Eaton Centre needs a facelift?

[ShonTron]

A lot of malls gave really cheap rents to department stores. The theory was that the anchors would attract shoppers to the smaller stores that paid full rate. Mall signs still advertise the anchors. These were multi-year deals, so some mall operators were tickled pink when Eaton's went under (at least the successful suburban malls), and the stores were re-purposed. I'm sure Yorkdale made a fortune replacing the old Eaton's with new stores paying full rent.

The trouble with a few malls, especially the smalelr Ontario downtown malls, Eaton's was the only thing going for them, and died. The best greyfields in Ontario are the downtown malls of Sarnia, Brantford, Hamilton, etc.

 

[Skeezix]

Guys, Freshcutgrass is right -- Eaton's had a great lease at the Eaton Centre because it was one of the three development partners, not because CF enticed it. Remember, Eaton's owned all the land, which had been occupied by its main store, the Eaton's annex, and the Eaton's mail order and factory buildings. Eaton's not only owned a portion of the mall, but until Eaton's was restructured under CCAA, an Eaton's-controlled entity also owned most of the store outright, thus the incredibly attractive lease terms.

And, yes, Sears was able to step into the favourable leases for the Eaton's downtown stores through the bankruptcy process. CF would have loved to have renegotiated that lease, or even more likely, repurposed the space entirely. Although various landlords did win some concessions through the efforts to secure their support of the bankrupcty arrangement in the courts (most notably, 2-Below in the Eaton Centre was given up), Sears was able to walk away with the stores and the leases. Sears taking over the Eaton's space was effectively a fait accompli that CF had to live with.

 

[adma]

Yea...it was a bit of an odd design, but it would have been better to keep it dead original, than to mess it up with all manner of remodeling. Funny...the Eatons store itself was the only part of Eaton Centre that was not designed by Zeidler...I wonder why they didn't use him?

I'm pretty sure there would have been some "consultancy" on the Zeidler team's part--it's not like Eaton's particularly clashes with the rest of the complex. And, 30 years later, it's not like it's that much more of an expendably dated "eyesore" than the rest of the complex...

 

[shumoon]

Whatever you do, remember this: Eaton Centre is one of the world's most holy interior pedestrian places. It works. If something isn't broken, don't try to fix it.

IMO, the skylight ceiling is what makes Eaton Centre what it is and thus should be off-limits to replacement. Changing the self-cleaning glass makes sense, but that's about all I could tolerate.

 

[wyliepoon]

^Eaton Centre "working" doesn't mean that it cannot be improved on architecturally. Yorkdale Mall also "worked", but now looks much better after its facelift (the same might be said for Fairview). If a renovation to Eaton Centre means that it will be able to score better tenants, I say go for it. As long as the building form remains the same, people will come back... no matter if the glass ceiling was designed by Zeidler or Calatrava.

 

[adma]

^Eaton Centre "working" doesn't mean that it cannot be improved on architecturally. Yorkdale Mall also "worked", but now looks much better after its facelift (the same might be said for Fairview). If a renovation to Eaton Centre means that it will be able to score better tenants, I say go for it. As long as the building form remains the same, people will come back... no matter if the glass ceiling was designed by Zeidler or Calatrava.

But the difference is, unlike Zeidler's Eaton Centre, neither Yorkdale nor Fairview became textbook architectural exemplars--they were both more frankly mercenary in conception.

Besides, in Yorkdale's case, it's arguable whether the original 1964 parts actually do look better post-facelift--in the case of the mall proper, "blander" is a better term than "better", and it leaves me thinking of those 30s40s50s apartments which replaced their steel sash with something clunkier. And when it comes to the most architecturally distinguished part (Parkin's Simpson's store), its interior forecourt looks much much worse post-renovation--and we all know people who fondly remember and miss the mushroom pods at Eatons...

 

[Ummagumma66]

I liked the Eaton Centre the way it was but if you were to renovate it something along the lines of the renovation that TD Square in Calgary is undergoing would be really cool

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Even for a generic department store, the Sears in the Eaton Centre seems unusually pointless...kill it and extend the arcade at an angle to Yonge & Dundas. Ooo, or extend it at a curve...

I wonder how much longer it'll be before Yorkdale fills in the last big corner of its property with an extension (south of Sears, west of the food court/Holts). If they do, the layout will be very squareful...I prefer malls with lap potential, like Eaton Centre or Sherway.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

I love how 'swoosh' is taking over Calgary too... and find it incredibly amusing that the store in the first rendering is called "trend". Trends end up looking tacky in the retail sector. It should have been called "Bold" or "Innovative"... or "Er".

 

[Skeezix]

But the difference is, unlike Zeidler's Eaton Centre, neither Yorkdale nor Fairview became textbook architectural exemplars--they were both more frankly mercenary in conception.

Besides, in Yorkdale's case, it's arguable whether the original 1964 parts actually do look better post-facelift--in the case of the mall proper, "blander" is a better term than "better", and it leaves me thinking of those 30s40s50s apartments which replaced their steel sash with something clunkier. And when it comes to the most architecturally distinguished part (Parkin's Simpson's store), its interior forecourt looks much much worse post-renovation--and we all know people who fondly remember and miss the mushroom pods at Eatons...

I have to agree with adma on this one. Recent mall improvements may look shiny and new, but they're ultimately all bland and non-descript. The malls are all starting to look alike, and the stores are all the same. It's a tragedy what they've done to Yorkdale over the years. The improvements might be nice at first, but there is nothing unique or interesting about them, and ultimately they are forgettable and disposable.

 

[adma]

It's a tragedy what they've done to Yorkdale over the years. The improvements might be nice at first, but there is nothing unique or interesting about them, and ultimately they are forgettable and disposable.

Actually, the newest parts of Yorkdale are, for the most part, fine and, I dare say so, genuinely "in spirit". But the monkeying with the 1964 mall (clerestory detail etc) to conform with the new is kinda bass-ackward in logic IMO.

If anything marked the advent of well-meaning "forgettable and disposable", it's the relatively standard 80s mallchitecture of Yorkdale's first major addition (the Sears quadrant)--but at least it didn't involve (yet) the disfigurement of the original sections...

 

[Towered]

I have to agree with adma on this one. Recent mall improvements may look shiny and new, but they're ultimately all bland and non-descript. The malls are all starting to look alike, and the stores are all the same. It's a tragedy what they've done to Yorkdale over the years. The improvements might be nice at first, but there is nothing unique or interesting about them, and ultimately they are forgettable and disposable.

The best parts of Sherway have been ruined too.

 

[simply Dan]

Very nice renderings of TD Square! This one looks very similar to the new Yorkdale Mall expansion:

 

[299 bloor call control.]

They're both Cadillac-Fairview owned aren't they?

 

[Jayomatic]

Yorkdale mall is actually an Oxford Property.