[jaycola]

87 or 124? Are you differentiating between 'Office-commercial' and 'Retail-commercial'? Not sure what you mean here...

There are 124 Commercial units (Office and retail) available for "sale".
87 retail units available for "lease". Many are the same as the ones for sale.
In addition there are 20 office units available for lease.

 

[maestro]

It's been almost 2 years since the last post on this thread so I thought a quick update might be in order.
The commercial component of this project has been, without any doubt, an absolute failure.
The retail is probably 85% vacant and as of this morning there are 124 commercial units available on MLS within the project.
Businesses that have dared to open have invariably failed and with the exception of the Seasons Grocery (which I rather like) I doubt any business there can cover their rent.
I think the micro commercial style has proved to be a poor choice for most commercial projects as they fail to attract the major retailers and because of the lack of larger footprints, greatly restricts the variety of retail offerings. How many cell phone or sunglasses shops do they need?

The residential component has faired better but there are 40 units available for sale and 13 for lease on MLS. Not an unreasonable number for a complex of this size.

Liberty Developments and the rest will continue to build commercial condos that will largely sit vacant . I would say they are only an absolute failure from an occupancy perspective.

 

[Edward Skira]

Liberty Developments and the rest will continue to build commercial condos that will largely sit vacant . I would say they are only an absolute failure from an occupancy perspective.

Why are people buying commercial condos when it looks like they are going to be failures?

 

[salsa]

I think the micro commercial style has proved to be a poor choice for most commercial projects as they fail to attract the major retailers and because of the lack of larger footprints, greatly restricts the variety of retail offerings. How many cell phone or sunglasses shops do they need?

A lot of developers have it completely backwards when it comes to retail. They like to cram as many tiny units as possible inside mini malls like Aura or World On Yonge where larger units would have made more sense. But in urban areas they are more than happy to redevelop a bunch of vibrant street retail and replace it with one or two oversized units that only a bank or Shoppers Drug Mart is willing to lease.

 

[maestro]

The prime spaces along streets are divisible. It's the tenants that demand the bigger sizes.

Micro units are far less than prime space and tend to be easy sells overseas. It may have been built to appease zoning however, there are more than a few developers building condo retail plazas that end up sitting vacant so there must be some benefit to be made in its own right.

 

[neuhaus]

Smaller units usually get more per square foot, and it's usually easier to sell/rent a bunch of small retail units than to wait for a large commercial tenant to come along. Smaller commercial units could be combined into larger units later on if needed.
Also larger tenants often require more mechanical and services, parking, etc., which sometimes the developer will pay/provide a portion of it to lure such commercial operators which adds to the cost.
However, in a commercial or retail centre a larger commercial anchor store is needed to generate enough traffic to help support smaller retailers nearby and be economically sustainable.

 

[interchange42]

They likely thought that the Seasons grocery store was all the anchor they needed.

You have to wonder what will "give"—here, and at Shops At Aura—that might solve the dead mall issue.

42

 

[interchange42]

I totally forgot there was a hotel here…

…at the WORLD ON YONGE.

42