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Originally Posted by Labroco
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I don't know if the challenge of finding space in the the Exchange District is the price per square foot, or if it's how many square feet there are per unit. Commercial units at 2,500-5,000 s.f. are not always needed. I always remember hearing from the owner of Parlour Coffee (a successful business in the Exchange since 2011 or so) saying he was only able to make his business work by carving out a corner of a larger retail space in the building.
Smaller retail units create greater commercial density, and allow specialized commercial services to set up shop. Opening the first 'third wave' coffee shop in Winnipeg in 2011 was a big enough risk without having a 5,000 square feet space to lease.
The tricky part is most of the Exchange District's buildings were not designed to accommodate small retail units, and neither were the big commercial buildings on the city's 'high streets' (Portage, Main). So big commercial units sit empty while property owners wait around for Starbucks or whatever to come along.