James
Senior Member
Just an article in the Star on the topic of Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn leaving Bloor St in 2015...
http://www.thestar.com/business/rea...amssonoma_pottery_barn_to_leave_bloor_st.html
Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn to leave Bloor St.
2015 departure blamed on escalating rents on 'Mink Mile'
Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn will vacate their giant storefronts at 100 Bloor St. W. sometime in 2015.
By: Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Published on Mon Aug 11 2014
Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn will vacate their giant storefronts at 100 Bloor St. W. sometime in 2015 in the face of escalating rents along Canada’s “Mink Mile.”
The exact date the chains will depart from 37,000 square feet of what’s considered Canada’s prime — and priciest — retail strip has yet to be determined.
The decision was made in the face of “the rising costs of real estate in this area,” said a spokesperson for the home-furnishings chain.
“Bloor St. (rental) rates have really escalated rapidly in the last 10 years,” says John Crombie, senior managing director of retail services in Canada for commercial brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, citing current ground-floor rents of about $325 per square foot on Toronto’s toniest street.
They would have averaged closer to $180 or $225 per square foot some seven years ago, said Crombie.
But even second-floor rents, traditionally a bargain because anything above ground-floor was seen as too far a climb for consumers, are escalating rapidly as Toronto’s fierce pace of intensification pushes retail destinations skyward to meet growing downtown demand.
Rents in some second-floor levels along the Mink Mile have virtually tripled over the last few years, from about $25 to $75 per square foot, says Crombie.
It’s not that retail giants like Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn can’t necessarily afford the rents, it’s that the prime location was worth the hefty premium just for boosting the profile of the retailer when it was new to Canada. That’s no longer as important. The stores have been located at 100 Bloor St. W. since 2002.
The brands will continue to occupy space at Sherway Gardens, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and the Eaton Centre. They also have stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
Stores of about 2,500 to 3,500 square feet are considered optimum on Bloor, said Crombie. It’s unclear what retailer will move into the space — Apple has been looking for space on Bloor for some time, he noted — or if it will have to be subdivided, given its sheer size.
http://www.thestar.com/business/rea...amssonoma_pottery_barn_to_leave_bloor_st.html
Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn to leave Bloor St.
2015 departure blamed on escalating rents on 'Mink Mile'
Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn will vacate their giant storefronts at 100 Bloor St. W. sometime in 2015.
By: Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Published on Mon Aug 11 2014
Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn will vacate their giant storefronts at 100 Bloor St. W. sometime in 2015 in the face of escalating rents along Canada’s “Mink Mile.”
The exact date the chains will depart from 37,000 square feet of what’s considered Canada’s prime — and priciest — retail strip has yet to be determined.
The decision was made in the face of “the rising costs of real estate in this area,” said a spokesperson for the home-furnishings chain.
“Bloor St. (rental) rates have really escalated rapidly in the last 10 years,” says John Crombie, senior managing director of retail services in Canada for commercial brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, citing current ground-floor rents of about $325 per square foot on Toronto’s toniest street.
They would have averaged closer to $180 or $225 per square foot some seven years ago, said Crombie.
But even second-floor rents, traditionally a bargain because anything above ground-floor was seen as too far a climb for consumers, are escalating rapidly as Toronto’s fierce pace of intensification pushes retail destinations skyward to meet growing downtown demand.
Rents in some second-floor levels along the Mink Mile have virtually tripled over the last few years, from about $25 to $75 per square foot, says Crombie.
It’s not that retail giants like Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn can’t necessarily afford the rents, it’s that the prime location was worth the hefty premium just for boosting the profile of the retailer when it was new to Canada. That’s no longer as important. The stores have been located at 100 Bloor St. W. since 2002.
The brands will continue to occupy space at Sherway Gardens, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and the Eaton Centre. They also have stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
Stores of about 2,500 to 3,500 square feet are considered optimum on Bloor, said Crombie. It’s unclear what retailer will move into the space — Apple has been looking for space on Bloor for some time, he noted — or if it will have to be subdivided, given its sheer size.
