The contrast between the glass and brick really catches my eye, in a very good way.
 
Just passed by today. A 'coming soon' sign from Royal Bank of Canada was put up.

All we need is a Subway and Aroma, and then we'd be all set :p
 
Isn't there a Royal Bank in Aura, just a few blocks south? This is very disappointing. That bank will probably take up 3 or 4 storefronts like they do in CityPlace and at Aura. I don't know why bank branches need so much space.
 
I guess the RBC location at Yonge and Grenville is relocating to Five since that original location will eventually close for work on YC condos.
 
I thought that location was just going to merge into the location at Aura.

It's too bad there's not a way to encourage banks to set up on the second floor of commercial streets. Or to have them maintain a single-store storefront/lobby with an ATM and the tellers, and then have all of the other services tucked away upstairs. It would be cheaper for the banks to not have to pay the premium price on streetfront retail, and it would do a lot to enliven streets with more uses.
 
^^ Yes, I don't see any reason a bank needs all its space on street level. Of course, the main tellers and ATMs would be at street level but why not put all the other services one level up or down. Retail will not thrive on Yonge Street with banks taking up all the best locations. You just need to look at Aura to see those 2 banks in the podium, have not animated that area or brought customers to that mall. Aura made a very bad choice putting those banks in its main retail spaces. Restaurants with patios or large stores would have been a much better choice. Getting retail right is all about picking the right mix of stores/restaurants and having consistent retail along the strip. Aura hasn't figured this out and I fear Five seems to be making the same mistake.
 
I have to say I'm an RBC client and they're really starting to get on my nerves. If I have to see another RBC branch on Yonge I'm gonna be sick. Do they really need to be in every podium of every new downtown condo? Ugh. They are wrecking retail on Yonge and nearby. Those two banks at Aura are ridiculous. They should have extended Reds there and stuck those two on Gerrard. I must say I'd love an Aroma at Five on Yonge or maybe at Church Wellesley with all that empty retail space there. It would certainly be tastier than a wonderful RBC lol
 
If I was the banks average customer, they would need very few branches. I find very few times I need talk to a teller. I use plastic everywhere. Do online banking and have paychecks deposited automatically.
 
utwatch said:
If I was the banks average customer, they would need very few branches. I find very few times I need talk to a teller. I use plastic everywhere. Do online banking and have paychecks deposited automatically.
Click to expand...

This.

I'm not sure why they have to open up full-scale branches, when ABM/ATM centres would work just as well. All people really need is a variety of ATM's to avoid service charges.
 
For example, all that real estate investment happening everywhere can't be conducted through ABMs. Doesn't make sense on the 20th floor of a Bay Street office tower either.
 
I agree that it doesn't make sense to relegate all of that to Bay St. I just don't get why it makes any more sense to do it out of a storefront. There's no reason developers can't include a couple stories of office space to accommodate things like banks and doctors and dentists and that sort of thing, so that they don't take up all of the useful retail space at ground level
 
We've been saying this for years now, those who want condos on Yonge, this is what you get. Bay Street v2.0.
 
fivea24.jpg
 
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