Toronto Five St Joseph | 160.93m | 48s | Five St. Joseph | Hariri Pontarini

Vibrancy on Yonge, yet what's on Yonge St. right now? Cash stores, and a good amount of them. Infact, on one block I counted 3 cash stores. How are cash stores, that are currently on Yonge St., vibrant? (since some of you are stating how a bank will not add vibrancy and not liven up the street). We are talking about one retail unit in FIVE having a bank and all of a sudden everyone is up in arms.

There may be three cash stores on one block of Yonge, but there aren't three cash stores on all or even most blocks on Yonge. The complaints about a bank don't stem from wanting to improve on the worst example of the street life.

The complaints come, I believe, from the expectations that Mod has raised for this project. They have been quite specific (and I have believed sincere) about their intention to do a superior job of city-building on this block, with particular attention paid to the restoration (and I suppose on Nicholas St the replication) of the heritage elements. All of that means a more tactile, more humane, more urbane experience for the passersby. Renderings have led me to expect gourmet food shops and boutiques and the like.

Instead, the first announcement of new retail is for that most mundane of curbside offerings, the bank. How many storefronts it will consume we do not yet know. Banks often take up two or three units. At One Bedford where there were once a slew of restaurants, fast food joints, pubs and convenience stores and we now have a BMO and a Shoppers Drug Mart. It's a dreadful letdown, a missed opportunity to show leadership, and a loss of character and interest for the city. The condo gets two fail-safe tenants and the city gets next to nothing back.

Many threads on UrbanToronto complain about the typical retail we get with condos; the bank, the Shoppers Drug Mart, the Subway subs, the the dry cleaners. We were promised better than typical at Five, but suddenly it seems we are not getting it.
 
When looking at the FIVE render, there are at least 10 retail units fronting Yonge St. and then there are the additional retail units fronting St. Joseph.

It's too early to say that we are not getting what Mod promised. Of the 12+ retail units, one is an RBC - I do not think that is a letdown by any means. May be we should go back to having a giant army surplus store so that we can all shop for war grade helmets and boots for the next world war.

UT interviewed Gary Switzer about just this, the retail landscape. http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/09/interview-gary-switzer-mod-developments-part-2

The existing retail landscape here could be described as a hodgepodge of neighbourhood, tourist and very niche-market stores, many in need of some refreshment. Some retailers on Yonge are worried about changes that are coming as a result of this upgrade - who do you expect as tenants, and how do you see the FIVE restoration affecting the area?

"What I’ve always found so surprising is why the retail is so good along Church Street, just one block away, and so awful along Yonge. I can’t say specifics but we’re looking at some pretty interesting retailers who could bring a bit of that Queen West vibe in to the area. I think that’s sort of what it needs — somebody has to start it, and nobody seems to want to be a pioneer. You go to Church Street and you’ve got shops like Cumbrae’s and Pusateri’s, all these great retailers and restaurants, and I wonder why can’t you do it here. Perhaps it’s because Church Street has more of a village feel and allows on-street parking, so you don’t feel as though the cars are going 60 miles per hour all the time."

They have time to get this right and I am sure they know what will help Yonge St. Don't get me wrong, I would not want to see the same generic brands in these retail units, but again - I think we just need a little more time.

Let's not forget...
FIVE1-1.jpg


And the finale...
FIVE1-2.jpg
 
Yonge was traditionally enlivened by, and anchored by, cinemas, porn shops, head shops and record stores... all of which have been killed by the internet. As Ryerson threatens to encroach from the south the Yonge Street 'strip' finds itself at a dangerous crossroads. Hopefully projects like One Bloor and Five will be able to reassert some commercial vibrance in the midtown stretch at least.
 
The retail make-up of Yonge hasn't really changed that much over the years. I would say the biggest difference is the disappearance of all the popular live music venues. That alone drew huge amounts of traffic and gave Yonge St. lots of buzz, especially at night. Some of the new stores opening up are being populated by businesses like banks, small supermarkets, doctors offices and dentists. That seems to me like Yonge St. is evolving again but this time into a neighbourhood with lots of residential nearby.
 
The retail make-up of Yonge hasn't really changed that much over the years. I would say the biggest difference is the disappearance of all the popular live music venues.

Less black or dark paint on the buildings, and loss of cinemas too which also kept the street buzzing until late at night. Assuming this photo is 40 years old and was taken in 1972 then there would have been 9 cinemas scattered between Bloor & Queen on Yonge St. at the time.
 
^^ Yes, that included all night cinemas, like the Rio, which showed 4 movies, for the price of one. I loved that place.
 
The retail make-up of Yonge hasn't really changed that much over the years.

I couldn't disagree more. Just the loss of Sam's and the record shops alone is a huge change, and a cultural shift to boot. Not sure of your age but for generations it was a ritual to go to Yonge and Dundas and spend all day hunting for records. Didn't the Barenaked Ladies sing about this? Not sure anybody would sing about what's on Yonge these days.
 
Bass on that last rendering, there doesn't appear to be a provision for street trees along Yonge st. Too bad.
Also, some type of canopy would have been nice over the retail units.
 

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