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Toronto Eaton Centre

No. It would have had to close at least four years ago, because I regularly walked through the PATH system through Eaton Centre since 2001 to get to Ryerson.
 
Re: Golf Town

Some rumour for the mill: Whole foods was suppose to go into the concourse level of the new Ryerson business school, but recently pulled out. Canadian Tire and Best Buy are still going in at street level though.
 
Is Best Buy going to continue going with two brands? It is hard to imagine Best Buy opening at Dundas and Bay while FutureShop opens at Dundas and Yonge.
 
^And their reasoning is that it's a preemptive strike against someone like Circuit City from opening big box competition. It's bad enough for them that they own former Radio Shacks. Plus, Best Buy's a bit higher-end.
 
I think its actually Future Shop that is supposed to be slightly higher end. They have also differentiated by pulling the appliances out of the Best Buys and not having "geek" service from the Futureshops. I think I read when they started the dual branding that each brand was supposed to have something like 40% unique sku's.
 
Yeah, that's right - if you try to comparison shop at the two you can't, as they carry different models of stuff.

Best Buy and Future Shop are colocating in the same shopping centre in places - so a block away isn't unexpected.
 
I didn't know JJ Muggs was out of business! It's not on Yonge Street, but I'm sure with the new construction on Dundas, it'll really open up that area.
 
simply Dan and I talked to one of the architects of the Ryerson Business Building on the weekend as we toured Zeidler's offices as part of Doors Open. He informed us that indeed there will be a Canadian Tire in the building (in case anyone was still doubtful).

He also said that one of the biggest issues currently facing the project is retail vs. academic signage.
 
From: www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...9048863851
________________
Core sees big-box boom
Jul. 28, 2006. 06:56 AM
DANA FLAVELLE
BUSINESS REPORTER

Where condos are built, stores are soon to follow.
The condo boom in downtown Toronto is fuelling a renaissance in retailing. And that's attracting the attention of some big retail chains more commonly associated with suburban shopping centres.
Canadian Tire and Best Buy both plan to open stores this fall a stone's throw from the Eaton Centre.
Home Depot has long coveted a site in the downtown core and is considering several, including one near Queen St. W. and Portland Ave.
And grocery chain Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has two downtown locations on hold, one in the former Maple Leaf Gardens hockey shrine, the other near Bathurst St. and Lakeshore Blvd.
But while there's no lack of retailers who want a presence downtown, the trick for many of them is finding the right site at the right price, experts said.
"Downtown Toronto is a very successful market — there's a huge number of people living here and a huge number of people working here — if you know how to capture it," said John Archer, a retail consultant with JC Williams Group in Toronto.
Compared to the typical suburban power centre, downtown rents are higher, square footages are smaller and often there's little or no parking space, which can be a problem if you sell things like lumber or 50-inch plasma screen TVs.
Garden tool and hardware retailer Lee Valley Tools has adapted its business model in several ways since opening its first downtown store, on King St. W., near Bathurst St., last April.
A few customers complained about the lack of parking, said Mark Williams, vice-president of retail operations for the small Ottawa-based chain.
But many more were grateful the small 13-store chain had opened a store that was closer than Steeles Ave. or Morningside Dr., he said.
A "surprising" number of customers arrive on bicycles, he said, which prompted the retailer to ask the city to install more bike racks.
As well, the store tends to sell more small hardware items and fewer large gardening tools than its suburban counterparts, he added.
The retailer is also reconsidering its operating hours to accommodate the higher demand for early-evening shopping, he said.
Lee Valley's experience isn't unusual.
The downtown market is different, said Tony Hernandez, director of Ryerson University's centre for the study of commercial activities.
"It's a much more complex market than the suburban mall," Hernandez said.
People tend to live in smaller quarters. There's also a larger commuter population, which tends to shop more on their lunch-hour or right after work.
Best Buy said its new store, on the southeast corner of Bay and Dundas Sts., will offer more delivery services and stock more small items than a typical suburban location.
"We're well aware that with an urban store, you've got some different customers," said company spokesperson Lori DeCou. "You have commuter customers who may be making smaller purchases, or using the store to research purchases they will make on the weekend at their local store.
"They're on a tighter schedule. Maybe they're on their coffee break. So, there are issues around how easy we make it for them to navigate the store and get through the checkout line," she said.
The company plans to open one of its largest stores in the city in the "Ryerson Project" now under construction. The building, which is being co-developed by Eaton Centre owner Cadillac Fairview Corp., will house Ryerson University's new business school, as well as retail and residential units.
Canadian Tire said it's opening an 85,000 square foot store in that location, also one of its largest, as well as a 10,000 square foot Marks Work Wearhouse, this fall.
The push is also coming from the retailers themselves, he said. Many American retailers who came to Canada in the early '90s did what they had done at home and set up shop in the booming suburbs.
Now, some of those markets are saturated while downtown Toronto has witnessed a building boom.
"Unlike a lot of other North American cities, Toronto has a lot of residential development," said Hernandez.
 
there is merchandise on the shelves at the canadian tire.
i don't see where the mark's work wearhouse is going in the development. the canadian tire and the best buy seem to take up all of the frontage on dundas and bay.

does anyone know what the plan is for the former restaurant that has been used as the construction office (t.j. muggs or whatever it was called)?
 
A lot of Mark's take up corners within newer Canadian Tires that I've seen. Perhaps, it'll have a virtual street presence, where you need to get into CT to get into Mark's.
 
does anyone know what the plan is for the former restaurant that has been used as the construction office (t.j. muggs or whatever it was called)?

I'm interested in this, too. The space obviously needs to be redeveloped. Has Cadillac Fairview submitted any plans for this area? They turned their back on it with the H&M design so I'm not sure what the best option would be, but it needs to be seriously gutted.
 
Best Buy Bay & Dundas Press Conference Tuesday Sept 5, at 10AM. Grand opening Sept 15-17.
 

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