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Downtown Markham

MafaldaBoy said:
Unfortunately they only have the automatic sliding doors for the entrance facing the drop-off; the doors onto Enterprise are button-operated.

The cinema is the only thing open right now; I imagine the announced retailers will open sometime later this year but I haven't the slightest idea of where they will be located. It's a bit of a drawback to the location at the moment; the previous location at First Markham Place was great as there were plenty of shops and restaurants where one could go for a meal before or after a movie.
Click to expand...

But the parking lot at First Markham, man, what a disaster!
It's the first thing there right now, obviously but, hey, VIP serves some real food, right? Anyway, it's a nice change from the 90s Famous Players aesthetic -- like being in a gaudy arcade, with lame, fake props scattered about -- which still lingers. If they want to get people back to movies, classing it up a bit seems like a good idea. Like everything else in that area, you have to give it some time, I guess.
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
But the parking lot at First Markham, man, what a disaster!
It's the first thing there right now, obviously but, hey, VIP serves some real food, right? Anyway, it's a nice change from the 90s Famous Players aesthetic -- like being in a gaudy arcade, with lame, fake props scattered about -- which still lingers. If they want to get people back to movies, classing it up a bit seems like a good idea. Like everything else in that area, you have to give it some time, I guess.
Click to expand...

I guess you're right, I suppose. Speaking of First Markham Place, I am wondering what sort of uses will fill up the empty space now that Cineplex is gone.

And I'd hate to disappoint you but half of the bridge linking the lobby to the theatre is almost entirely devoted to those arcade games; quite a disaster décor-wise (and for people who dislike loud children :rolleyes:). I don't have a picture of it but you can make out the machines from the outside here:

 
MafaldaBoy said:
I guess you're right, I suppose. Speaking of First Markham Place, I am wondering what sort of uses will fill up the empty space now that Cineplex is gone.

And I'd hate to disappoint you but half of the bridge linking the lobby to the theatre is almost entirely devoted to those arcade games; quite a disaster décor-wise (and for people who dislike loud children :rolleyes:). I don't have a picture of it but you can make out the machines from the outside here:
Click to expand...

I don't mind of a bit of an arcade, especially if it's off to the side like that. I just don't like when the WHOLE THEATRE is designed like that. The theatres at the Vaughan Colossus, for example, are great rooms but the overall aesthetic of the place has not aged well. At the same time FP was building places like that, Cineplex was building places like First Markham and the Sheppard Grande, which have aged much better (to the extent they still exist!). Based on the Don Mills and Markham theatres, they're upping their game.
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
But the parking lot at First Markham, man, what a disaster!
Click to expand...

The parking at the new theatre is a bit of a disaster at the moment. I drove through the lot on Saturday night -- the underground parking was closed, and the surface lot was absolutely packed -- there were at least a half-dozen cars driving around looking for a spot. It seemed like the underground lot was pretty big when they did the foundations, and given that the entrance is directly under the theatre they must be planning to open it to the public at some point (and not restrict it to the future commercial tenants).
 
I’m disappointed in the number of screens (10+3 VIP) at the new Markham Cineplex. Given that blockbuster films often command two or three screens, and the theatre frequently has a Chinese (and sometimes Indian) film, the actual number of movies can be quite small. Just checked: currently there are only 6 films plus 1 Chinese film – so, just 7 films in a theatre with 13 screens. Do the residents of Markham not deserve more than just action, comedy and family films? What about adult dramas, indie films, art-house and foreign-language films? What’s the point of having the smaller, adult-oriented VIP screens if you’re going to show mainstream fodder like Furious 7 and Get Hard?
 
canmark said:
I’m disappointed in the number of screens (10+3 VIP) at the new Markham Cineplex. Given that blockbuster films often command two or three screens, and the theatre frequently has a Chinese (and sometimes Indian) film, the actual number of movies can be quite small. Just checked: currently there are only 6 films plus 1 Chinese film – so, just 7 films in a theatre with 13 screens. Do the residents of Markham not deserve more than just action, comedy and family films? What about adult dramas, indie films, art-house and foreign-language films? What’s the point of having the smaller, adult-oriented VIP screens if you’re going to show mainstream fodder like Furious 7 and Get Hard?
Click to expand...

I think we're veering into more of a Cineplex marketing discussion...Clearly they're moving away from 30-screen megaplexes into more intimate 10-15 screen places, including with more VIP, trying to make going to the theatre more of an upscale experience. I've noticed with Don Mills also that, yeah, it seems weird the "adult-oriented" theatre plays Furious 7 but it's still Cineplex and they still want to fill the theatres (and it's also April, not exactly blockbuster season). Playing movies on multiple screens in the same complex, which has the effect of "reducing diversity" has also become the norm over the past decade. Yeah, I wish I didn't have to drive down the Varsity to see "art house" fare but that's the way things are, and it's got nothing to do with Markham.

So, it strikes me as a reasonable programming, especially if they've always got a foreign film on tap. If 6 of the theatres are playing Avengers a month from now, that'll be real annoying but overall it strikes me as a nice addition, especially as the first retail complex, in the area. At least it wasn't a flagship Future Shop :)
 
MafaldaBoy said:
Unfortunately they only have the automatic sliding doors for the entrance facing the drop-off; the doors onto Enterprise are button-operated.

The cinema is the only thing open right now; I imagine the announced retailers will open sometime later this year but I haven't the slightest idea of where they will be located. It's a bit of a drawback to the location at the moment; the previous location at First Markham Place was great as there were plenty of shops and restaurants where one could go for a meal before or after a movie.
Click to expand...

Some of the previously announced:

Restaurants:
- Aroma Expresso Bar
- South Street Burger
- Thai Express
- Chatime
- Go For Tea
- Me Va Me
- Milestones - Moving from Markham Town Square (rumored)

Retail:
- Curry's Art Supply
- Digi Deco (some mobile accessories store)
 
Sam! said:
Some of the previously announced:

Restaurants:
- Aroma Expresso Bar
- South Street Burger
- Thai Express
- Chatime
- Go For Tea
- Me Va Me
- Milestones - Moving from Markham Town Square (rumored)

Retail:
- Curry's Art Supply
- Digi Deco (some mobile accessories store)
Click to expand...

I just read that CherryBerry self-serve frozen yogurt store will be opening in Downtown Markham this summer.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/1185859.htm
 
TJ O'Pootertoot said:
It's not a community - even if you already have the South Street and the Thai Express and the Milestones - until you have your own self-serve yogurt joint. Welcome to the big time, Markham Centre!
Click to expand...

Lol.
I'm sure once the carousel opens, the frozen yogurt shop will be a hit with the kids.
 
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