Toronto Nordic Condos | 40.3m | 12s | Collecdev-Markee | gh3

Towered said:
Absolutely, on as many poorly designed suburban streets as possible (and that's the majority of Toronto). Those are the best areas of the city.
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Precisely. I couldn't think of many things more important to enhancing the overall suburban quality of life (from an urban design, planning, and development perspective) than the promotion of actions that will enhance grade vibrancy and promote sustainable movement of people (both things that effective, well-executed, in-demand retail should help with).
 
Yes we do !! ;-) It is called critical mass...or is that something else? Even the hundreds of shops along the Danforth, for example, can barely keep there doors open without a critical mass of shoppers who can walk or take the transit or PARK THE CAR to spend their money. I know many folks do not want to hear CAR here but it is part of the formula. ;-)
 
LUVIT! said:
Yes we do !! ;-) It is called critical mass...or is that something else? Even the hundreds of shops along the Danforth, for example, can barely keep there doors open without a critical mass of shoppers who can walk or take the transit or PARK THE CAR to spend their money. I know many folks do not want to hear CAR here but it is part of the formula. ;-)
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...that doesn't mean there needs to be parking directly out front of a retail location for it to be successful, though.
 
On street like done in front of Gramercy Park is fine, maybe with some additional spots in the garage if they really feel the need.
 
innsertnamehere said:
On street like done in front of Gramercy Park is fine, maybe with some additional spots in the garage if they really feel the need.
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Yeah, I was thinking more of the "where will all the customers park?" blowhards who spout off on the Bloor and Danforth bike lane pilot debates, for example, but that's an admittedly different context. Still, to some degree, those difficulties are worth considering - it's much harder to remove parking once it's already there.
 
picard102 said:
Unless it's something much better than what's currently in the neighbourhood, and what's going in at Gramercy, then I don't see the appeal.
Not every street needs to be a shopping destination.
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I imagine the developers here are in fact intending to create "something much better than what's currently in the neighbourhood", and doing their utmost to attract top-notch retail would go a long way in achieving that.
 
ADRM said:
I imagine the developers here are in fact intending to create "something much better than what's currently in the neighbourhood", and doing their utmost to attract top-notch retail would go a long way in achieving that.
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Except that hasn't panned out thus far. It's been more of the same. Dentist, Pharmacy, Convenance, Drycleaner, Remittance, ad nauseum.
It didn't work out to the North along Sheppard either.
 
picard102 said:
Except that hasn't panned out thus far. It's been more of the same. Dentist, Pharmacy, Convenance, Drycleaner, Remittance, ad nauseum.
It didn't work out to the North along Sheppard either.
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I agree about Sheppard (as someone who knows the area). It's all just boring retail like the examples you mention. The few restaurants that exist are located entirely in old strip malls instead of the condos. And a new Tim Hortons was built in its own a stand-alone building, while right across the street is a condo with mostly unoccupied retail space.
 
picard102 said:
Except that hasn't panned out thus far. It's been more of the same. Dentist, Pharmacy, Convenance, Drycleaner, Remittance, ad nauseum.
It didn't work out to the North along Sheppard either.
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For sure, but that doesn't particularly support the assertion that "not every street needs to be a shopping destination."
 
I hate parking lots, and I am not pro car, I do however operate a retail store downtown and I can PROMISE you that people want parking and they want it on site. We do not have parking, there is a green P nearby and a ton of other options below or above ground in the area. Street parking even. Customers call frequently asking about parking. When I tell them all their options, but explain to them that no, sorry we do not have a parking lot they very often choose to drive further away to one of our locations that have parking. I'm talking North York, Richmond Hill, Pickering even, though we are much closer to them.
People and cars are a thing still.
 
Different types of stores require different amounts of parking, the larger the items, the more important it would be. If the store supplies something you can only get in a few places, parking will be more of a help there too as you'll be drawing from a larger area, encouraging more driving.

If you're just selling convenience items, or providing a service available in many places, then most of your traffic is going to be walk-ins, especially in a multi-unit residential neighbourhood.

Every retailer must weigh the pros and cons of a location. Want parking? Don't open here.

To be clear what's coming here, there are three retail spots. In the rental building there are two discrete spots of 1,045 and 1,302 square feet. In the condo building, there's one long space of 4,858 square feet, but it is likely sub-dividable into multiple units.

Meanwhile, we have front page story up on this proposal, here.

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