Toronto Emerald Park Condos | 128.92m | 40s | Bazis | Rosario Varacalli

[dgebrt]

Any word on the Metro opening?

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

From Regent Park this morning

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

The external tower crane for EmeraldPark taller 40-storey east tower is now around 12 floors high and continues to be lowered today. It will all come down completely and be removed from the site on Sunday.

 

[steveve]

as the crane stood on the 17th:

 

[TheKingEast]

Saw this thing in person and it really doesn't look good. The thick mullions ruin it. Should have used a sleeker window system.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Any word on the Metro opening?

You must be a local who`s already sick of WholeFoodsMarket,...

There was a poster here, Scudder, in August 2013 that seems to know quite a bit about Metro using a variety of investment metrics and was basically pumping Metro.
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/search.php?searchid=550044

Returned again in April 2014 and mentioned they'll start work on Metro at EmeraldPark in June and finish for store opening in November! Of course, I called him out on that,... asking November 2014 or 2015,.... then he claimed he's on the construction team and we never heard from him again.
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showth...azacorp-40-32s-Varacalli)?p=851139#post851139

Anyways,... Just looking through the 2nd floor glass where Metro will be, you'll see that it's still just a cement shell, protected by curtain wall windows and most of the ceiling piping is done,... HVAC vent system isn't even close to being finished,... for other places I'd say 3-4 months away from being done,... for this developer and builder, I'd say Metro is still about 6 months away from being opened at EmeraldPark.

Some of the first floor retail area has some dry wall and stuff done,...

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Saw this thing in person and it really doesn't look good. The thick mullions ruin it. Should have used a sleeker window system.

The sad part is the church to the west is supposed to be rebuilt (except sanctuary) with the same Varacalli design as part of the density transfer which allowed this EmeraldPark to happen,.... EmeraldPark and church redevelopment are all tied in together,.... The EmeraldPark builder, TMG, and church couldn`t agree on price for rebuild and church found another builder who has church building experience,.... Now I am wondering who actually owns the original Varacalli design for the church,... Varacalli, EmeraldPark developer (Bazis), builder TMG, or church,.... it might be a blessing in disguised if the church can`t use this Varacalli design!!!!

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

40 storey east tower external tower crane was lowered and removed on December 21st

Attached photos show status of construction last week.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Attached is an interesting notice I found posted at EmeraldPark. Consent Application (B056/14NY) to sever the property at 22 Poyntz (EmeraldPark site from former city laneway to Beecroft) to establish commercial use for Metro grocery store. Huh??? Metro is going in on entire 2nd floor with a market type format with market stations including one for Starbucks and another for LCBO. Does a LCBO need to severe property? The last time EmeraldPark pulled one of these last minute changes was over a year ago so they could add 2 more floors to their west tower without changing overall height - all condo unit floors lost a few inches in height clearance.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

In case you missed it, here's an interesting article from urbantoronto.ca by Nicolas Arnaud-Goddet on "Cranes Disappear from Bazis, Metropia and Plaza's Emerald Park"
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2015/01/cranes-disappear-bazis-metropia-and-plazas-emerald-park

 

[datamouse]

Info on that CoA application:

To obtain consent to sever the property to establish the commercial use (Metro grocery store) from the rest of the commercial/residential condominium development. Also proposed are the granting/creating of easements. The proposed severances and easements extend both horizontally and vertically. Associated planning files include site plan: 09 180579 NNY 23 SA, OPA and Zoning By-law Amendment application File 08 178556 NNY 23 OZ, and Committee of Adjustment file A615/13NY.

Full details here

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Info on that CoA application:

Full details here

Thanks DataMouse!

To me, it seems odd that the application comes in now, so last minute. Could that be due to Bazis inexperience since EmeraldPark would be their first mix-use project in Toronto. Their only other completed project was CrystalBlu which was only residential condo without any office or retail component.

Maybe the developer don't want to deal with the ongoing retail management component going forward. Or maybe all this is to facilitate a separate entrance for Metro since it's open 24 hours.

PURE SPECULATION: EmeraldPark developer (Bazis, Metropia and Plazacorp) severing 2nd floor retail because they're selling 2nd floor retail space to RioCan.
- RioCan has already partnered with Bazis & Metropia on the E-condo project at northeast corner of Yonge & Eglinton. This might suggest that RioCan become the partner responsible for all retail management component in these Bazis mixed-use projects going forward
http://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/e-condos
- 1st Floor retail space of EmeraldPark is mostly small Pacific Mall cubical size stores that were sold to small individual store owners.
- RioCan used to own the plaza with the Metro & NationalGym on east side of Yonge.
- RioCan is still interested in the area as shown by their almost quarter Billion dollar purchase of SheppardCentre and its redevelopment proposal with a Longo on 3rd Floor - with 3 grocery store at the corner of Yonge & Sheppard, the 3rd floor Longo will likely be the weakest.

 

[NorthYorkEd]

with 3 grocery store at the corner of Yonge & Sheppard, the 3rd floor Longo will likely be the weakest.

I'd be curious to see the business plan that feels there is sufficient demand for all these grocery stores. Mind you, the target market is slightly different for each, with Metro being more budget, Whole Foods catering to the organics and yoga-pants crowd, and Longos being slightly above or equal to Loblaws in terms of quality, service, and price. I go to Loblaws (Empress) only for convenience, as it is literally only a few minutes away. I find their service and quality to be inconsistent.

My hope is that this will lead to more aggressive sales and customer incentives, but I won't be holding my breath. I thought that this Metro at Emerald was going to be more upscale, more modern, and perhaps a cut above that scuzzy and depressing one at Church.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

I'd be curious to see the business plan that feels there is sufficient demand for all these grocery stores. Mind you, the target market is slightly different for each, with Metro being more budget, Whole Foods catering to the organics and yoga-pants crowd, and Longos being slightly above or equal to Loblaws in terms of quality, service, and price. I go to Loblaws (Empress) only for convenience, as it is literally only a few minutes away. I find their service and quality to be inconsistent.

My hope is that this will lead to more aggressive sales and customer incentives, but I won't be holding my breath. I thought that this Metro at Emerald was going to be more upscale, more modern, and perhaps a cut above that scuzzy and depressing one at Church.

NorthYorkEd,.... an upscale Metro? What's next?,... un upscale Dollarama??? If it was an upscale Metro, it would be a whole different store brand name; just like Metro is regular grocery brand and it target discount market with FoodBasic (bring your own bag),... a la Loblaws and it's NoFrills stores.

The new Metro at EmeraldPark will be different than your typical Metro; it'll be more marche like with ready-made food stations (great for take out for local condo residents) and it seems other stores like LCBO and Starbucks integrated in an open concept format similar to their Adonis store model popular in Quebec.

A lot of this information was mentioned by Scudder (who's last post here didn't seem too honest - basically, he was passing himself off as a knowledgable and capable investor in Metro and seems to have good knowledge of the grocery industry and metrics on investments but he claimed to be a construction worker working on the Metro at EmeraldPark???)
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/search.php?searchid=587324

Anyways, most of what was said here with regards to Metro at EmeraldPark was confirm by Bazis blog.

The EmeraldPark Metro won't be upscale,... it'll be different than your typical Metro but still a Metro, still selling the same products at the same prices. Look at it this way, there are bare bone Loblaws like Yonge & Yonge Boulevard and former Loblaws at CentrePoint Mall. Large SuperStore Loblaws like at BayviewVillage and Steeles&Dufferin. And then there are the new urban stylish Loblaws like at College&Church old MapleLeafsGarden and also at QueenStreetWest & Portland,.... better wood trimming and tiles on the walls and huge cheese display cases but they all still sell the same basic Loblaws products at the same prices but with more take out ready made food options. Some stores might carry more of one type of product to cater better to local market like EmpressWalk Loblaws sell more Asian T&T stuff.

Anyways,... we'll be able to experience the new marche-like Metro at EmeraldPark when it opens,... likely this summer.

 

[NorthYorkEd]

NorthYorkEd,.... an upscale Metro? What's next?,... un upscale Dollarama??? If it was an upscale Metro, it would be a whole different store brand name; just like Metro is regular grocery brand and it target discount market with FoodBasic (bring your own bag),... a la Loblaws and it's NoFrills stores.

Oops, what I meant was that it was going to be more modern and "refreshed" in style, basically how you described it here:

The new Metro at EmeraldPark will be different than your typical Metro; it'll be more marche like with ready-made food stations (great for take out for local condo residents) and it seems other stores like LCBO and Starbucks integrated in an open concept format similar to their Adonis store model popular in Quebec.

Sorry for the confusion.