Home Depot pays $11.5M to kill Queen West store
Posted: January 22, 2009, 7:43 PM
By Justin Robertson, National Post
Home Depot has killed plans for a store on Queen Street West, paying a massive $11.5-million cash settlement to terminate a lease agreement because of the ailing economy.
“Unfortunately we re-evaluated the Queen and Portland site and in the context of the current economic environment we determined it wasn’t the right time for us to open there,†said Tiziana Baccega, a spokesperson for Home Depot. “We would love to be a part of that community, however this year we’ve decided to re-invest in our existing store network.â€
The store, which caused much discomfort among residents and other storeowners in the artsy district, was to anchor a major development to be built on what is now a one-acre parking lot.
Original plans called for 91,000 square feet of retail space on three floors, of which 75,000 square feet was to be occupied by a single retail anchor. Developer RioCan said there is no change in plans for the five-storey residential portion of the project. The company said 61% of the 90 residential units available have been sold.
“What we are looking at now is to have a conventional shopping centre within the confines of the existing space [that Home Depot was to occupy],†said Fred Wacks, RioCan’s chief operating officer. “Meaning we will have a big box user, a bank, a food store which will contain all the elements of a shopping centre. â€
RioCan has had interest from national food chains who are considering buying the empty space, he said.
“A green grocer would add to the environment on Queen Street and would actually bring some new people down that don’t normally walk along that stretch of queen,†said Councillor Adam Vaughan (Trinity-Spadina). “It’s always been contemplated as part of the project and is one that the neighborhood would not be as nervous about as having.â€
Gary Duke, owner of Duke’s Cycle, whose longtime location nearby was destroyed by last year’s devastating Queen Street West fire, was not sad to see Home Depot pull out. It would not have been be a good fit for the area, he said.
“People need more. Having a green grocer, like a Sobey’s will enhance the people within the area, like the Healthy Butcher down the street,†he said. “It would compliment the neighborhood more than a Home Depot would.â€
Mr. Vaughan said Home Depot’s pullout is ‘‘almost understandable.’’
“When they originally agreed to occupy the site we were just at the start of the economi tsunami thats rolling through, particularly the development industry,†he said.
