Toronto Aura at College Park | 271.87m | 78s | Canderel | Graziani + Corazza

[dt_toronto_geek]

It wasn't so long ago that Barbara Ann Scott park was three times the size it is now.
I think a park on downtown Yonge just attracts trouble and scares the suburban shoppers & tourists away. Off-Yonge parks are well used by the locals who know there's no need to be intimidated by the odd homeless fellow sleeping on a patch of grass.

 

[urbandreamer]

What I would've done: Create a large hill here with grass "steps" for people watching.

 

[Thernan]

Maybe they should have considered putting a proper large store or higher-end restaurant in the underground rather than all those little stores.

 

[whatever]

There's always a chance we'll see some of those smaller units combined into larger spaces. Tho for what those things seem to be listed at I can't imagine many businesses willing to front the cash for the real estate. You'd be looking at well over a million for less than a thousand sqft of retail space. And then it's a catch-22; if the basement flops the units would be worth less, but who would want them? And if the basement manages to scrape by the units will increase in value, making it harder to assemble them for a larger-format store

 

[Ramako]

Putting typical-sized retail spaces down there seems to me like it would have been a no-brainer. They clearly went out of their way to create a mall made up of mini-shops. What's their angle here? What was their intended outcome?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Dare I say Target - from basement to level 3?

AoD

 

[Ramako]

There's always a chance we'll see some of those smaller units combined into larger spaces. Tho for what those things seem to be listed at I can't imagine many businesses willing to front the cash for the real estate. You'd be looking at well over a million for less than a thousand sqft of retail space. And then it's a catch-22; if the basement flops the units would be worth less, but who would want them? And if the basement manages to scrape by the units will increase in value, making it harder to assemble them for a larger-format store

It may be a gradual evolution whereby prices dive after the present format in the basement flops, then upon small units being consolidated, more brand name retailers move in and eventually increase the overall value.

 

[defence5]

They've resorted to a cheap printed sign to let people know how to get through to College Park

 

[bleu]

It may be a gradual evolution whereby prices dive after the present format in the basement flops, then upon small units being consolidated, more brand name retailers move in and eventually increase the overall value.

brand names move in the basement of a condo tower?
the basement is ideal for small retailers. Big name retailers need prime location with large display windows. Shopping underground is always less desirable than above ground.

 

[Ramako]

brand names move in the basement of a condo tower?
the basement is ideal for small retailers. Big name retailers need prime location with large display windows. Shopping underground is always less desirable than above ground.

I'm thinking of retail akin to the kind of stuff you see in the PATH.

 

[Thernan]

brand names move in the basement of a condo tower?
the basement is ideal for small retailers. Big name retailers need prime location with large display windows. Shopping underground is always less desirable than above ground.

With proper signage, it could work. Dollarama is in the basement of College Park but is still makes lots of money, so does the Metro. As long as they opened up the underground access properly, the right retailer/restaurant might do ok. A small Walmart, for example, or a good Greek restaurant.

 

[egotrippin]

brand names move in the basement of a condo tower?
the basement is ideal for small retailers. Big name retailers need prime location with large display windows. Shopping underground is always less desirable than above ground.

Incidentally, big name retailers often have street-life killing repetitious store fronts that provide little variety and animation along retail corridors. The public realm is far better off with multiple, smaller stores lining commercial streets. I actually think basement retail is the best option for big box and large format stores to enter the downtown market, which sometime have difficulty adapting to an urban environment. Give them a street level sign or single entrance, but seeing as very few of the bigger stores do much in the way of exciting merchandising, why let them hog vast stretches of valuable store front space?

 

[AlbertC]

Agreed. Well defined large format retail that offer area residents a quality retail experience would definitely thrive even at basement level. UNY and Jusco are a couple of Japanese style "hypermarkets" that do well in Hong Kong. They also generally operate at below/above levels in shopping centres.

 

[raclll]

I'm thinking the extra-high rebar on the north-east corner column (left side of the web cam) is indicating the next setback.

 

[bleu]

Incidentally, big name retailers often have street-life killing repetitious store fronts that provide little variety and animation along retail corridors. The public realm is far better off with multiple, smaller stores lining commercial streets. I actually think basement retail is the best option for big box and large format stores to enter the downtown market, which sometime have difficulty adapting to an urban environment. Give them a street level sign or single entrance, but seeing as very few of the bigger stores do much in the way of exciting merchandising, why let them hog vast stretches of valuable store front space?

Agree with you if you were talking about Canadian Tire, Walmart kind of large retail stores. They are all the same in any part of the country.
However, when it comes to higher end department stores, such as Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom etc it probably makes less sense. These stores usually focus a lot on the appeal of display windows and usually makes a street look more sophisticated. Plus they are probably unwilling to be located in the basement due to an image issue.

I'd like to repeat again that small retail isn't necessarily more interesting and exciting. Yonge st between Gerrard and Bloor is an example. Most stores sell generic or tacky products/food. I won't consider them to be better than the Bay or Macy's at all.