Will Toronto Ever See a New Class A Mall?

[goodcitywhenfinished]

Just a casual discussion.

With Vancouver opening Oakridge soon and Montreal having just opened Royalmount is there opportunity for an outside player (neither CF, Oxford, or Ivanhoe) to create a new project in Toronto?

My sense is that luxury retail is quite saturated at the moment in Toronto, and will probably stagnate over the next decade. Brands seem to be solidifying their offerings in Yorkdale and Yorkville with major investments, not to mention Square One still trying to position itself as a suburban upscale destination.

The days of new mega-malls are certainly over, but there could be opportunity for a high-design mall with a small to medium footprint and luxury/international offerings that can't be found anywhere else in the country.

 

[goodcitywhenfinished]

Personally: If I could wave a multi-billion dollar wand, I'd like to see a Hong Kong style mall (read: small footprint, many levels, terraces+outdoor walkways) on the waterfront.

 

[rdaner]

^Ever been to The Well or Distillery/Canary?

 

[gabe]

I hope not. We got enough vacant retail units all over the downtown to fill first before we worry about a "class A mall"

 

[Tunafish13]

Would you not count the Well as a Class A mall? Its very nice and definitely big enough

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

As others have pointed out, we just got a new one at The Well, and it is actually quite a well-used location that has added significantly to the urban fabric of our city.

I think the only limiting factor is that RioCan did not excel with the retail lease-up, but that could also be an indicator of the market for high-end retail in the city.

To play with the thread idea speculatively, I think Fairview Mall has an excellent location and could take similar steps to Yorkdale Mall for upscaling, perhaps by taking in the brands that will leave Bayview Village as that mall gets redeveloped into mixed-use.

 

[Garamond]

Sorry the Well is great, but I don't think its the Luxury Mall OP was referencing. Yorkdale/ Yorkville is probably the best we have in Toronto - but still doesn't compare to the ones in Asia i.e. Bangkok, Hong Kong even Manila and the Middle East.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Sorry the Well is great, but I don't think its the Luxury Mall OP was referencing. Yorkdale/ Yorkville is probably the best we have in Toronto - but still doesn't compare to the ones in Asia i.e. Bangkok, Hong Kong even Manila and the Middle East.

That may be the case, but by definition, The Well can only be considered Class A retail space in a brand new shopping centre.