letter from Michael Garfin, a lawyer representing Artifex. Mr. Garfin wrote that Mr. Urquhart wanted to retract statements made "in the heat of the moment" during an interview. Mr. Urquhart later said the landlord had asked his lawyer to send the letter.
Mr. Rosenblatt denies knowledge of any letter to the Post. He says any business's failure is its own fault, not the Distillery's.
"You have weaker things, in this particular instance, weaker businesses, and they become extinct because they're not quality, people don't want them. But it doesn't relate to the entire entity of the community, and this is a very strong community ... If a retailer was to leave here, we can instantaneously fill it up with other strong people."
Mr. Urquhart's complaints echo those of a number of retailers here, some of whom did not want their names used. Five-year leases are up in February, and most expect their lease to jump to at least market rate, regardless of traffic.
Tenants agree that the Distillery's management has improved since Dundee Realty Management Corporation signed on in
2004. Still, several shopkeepers complain the construction hoarding for Pure Spirits has killed their visibility since last February. All told, the two condos will bring about 2,500 new neighbours to the area by 2010.
Literary quotations on the hoarding speak of grand visions: "Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination," reads one courtesy of Oscar Wilde. But Roy Banse, owner of Fluid Living -- an upscale home decor shop he moved from a lucrative location on Queen West -- suffers from something more mundane: a lack of shoppers. "As soon as the hoarding went up for the condo tower, we saw a huge drop in traffic and we saw a huge drop in sales."
"My first year and a half here was basically a construction zone," says Len Curtis, owner of Auto Grotto, which sells transportation memorabilia. Business was so slow and sandwiched by the hoarding that Mr. Curtis moved Auto Grotto into another space that vacated on the site.
Mr. Curtis says things are better this year, but notes that events like Woofstock, which brought him more customers in a day than he'd see in a month, have "fallen off radically."
On a sunny summer Monday, the place is dead. Two women sit at the Mill St. Brew Pub patio, otherwise deserted. Elderly tourists snap photos of Gooderham and Worts' lovely hunter green fixtures, then balk at a $66 T-shirt at Lileo, the upscale clothing shop.
Mr. Rosenblatt contends that foot traffic is not a measure of success here, especially for the internationally acclaimed galleries -- these often come with their own client lists. Stores that do well here, he says, are destinations.
Michael Ber, who moved Sound Designs from an industrial area in Richmond Hill, says his sales come from architects' referrals, not walk-by traffic or impulse buys. "The rent is justified," he concludes.
"We're very satisfied with where we are today," Mr. Rosenblatt says, reminding that the district is only four years old.
Others say the evolution is incomplete.
"This was always laid out to be a destination site for the city, encompassing retail shops, restaurants and cafes and art galleries, sort of a Soho-type feel," says Mr. Banse. "I think essentially it does have that feel. Where it differs is that this is a site, not a neighbourhood. And a site has to be serviced. There has to be ample parking, ample lighting and there has to be enough of a draw to get people down here to shop, as well as just walk around with a coffee. And I don't think that has been fulfilled yet."
zbielski@nationalpost.com
