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Corktown

299 bloor call control. said:
Ethel, the vintage store from Leslieville, is moving into the space vacated by Public Mobile on the south side of Queen, between Parliament and Berkeley. Another vintage store, Even and Odd, is opening up next to Redline Coffee. Retail is slowly turning the bend in Corktown!
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Awesome! I also noticed a new audio store moving in right next to Planet of Sound. The window decals are almost the same, which makes me wonder if it is owned by the same people?
 
Does anybody know what retail might be opening in Phase II of Corktown District lofts? The retail space at the west end seems to be papered up, and there's even an automatic door already installed -- not something a developer would usually do, unless they'd already have a tenant in place. Would be a great place for a cafe or small bistro, as it seems there's space for a patio. Would add some interest and activity to the east end of King Street.
 
Newsguy said:
Does anybody know what retail might be opening in Phase II of Corktown District lofts? The retail space at the west end seems to be papered up, and there's even an automatic door already installed -- not something a developer would usually do, unless they'd already have a tenant in place. Would be a great place for a cafe or small bistro, as it seems there's space for a patio. Would add some interest and activity to the east end of King Street.
Click to expand...

automatic door? Like a sliding door? I'm guessing here...but sounds like a small grocer (Rabba's maybe)? Or it could be a pet food store. Trying to think of retailers that would require an automatic door.
 
Newsguy said:
Does anybody know what retail might be opening in Phase II of Corktown District lofts? The retail space at the west end seems to be papered up, and there's even an automatic door already installed -- not something a developer would usually do, unless they'd already have a tenant in place. Would be a great place for a cafe or small bistro, as it seems there's space for a patio. Would add some interest and activity to the east end of King Street.
Click to expand...
The retail unit is listed at 5294 sq. ft. and yes, a cafe or small bistro would add interest and activity to that block. Hopefully news will come soon.
 
I could see an "Urban Sobey's" or "Longos To Go" moving into the space. Especially considering the Sobey's is likely getting booted from the Front / Sherbourne location.

Either way, they're feverishly dry walling and ducting the retail space in that Streetcar II building.
 
Something is definitely going on in there, but I know when the topic of a grocery store was broached with the Streetcar reps, they said the building wasn't equipped with the proper structures for deliveries on that scale.

But the space is literally ten feet from my house and I would love it if something useful opened up.
 
I'm mixed about it. Auto dealerships have to go somewhere in cities, and Toronto is one of the last where they're finally shifting away from the suburban template to something more urban. I'd rather Nissan/Infiniti be located in these locations than taking up prime real estate elsewhere with sprawling parking lots and out-of-scale dealership buildings.

That being said, I'm disappointed that Corktown's newest retail strip is going to be dominated by these two car dealerships - though it can be argued that it was the dealerships that likely nailed down the entry of Starbucks into the neighbourhood. Given the difficulty there has been to lease the new retail spaces in 510/549/569 King, there's at least retail anchors, though not the day-to-day kind of retail the neighbourhood would prefer.

I'm optimistic it will come - if not here, then on Queen, and over the next few years as the rest of the condo stock occupies, there will be demand for better retail and the rents to justify it. Auto dealerships are easy to move -- the Mini dealership on King West wasn't around too long before it moved on.
 
299 bloor call control. said:
I'm mixed about it. Auto dealerships have to go somewhere in cities, and Toronto is one of the last where they're finally shifting away from the suburban template to something more urban. I'd rather Nissan/Infiniti be located in these locations than taking up prime real estate elsewhere with sprawling parking lots and out-of-scale dealership buildings.

That being said, I'm disappointed that Corktown's newest retail strip is going to be dominated by these two car dealerships - though it can be argued that it was the dealerships that likely nailed down the entry of Starbucks into the neighbourhood. Given the difficulty there has been to lease the new retail spaces in 510/549/569 King, there's at least retail anchors, though not the day-to-day kind of retail the neighbourhood would prefer.

I'm optimistic it will come - if not here, then on Queen, and over the next few years as the rest of the condo stock occupies, there will be demand for better retail and the rents to justify it. Auto dealerships are easy to move -- the Mini dealership on King West wasn't around too long before it moved on.
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My sentiments exactly Bloorcallcontrol. I think the initial reaction to the sight of a car dealership is a bit dissapointing but both this proposed Nissan and the existing Infiniti locations are really just showrooms. There are no service bays, used car lots etc. The Infiniti has just a few examples of the newest models that sit inside the way sofas do in the showrooms of nearby furniture stores. As you mention it is a new concept for our city but a very common one in others were car showrooms blend with other retail at the street level. Do I wish it was a grocery store or something of that nature? Of course. Usually the arrival of a Starbucks is a sign of plenty more retail arriving in the near future.
 
Although the dealerships are merely showrooms, they do stash their cars in the neighbourhood. So it sucks that now Nissan / Infinity will required more lot space in the area. Right now 100 cars are stashed underneath the DVP offramp at Eastern / Sumach.
 
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