These arguments are boring.

Are any anti-Wal-Mart people being convinced to change sides because some people claim to see the future where Wal-Mart is put here and everything is hunky-dory?

And I don't know why people get so jazzed about supporting Wal-Mart: "I'm making such a revolutionary position because I'm supporting something that makes a lot of money!!"
 
They're not very convincing arguments because nobody has so far produced any example, beyond the realm of the hypothetical, in which the addition of a Wal-Mart turned out to be a net benefit to the overall context into which it was inserted.

The revolutionary nature of the pro-Wal-Mart argument is that in many ways it's a stance of "It's hip to be square", made all the more weird by the fact that it targets the "established" "hip to be square crowd", aka Kensington Market.

The Friends of Kensington Market has set up a crowd-funding program to pay for legal counsel as RioCan appeals to the OMB. This is the link to the program, to which I plan to contribute.
https://projexity.com/projects/view/Save-Kensington-Market-from-Big-Box/18
 
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I have no idea why people would so strongly push for a Walmart either. It's not like people have no access to Walmart in the core. Duffrin Mall and Gerrard Square both have Walmarts and they are not so far away from the downtown core. Manhattan manages quite well without a Walmart. I think the central core of Toronto can do better then a Walmart and an ugly suburban style shopping centre. Leave that crap in the burbs. This site should be residential on top and retail on the bottom 2 or 3 floors, not a typical mall.

The Walmart in Gerrard Square is the least crowded Walmart I've ever seen. I've never seen a line up in that place. In fact, it's almost always empty when I've been there, so it's not like all of Toronto desperately needs a Walmart in their neighbourhood.
 
Torontovibe said:
I have no idea why people would so strongly push for a Walmart either. It's not like people have no access to Walmart in the core. Duffrin Mall and Gerrard Square both have Walmarts and they are not so far away from the downtown core. Manhattan manages quite well without a Walmart. I think the central core of Toronto can do better then a Walmart and an ugly suburban style shopping centre. Leave that crap in the burbs. This site should be residential on top and retail on the bottom 2 or 3 floors, not a typical mall.

The Walmart in Gerrard Square is the least crowded Walmart I've ever seen. I've never seen a line up in that place. In fact, it's almost always empty when I've been there, so it's not like all of Toronto desperately needs a Walmart in their neighbourhood.
Click to expand...

This is not a mall. It's three stories of retail. Similar to queen and Portland but without the residential component. Calling this a mall is disingenuous.
 
Torontovibe said:
I have no idea why people would so strongly push for a Walmart either. It's not like people have no access to Walmart in the core. Duffrin Mall and Gerrard Square both have Walmarts and they are not so far away from the downtown core. Manhattan manages quite well without a Walmart. I think the central core of Toronto can do better then a Walmart and an ugly suburban style shopping centre. Leave that crap in the burbs. This site should be residential on top and retail on the bottom 2 or 3 floors, not a typical mall.

The Walmart in Gerrard Square is the least crowded Walmart I've ever seen. I've never seen a line up in that place. In fact, it's almost always empty when I've been there, so it's not like all of Toronto desperately needs a Walmart in their neighbourhood.
Click to expand...


The Walmart at GerrardSquare is relatively new,... took over the spot formerly used by Zellers.

The Walmart at DufferinMalls is usually quite busy,... and apparently Walmart thinks there`s enough business in this local west end to support two Walmarts,... so let them place their bets,... if Walmart looses, they`ll loose millions!

Downtown folks are less likely to have cars,.. they rely more on public transit, cycling and walking,... thus it makes sense to have a Walmart close by for these folks.
 
Torontovibe said:
I have no idea why people would so strongly push for a Walmart either. It's not like people have no access to Walmart in the core. Duffrin Mall and Gerrard Square both have Walmarts and they are not so far away from the downtown core. Manhattan manages quite well without a Walmart. I think the central core of Toronto can do better then a Walmart and an ugly suburban style shopping centre. Leave that crap in the burbs.
Click to expand...

Ok,... if you insist,.... lets copy whatever Manhattan does,....

Here is a list of SIX Walmart in Manhattan! And take note of some of the street addresses,... 5th Avenue, Rockerfeller Plaza, Grand Central Terminal,....

1. Wal Mart
7 E 14th St
New York, NY (1.7 mi)
(212) 229-1528

2. Wal Mart
26 Grand Central Terminal
New York, NY (3.1 mi)
(212) 972-8052

3. Wal Mart
545 5th Ave Frnt F
New York, NY (3.2 mi)
(212) 599-5010

4. Wal Mart
30 Rockefeller Plz
New York, NY (3.4 mi)
(212) 489-8484

5. Wal Mart
1250 Lexington Ave
New York, NY (5.2 mi)
(212) 535-0361

6. Wal Mart
283 Saint Nicholas Ave
New York, NY (7.3 mi)
(917) 493-6950

http://www.whitepages.com/store-locator/NY/New-York/Walmart
 
Picard is right Sunnyray, there are no Walmarts in Manhattan. In fact, there are no Walmarts in any NYC borough. The closest in New York State is immediately east of the city boundary at Valley Stream on Long Island.

Where did your list come from?

42
 
interchange42 said:
Picard is right Sunnyray, there are no Walmarts in Manhattan. In fact, there are no Walmarts in any NYC borough. The closest in New York State is immediately east of the city boundary at Valley Stream on Long Island.

Where did your list come from?

42
Click to expand...


I posted the link right at the bottom of my post# 267,... I got the list from the WhitePages (are you saying WhitePages is wrong?),... and it even have the Walmart logo with *Save money. Live better* slogan.
http://www.whitepages.com/store-locator/NY/New-York/Walmart

UrbanDreamer, that is an interesting NewYorkTimes article,... seems Walmart is using a very similar strategy here.
- Focusing on smaller Walmart Urban 90 stores more suitable for urban areas
- Going after stores in Malls (DufferinMall & GerrardSquare) or area already zoned for retail (this site)
- In NYC, Walmart is a threat to unionized supermarkets and councillors get support from unions - Toronto councillors are generally pro-union
- NYC residents travel out of their local neighbourhoods to shop at Walmart,... 62% of NewYorkers believe Walmart should be permitted to open in NYC, while 33% say No. Ask yourself, are the FriendsOfKensingtonMarket folks representative of the local neighbourhood or a bunch of hipsters from other parts of GTA who long to feel they have a downtown neighbourhood they can call their own. Demographically, FriendsOfKensingtonMarket folks certainly doesn't reflect the demographic of the local neighbourhood.

Why do NewYorkers want Walmart? Have you ever seen the prices of groceries in Manhattan??? Its basically double the prices elsewhere,... why, expensive land value and unions,...

Now, ask yourself this,... how does someone becomes the CEO of RIO-CAN,... does he have to be very bright and skilled,.... now why would the Ed Sonshine, RIO-CAN CEO leak out to the media a few months ago that this development`s main tenant is Walmart??? That drew the mobilization of FriendsOfKensingtonMarket, local councillor Mike Layton & Adam Vaughan, city council one year development freeze, and the local anti-Walmart crowd,.... hmmm,... Right from the start, RIO-CAN wanted to deal with the OMB on this development instead of the city,... now it's back to the OMB.

I guess, NewYorkCity doesn`t have an OMB,....
 
Parkdalian said:
These arguments are boring.

Are any anti-Wal-Mart people being convinced to change sides because some people claim to see the future where Wal-Mart is put here and everything is hunky-dory?

And I don't know why people get so jazzed about supporting Wal-Mart: "I'm making such a revolutionary position because I'm supporting something that makes a lot of money!!"
Click to expand...

Parkdalian with the defining statement. These silly arguments are long-winded and rehashed. The previous page was especially amusing with the childish tug-of-war regarding the "word of the day".

sunnyraytoronto said:
I posted the link right at the bottom of my post# 267,... I got the list from the WhitePages (are you saying WhitePages is wrong?),... and it even have the Walmart logo with *Save money. Live better* slogan.
http://www.whitepages.com/store-locator/NY/New-York/Walmart
Click to expand...

That link is wrong. Double check the locations on Google Maps yourself.
 
There are no Walmarts in Manhattan. The city council has never allowed one. There are a couple of K-Marts though.

I'm not pro Walmart, I'm just not anti-Walmart because it is "Evil" or more likely just the lowest hanging fruit for people to gripe about in this development. Kromer Radio was a terrible thing to have to look at and these few blocks are a barren wasteland between a couple of thriving regions. A large amount of retail in this area (and in this development) will be a net positive and the demographics, existing retail and catchment area for a Walmart make sense.

This site IS GOING to be lowrise retail. It is being developed by the largest public retail developer in the country. it IS NOT going to be tenanted with "mom and pop" stores but by major national players. So what else would you like to see here that would be better while acknowledging that there isn't enough existing retail to support something that isn't a significant draw by itself? Pure clothing isn't going to work, there is already pharma and grocery (or will be) nearby, you have fastfood, coffee and something like a walmart...
 
Mithras said:
There are no Walmarts in Manhattan. The city council has never allowed one. There are a couple of K-Marts though.
Click to expand...

I found a Walmart in Manhattan,..... Manhattan, Kansas! ;p Walmart at 101 Bluemont Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502
http://www.walmart.com/storeLocator...sp&sfsearch_single_line_address=manhattan,+ks

So residents of Manhattan, NewYork,... have to go out of state into NewJersey to shop at Walmart,... NYC council treat Walmart like it's some kind of illicit drug!
http://www.walmart.com/storeLocator...sp&sfsearch_single_line_address=manhattan,+ny
 
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