This is just an act to get SmartCentres a prime headquarters location across from the subway station /s
This makes me wonder, now, who actually paid for the "To Subway" sign on the east side of the Home Outfitters building.
It does make sense for Smart Centres to move there, as it is a building they built completely for retail, but in a unique two-storey way, and, if their plan pans out, it would be a showpiece of their ability to quickly convert retail space completely to office space, without having to modify the exterior much. They might build out three or four small retail units on the ground floor fronting Hwy 7, though.
The Future Shop / Home Outfitters building is only half the square footage as their current HQ plus Kumon. (The letter refers to the "adjacent building" which, to me, refers to the Kumon HQ.) However, since Smart Centres has so much property, they could easily select a few nearby properties for some of their HQ employees. I wonder what they'll do about their helipad. That won't be so easy to relocate. It'll likely be abandoned.
Smart Centre's letter tries to avoid referring to Walmart by name, which I find very interesting. Yet, their map plan shows the name, so I guess they're just trying to be formal. But of far more interest is they don't even mention the Lowe's store or show it on the map. That'll be next on the chopping block.
How many of us knew the Walmart lease is 99 years? The letter says 79 years left, and my recollection is that it was built in 1997. I thought retail lease terms were usually 20 or 25.
Amidst all this highly visible Smart Centres activity, Toromont quietly keeps on chugging out machinery. Surely they know they're sitting on valuable property, which they own. So when they do decide to move and sell the land, they'll have so much capital that they could choose any place to relocate.