canarob
Senior Member
I could see CF buying out Sears' lease in Markville as well. That store is AWFUL in an otherwise greatly improving mall. If anyone really wants to go to Sears (unlikely), they can drive down McCowan to STC.
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As soon as you said "split vertically", that was the first vision that popped into my head, having two anchors side by side. But you are right, they could develop it any number of ways. As devjohnson said above, CF will probably redo the whole space. Sears leaving would be a huge opportunity for CF.
I wish they could go further and actually contemplate some changes to the building - extending the atrium, opening up the exterior, etc.
AoD
Yup. Why not take the opportunity of a vacant space to build an office tower on top?
The Eaton family built College Park in the late 1920s (opened in 1930 IIRC) as the first phase of a larger project including a tower, but they famously neglected to build the first phase in a manner that would support the weight of the tower.
I wonder what the next generation of the Eatons (actually, arguably the next two generations, as John David Eaton died when the Eaton Centre was still being planned) did with the Eaton Centre store. I wonder what would be involved in adding a tower. The store has a massive footprint, so some intensification would be nice (mind you, the original store before they started giving floors to Cadillac Fairview was approx. 1,000,000 sq. ft.).
If the Sears at the Eaton Centre becomes a tower, it would be called Eaton Tower, not Sears Tower (yes, I know that the one in Chicago is now called the Willis Tower).The Eaton family built College Park in the late 1920s (opened in 1930 IIRC) as the first phase of a larger project including a tower, but they famously neglected to build the first phase in a manner that would support the weight of the tower.
I wonder what the next generation of the Eatons (actually, arguably the next two generations, as John David Eaton died when the Eaton Centre was still being planned) did with the Eaton Centre store. I wonder what would be involved in adding a tower. The store has a massive footprint, so some intensification would be nice (mind you, the original store before they started giving floors to Cadillac Fairview was approx. 1,000,000 sq. ft.).
I've never heard that the Foundations "famoulsy" were not strong enough to support the tower. I'm pretty sure it was the Great War and the Depression which did in the office building. From wikipedia: Nevertheless, foundation pillars, 10 feet in diameter, were driven 30 feet down into bedrock during the construction of the first phase to accommodate the tower.
The latter day eatons never had any vision beyond their horses, fast cars and georgian bay island...
The Eaton family built College Park in the late 1920s (opened in 1930 IIRC) as the first phase of a larger project including a tower, but they famously neglected to build the first phase in a manner that would support the weight of the tower.
If the Sears at the Eaton Centre becomes a tower, it would be called Eaton Tower, not Sears Tower (yes, I know that the one in Chicago is now called the Willis Tower).
I think the failure to complete Eatons College Park lies more with the Great Depression than with engineers.
I think the failure to complete Eatons College Park lies more with the Great Depression than with engineers.