SonyPayStation said:
I hear you on this - lobbies are smaller in Chicago and most of NYC.

On retail though, this isnt Yonge and Bloor.
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While that's a fair point, I don't think it's beneficial to the future streetscape of the city (especially a neighbourhood like Southcore that needs public realm activation moreso than others) to dismiss it for not being Yonge and Bloor. Why can't we have more Yonge and Bloor in Toronto?
 
Agree, standards shouldn't be lowered based on location. I've never understood the mindset that only certain spots in our city need to be great while the rest can be forgettable expanses you'd never spend any time in. It's polar opposite to the mindset in places like Japan. Space is at a premium so they value every square inch.
 
isaidso said:
Agree, standards shouldn't be lowered based on location. I've never understood the mindset that only certain spots in our city need to be great while the rest can be forgettable expanses you'd never spend any time in. It's polar opposite to the mindset in places like Japan. Space is at a premium so they value every square inch.
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Because who is going to lease the retail? There will be not apple glass box in this area.
 
Another factor is that hard retail (as opposed to online) has been in decline for some time, and covid has only exacerbated that trend. There is less demand for retail locations, not more.
 
The term "retail" covers a wide range of goods and services, some of which have been in decline, but restaurants, grocery stores, galleries, event spaces etc are all considered retail, and there's no reason to expect that there will not be a demand for such space post-COVID.
 
And actually on that note, another supermarket around this location would actually do very well. Close proximity to Union Station, Scotiabank Arena, office workers, and booming population in the future for the area.

Currently as it stands, the options are pretty limited. For the life of me I cant understand why no major grocery retailer has taken the downtown core seriously (more specifically the area: south of Queen, east of University, and west of Yonge)
 
Amare said:
And actually on that note, another supermarket around this location would actually do very well. Close proximity to Union Station, Scotiabank Arena, office workers, and booming population in the future for the area.

Currently as it stands, the options are pretty limited. For the life of me I cant understand why no major grocery retailer has taken the downtown core seriously (more specifically the area: south of Queen, east of University, and west of Yonge)
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To be fair, the majors were almost completely absent from Broader downtown, (Lake to Bloor, Jarvis to Spadina) 20 years ago. In the interim Metro has added 3 locations, Loblaws has added 2, Longos added 1 full-size store and 3 mini stores, Sobeys added 1 full size (west side of Spadina) but 2 urban markets.

That said......have no fear, more are coming.

Within the tight zone (Front to Queen, University to Yonge) I'm only aware of 1 site under consideration.

But expand the range slightly, and I can tell you that 3 chains are looking at at least 5 sites; 3 are part of new-builds, two are re-purposings of existing space.

I doubt all of them will come to fruition in the near-term; but I expect at least 2 more in the next few years.

(many more than that if you stretch to the wider core (Parliament to Bathurst).( 4 more sites minimum).
 
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Northern Light said:
To be fair, the majors were almost completely absent from Broader downtown, (Lake to Bloor, Jarvis to Spadina) 20 years ago. In the interim Metro has added 3 locations, Loblaws has added 2, Longos added 1 full-size store and 3 mini stores, Sobeys added 1 full size (west side of Spadina) but 2 urban markets.

That said......have no fear, more are coming.

Within the tight zone (Front to Queen, University to Yonge) I'm only aware of 1 site under consideration.

But expand the range slightly, and I can tell you that 3 chains are looking at at least 5 sites; 3 are part of new-builds, two are re-purposings of existing space.

I doubt all of them will come to fruition in the near-term; but I expect at least 2 more in the next few years.

(many more than that if you stretch to the wider core (Parliament to Bathurst).( 4 more sites minimum).
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Metro. Loblaws, Sobeys. Not FoodBasics, NoFrills, FreshCo.
Speak of the devil gentrification.
 
DrillBit said:
Metro. Loblaws, Sobeys. Not FoodBasics, NoFrills, FreshCo.
Speak of the devil gentrification.
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There were no discount grocers in the core downtown zone before either. So I'm not sure that's an accurate characterization.

There is no displacement.

If you look at the broader core, Parliament to Bathurst.........

2 new Freshcos (Bathurst, west side, and St. Jamestown).

1 replacement No Frills (site of St. Jamestown Freshco, moved to Greenwin sq on Bloor.

1 new NF on Toronto Sun site (King East).

Going further back in time, the Freshco at Regent Park was also a new build on the east side of Parliament.
 
Northern Light said:
There were no discount grocers in the core downtown zone before either. So I'm not sure that's an accurate characterization.

There is no displacement.

If you look at the broader core, Parliament to Bathurst.........

2 new Freshcos (Bathurst, west side, and St. Jamestown).

1 replacement No Frills (site of St. Jamestown Freshco, moved to Greenwin sq on Bloor.

1 new NF on Toronto Sun site (King East).

Going further back in time, the Freshco at Regent Park was also a new build on the east side of Parliament.
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It would be great to get a new No Frills somewhere in the west of downtown.
 
Towered said:
It would be great to get a new No Frills somewhere in the west of downtown.
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I'm not hearing NF at the moment.

From LBL, a priority is finding space for T&T downtown; ideally a ''flagship' for this market though that might go to a suburban location.

T&T is looking at 50,000ft2 in new flagship type builds.

Out west they've added a new Asian street food concept to a couple of stores.

btr.michaelkwan.com

Asian Street Food at T&T Supermarket Lansdowne (Richmond) » Beyond the Rhetoric

“Oh, it’s just a supermarket. How good could their ready-to-go food really be?” When you walk into most supermarkets, there’s usually a “grab and go” section. Maybe it’s at the deli, where you can pick up a pre-packaged sandwich and a cup of soup. It’s rarely ever something particularly special...
btr.michaelkwan.com btr.michaelkwan.com
 
kotsy said:
off the top of my head - there's one at King & Jameson, Dufferin Mall & Lansdowne/College
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I know of those ones (I frequent two of them), but I was thinking more downtown than those - like no further west than Bathurst.
 
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