Toronto Emerald Park Condos | 128.92m | 40s | Bazis | Rosario Varacalli

Something big is happening in March, perhaps a final inspection. Yesterday saw the architect touring the building with a group of people. From the sounds of it the final city inspector is coming soon.

A retail unit owner called me the other day and he had no clue how to start renovating even when given an extensive guide. This is the language barrier I am talking about where the mostly Korean/Chinese owners cannot rent out the space and now resorting to opening their 2nd/3rd store there. However when they wish to do that they have no clue where to begin. When they start reading the guide they find the process too frustrating, give up and keep trying to lease them out thus keeping the mall empty. Most of these owners rent their current stores and the ones at emerald park probably are the first ones they actually own so they have absolutely no clue on how to go about renovating.

Funny thing is their English is so bad they'd rather call me instead of the builder since I know a little Mandarin.

Some positive news:
- we might see a new tenant soon that does income tax, copy and computer repair. Dull but hey its still something!
- they have finally opened the big entrance of the mall
- "approximate date of final closing" is near the end of april
- shell of metro looks to be about done, last time I went there were still skyjacks near the main entrance however they seem to have finished with the ceiling pipes and now doing some sort of ceiling wiring
- mall is now open to public from 7am-7pm
 
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pipolchap said:
So far, apart from yourself, what's open there now?

BTW I got your flyer delivered to my house last week. Looks good. Do you fix Nexus tablets?
Congrats and all the best for your business!
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Thanks. Bring it in or contact me. If the screen is broken it is not worth it.

A dry cleaner + alterations moved from Sheppard Mall to here and is open. There are also some massage places upstairs in the office level.

The Nana shake is opening next week and they are giving out samples now. So far I've tried the original, rosey pistachio and nanapop. Rosey pistachio is really good u can taste the flower. Its probably the only place in town you can get roses in your ice cream.

Word is 2-3 more retail units have been rented out. Not sure what tenants.

Most recent news is Tim Hortons might be coming to one of the Yonge frontage units.
 
Tim hortons would take up a lot more than one unit. Infact a full timmies would take almost all of the yonge frontage units.
 
Bill123 said:
Most recent news is Tim Hortons might be coming to one of the Yonge frontage units.
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There's already 3 TimHortons in the area:
+ 200m south at the Esso Gas Station at Yonnge & Florence
+ 200m northeast inside SheppardCentre (half-size open during renovation)
+ 600m north at Ultima Condos (full-size)
And apparently, folks still can't get enough TimHorton coffee,.... it's an addiction!!!

The Yonge frontage EmeraldPark stores should be able to hold a half-size Timmies like the one at SheppardCentre. Interested in how they would pass city regulation for restrooms requirement? But then again, the Prestea bubble tea and the noodle place opening at Yonge frontage stores won't have their own restroom either. Yes, mall has (hidden) restrooms nearby,.... then does these Yonge frontage stores that serve food has to be reclassified as food court establishments???

Anyways,.... what's interesting about this whole TimHorton at EmeraldPark issue is,... what about the Starbucks??? The Starbucks kiosk on 2nd floor that Metro was supposed to operate as one of their market stations like the LCBO,.... many specialized chains like Starbucks would insist on a mall monopoly of being the only coffee place allowed to operate in the mall,... for whatever product or service they specialize,.... a mall would often grant these type of protection to individual stores,.... thus, with TimHorton coming to EmeraldPark,... does that mean Starbucks is out? does that mean Metro (who would have operated the Starbucks) is now officially gone?
 
sunnyraytoronto said:
There's already 3 TimHortons in the area:
+ 200m south at the Esso Gas Station at Yonnge & Florence
+ 200m northeast inside SheppardCentre (half-size open during renovation)
+ 600m north at Ultima Condos (full-size)
And apparently, folks still can't get enough TimHorton coffee,.... it's an addiction!!!
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They are also converting the cafe in the Loblaws at Empress Walk into a Tim's.
 
Anyways,.... what's interesting about this whole TimHorton at EmeraldPark issue is,... what about the Starbucks??? The Starbucks kiosk on 2nd floor that Metro was supposed to operate as one of their market stations like the LCBO,.... many specialized chains like Starbucks would insist on a mall monopoly of being the only coffee place allowed to operate in the mall,... for whatever product or service they specialize,.... a mall would often grant these type of protection to individual stores,.... thus, with TimHorton coming to EmeraldPark,... does that mean Starbucks is out? does that mean Metro (who would have operated the Starbucks) is now officially gone?
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They put copper pipes and sewage already on the second floor for the kiosk. The escalator still needs to pass inspection. It's hard to tell since Starbucks is in a league of its own in terms of caffeinated beverages. Good luck getting protection at the beginning of a condo mall.

The only type of protections in the mall I know of:
1. You cannot open a large pharmacy
2. No other grocery stores can be opened
 
UD2 said:
How do you get protection when it's owned by different owners? Doesn't seem feasible.
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All owners in a condominium building, as well as their tenants in rented out suites, are bound by the various covenants that are registered on title for the building and its units. The registered documents would include the Declaration, the Condominium Bylaws, Rules, as well as any Committee of Adjustment decisions, Site Plan Agreements, etc. So as long as the restriction was documented in one of the Declaration, Bylaws, or Rules, it could create the protection. Also - a condominium board has a duty to enforce the Declaration, Bylaws and Rules - so if one owner objects to an ongoing breach - my understanding is the Board is required to act.

Owning a condominium unit, whether for residential or commercial use is quite different from owning a conventional property - once one proceeds with the acquisition of a condominium unit, the owner is bound by all the associated rules and procedures that come with condominium ownership.
 
Let's say if another grocery store were to acquire enough 1st floor retail space to compete with the Metro/Adonis/T&T/whaterver supermarket on 2nd floor which does have protection; to further enforce the protection the mall management could restrict or limit the new grocery store's access to mall facilities like loading docks - good luck trying to operate a large grocery store without loading dock access. BTW, early in 2015 there were a number of Committee of Adjustment variances for EmeraldPark giving the 2nd floor supermarket better access to loading dock including redefining their property.

The large pharmacy protection is interesting in that it signals that the Metro was planning on opening their own large pharmacy inside their supermarket. It makes sense since pharmacy are a supermarket's larger profit margin source and draw in customers as well.

Say if another store owner were to open their own pharmacy or even a SecondCup to compete against the Starbucks or TimHorton or whoever has coffee protection,... that store owner would still need certain extra infrastructure put in or be allowed to be put in by mall management including stuff like incoming water and outgoing water lines for their retail units. How could coffee shop operate without constant supply of water?
 
"Anyways,.... what's interesting about this whole TimHorton at EmeraldPark issue is,... what about the Starbucks??? The Starbucks kiosk on 2nd floor that Metro was supposed to operate as one of their market stations like the LCBO,.... many specialized chains like Starbucks would insist on a mall monopoly of being the only coffee place allowed to operate in the mall,... for whatever product or service they specialize,.... a mall would often grant these type of protection to individual stores,.... thus, with TimHorton coming to EmeraldPark,... does that mean Starbucks is out? does that mean Metro (who would have operated the Starbucks) is now officially gone?"

Starbucks always has competition. Have you been to York Mills? There was a Second cup(now closed), Tim Hortons, Druxys and Starbucks all within 50 feet from each other.
 
It's always based on an agreement between that individual store and the mall/plaza management as part of the lease, rent, sale etc,.... that's how an individual store can protect themselves from competition at that location,... they might have to pay extra for it, or mall management just offer it to close the deal, or it's just written into the contract.

Take the Metro at EmeraldPark, as condition of the sale apparently got monopoly to be the only grocery store at EmeraldPark. But the Metro can't close the WholeFoodsMarket across the street at Tridel's HullmarkCentre or prevent the Longo's from opening at RioCan's SheppardCentre. The WholeFoodsMarket at HullmarkCentre is probably on a 5 year lease contract with HullmarkCentre and they're losing their shirt right now, only the cafe is busy, supermarket is always dead,... When they became aware that a Metro was going into EmeraldPark and a Longo's into SheppardCentre,.... the WholeFoodsMarket was screaming bloody murder and was trying to figure out how to prevent these supermarkets from entering this area,.... but they can't do anything.
 
There appears to be renewed construction activity at the Lansing United Church across the street. Last week some cleanup work. This morning some construction materials delivered. Perhaps the second phase of the project, surface construction, has officially started.
 
The nearing of final closing seems to have kicked off some renovations in the food court and retail floor. The glimp-see eyewear store now has blue markings for cabinetry layout on the floors. Two new restaurants are coming one is a sandwich/breakfast bar and the other is unknown but word is it is Chinese food (they are currently tiling). The barricade to the escalator has been removed which hints at it passing inspection.
 
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