Lowes. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/stor...d-dropped.html

Thanks! An ikea would be awesome too! I have a friend who is a contractor who makes a living on building houses and selling them and he always uses ikea whether he buys it online, or purchases stuff on vacation. I know he would be thrilled if we got one!

I would love an IKEA as well but can't see it happening. We just don't have the population base.

We have 200,000 in the metro region, how much more could we possibly need??

We would need another 1.8 million to meet their requirement of 2 million....which I don't see happening anytime soon....or ever.:(

Actually about 800,000

Ikea has stated before that they're not interested in markets under 1,000,000. Although they made an exception with Winnipeg at only 770,000 metro.

Really?? That's suprising! I guess we won't be getting one.. Ever! xD

St. John's population base is no where big enough to support an IKEA store. We would need at least 500,000 minimum I would say or probably higher. Too bad IKEA doesn't build smaller stores to suit the geographic markets.

The Scope did a piece on this a while back:

http://thescope.ca/bestofstjohns/bes...2%80%99s-needs

I cannot see why they need such a population base .. I've been in Ikeas in cities in Sweden much smaller than St. John's

Edit: That being said it doesn't mean that they don't have that policy in their International expansion strategy ... unfortunate though ...Ikeas are awesome

these are where their other canadian locations are:
AB, Calgary
AB, Edmonton
BC, Coquitlam
BC, Richmond
ON, Burlington
ON, Etobicoke
ON, North York
ON, Ottawa
ON, Vaughan
QC, Boucherville
QC, Montreal

According to their site
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_CA/ikny_splash.html

I don't know why they would be so selective, I'm sure they would do great in smaller cities all over north america. They don't even have to be full sized stores to do well. Oh well, picky bunch I guess xD

Here is a link to a Nova Scotia thread regarding the Ikea that opened there in the 1970's. Apparently it was the first Ikea in Canada. But it closed due to operational costs and market size. So if Nova Scotia can't support an Ikea, I am pretty sure St. John's won't either.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show....php?p=5442392

Any word on a Wal-Mart Superstore for St.John's?

Nope, not that I have heard anyway

RBC expands in St. John's with new retail concept store. Check the link for full story.

http://www.stockhouse.com/news/usrel...aspx?n=8638265

Melanie Lyne is opening soon in the Avalon mall



http://www.shopavalonmall.com/store/melanie-lyne/

Also here's an article from the scope about the Power Centres:

On the Grow
http://thescope.ca/wp-content/upload...10/citymap.jpg

http://thescope.ca/storefront/on-the-grow

One of the commentors either has inside info or operates the rumor mill... either way they were correct with a few of the now known developments

From the comments:
we`ll see

Also take notice to the Theatre lotted out in Southlands power Centre plan is larger than the one in Field power centre

Southlands:45,000 sq feet

Field: 36,000 sq feet

Therefore if they go by a screens per squarefoot ratio that would make 10 for southlands (purely speculating)

add the screens in the city together .. that would be
mount pearl square: 6
Avalon Mall: 12
Field: 8
Southlands:10

Total: 36 ;) quite the increase

Thanks for the info Jeddy, great researching skills! I always said that St. John's could support more than 1.5 movie theatres (I consider Mount Pearl Square to be 0.5 theatre). It's nice to see more screens coming to town.

I also learned that the hat retailer 'Lids' will be setting up shop at the old Davanna's jewelry location in the Avalon Mall. I wonder if Jump+ is ready to open soon?

I was just looking at the Kijiji website and noticed Jump+ just posted a position for store manager. Here is the link:

http://stjohns.kijiji.ca/c-jobs-sale...AdIdZ422352277

So it seems that it might be another little while before the store is opened, but I can't see it taking too long to hire. I also noticed on Moncton's retail thread that Jump+ will be opening there in a couple of days.

:previous: I have always said that we needed at least two new movie theatres lol, Ironically apparently empire theatres thought so too :P

I spoke to someone from the office of Jump Plus this summer while they started the hiring process and they said that they will be opening in the Fall (so assumingly soon)

On another note if Milestones opens here (assuming they are not opening in other atlantic canadian cities at the same time) it will be the only one in Atlantic Canada :) actually east of Ontario and Jones New York will only be the second in Atlantic Canada

moving on up

It makes sense. Our economy is doing exceptionally well and we have among the highest average wages in Canada. In addition, we have a diaspora across the mainland, many of whom bring their wealth of disposable income back to Newfoundland to spend.

It'll all fade away eventually, of course, but we might as well enjoy a little boost in stature while we can. :D

If it fades it wont be any time soon lol

I think the ball has just started to roll ;) attracting retail and things like that will probably pick up when other retailers see that their comptetition is doing well in our market .. and when other chains see that it is viable (who may have been nervous at first or didnt even have us on the radar) ;)
(I tend to be positive about things anyway .. well it's hard not to lol and with honestly so many huge projects for the future in the works and just being taked about .. I see it continuing) then eventually when a city reaches a certain size it feeds off of itself economically, which sustains all this stuff (I think Halifax benifits grately from being a Hub for the maritimes and hopefully in a few years we can start to threaten that hehehe or at least share in it for the whole region) of course halifax's gratest advantage has been it's location but look at the hugeeee economic advantages we have :D

Oh I'm sure we've many good years ahead as well.

And, yes, Halifax's location on the continental mainland is a great benefit. It will never make economic sense to choose St. John's over Halifax for things like shipping, etc. We'll always be limited, in that regard, to the demand of our domestic market.

But a lot of the government spending that really could be anywhere - government services, military, etc. - could return to St. John's. I read a column somewhere that the Harper's government closures in and transfers from this province had basically returned Newfoundland to its former status as a colony - but not of Ottawa, of Halifax.

That's what we have to fight to get back, and more, and where we really do have to battle Halifax somewhat.

yup and in the meantime, making the city more attractive to live with all the current developments and ammenities like more retail etc will help in positioning ourselves as a viable major eastern city.. with the mega projects we really could bite ourselves off a big peice of the pie .. like a previous article I posted stated .. NL has 48% of the major projects in atlantic canada... that leaves 52% to divide among 3 other provinces .. I think we could be situated (especially after the airport and office space inventory is increased) to have more headquarters locate here based on the economy etc.

Agreed, I think this is a pivotal point for the economy here in the region. We can really push through here and establish ourselves as a city that can sustain itself through smart growth, development and diversification. Obviously there will be bumps along the way - but we have to expect that. In addition, I think the city's decision to restructure business tax will help with business growth in the area. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to steer too far away from the focus of this thread.

The party is just starting, so lets keep it rolling. Here's to many more good years ahead!

:cheers:

I read an interesting article in The telegram today that looked at current retail and restaurants in St. John's. A poll was conducted by MQO to gauge what people thought about amenities in the city. Only 40% gave St. John's an 8 or higher (out of 10) compared to Moncton at 70% Halifax at 53%. These results are on par with my opinion on shopping and restaurants in the city. I think there's been a big improvement in the past 8-10 years but we still have a ways to go.

An owner of a downtown shop commented that the city needs to build a better shopping district downtown, something I completely agree with. I like the fact we have many locally owned stores and restaurants since that helps the local economy much more than multinational chains. But I feel we need a better balance between locally owned and chain stores/restaurants in the downtown. I'm not talking 50/50, may be 75/25, but right now it's heavily weighted on the local side. Bringing some more chains to the downtown could create healthy competition - always good for the consumer. Red lobster anyone????? :tup:

In addition, I think the city is missing out by not having some sort of downtown shopping centre; this would greatly aid in revitalizing downtown.

I strongly agree with this! I believe that is what Atlantic Place was designed for. It was supposed to be three or four floors of retail; like a downtown mall of sorts. But, that plan never came into fruition as we only got the water street market. I don't know why it was changed to mostly office space. Atlantic place would be the best place to put a downtown shopping center due to it's central location and parking garage alongside it. I can't think of any other possible locations. The interior of Atlantic Place could be easily re-formatted into a shopping mall with it's central escalators.

After justice moves out of Atlantic Place, They should kick out some tenants and designate at least 3 or 4 floors to retail, and have a few floors of the parking garage designated for the mall. (By this time MetroPark and 351 will be completed so there will should be extra long term parking spots available in those buildings. The kicked out tenants will make need for another office building in the west end! :haha:

It would be great for tourists who want to do a bit of shopping, but don't want to leave the downtown core, and would be exceptionally convenient for people who will live in the downtown condo developments (MIX, Henry Bell, Star of the Sea, ect)

With a nice exterior renovation and a nice bit of retail space, Atlantic Place could become the Eaton Center of St. John's! A downtown mall would be great for everybody. (except for maybe those paying for it!) It would increase traffic in the Downtown which would also be good for the local stores along water street!

We can dream!

(I've always thought that some electronic billboards would be nice on the water street side of Atlantic Place, make it our mini Times Square :haha: )

Is there a good non-chain seafood restaurant in town? (besides all the fish & chip places) I'd rather see that than a Red Lobster.

One place where St. John's certainly shines for a small city is non-chain restaurants downtown. Definitely more than similarly-sized Kelowna, and possibly on par with Victoria, which is a fair bit larger.

As for downtown shopping, the only things I've left the inner-city for in the past two years (shopping-wise) are electronics and school supplies. I'd love to be able to get everything downtown though!

Altantic Place was indeed a 3 Story Shopping mall when it opened in the mid 70's. It had a 3-floor Metropoliton (aka The Friendly Met) anchor tenant, A Readmore book store chain, Thrifty's, Tip Top, Various Women's clothing stores, A large Dairy Queen, Strand Restaurant and Lounge, and a bunch of other retail chains. Eventually they all closed due to lack of business. Everyone still shopped at Mall and the Village which opened not long after Atlantic Place. So the owners sought out other viable tenants which ended up being mostly for corporate office space.

:previous:

I never knew that before! I always assumed that the shopping mall idea was dropped with the rooftop hotel.

I can only guess why it wasn't successful. I imagine people did not like the idea of paying for parking at a mall when they could park at The Village or the Avalon Mall for free. Lack of density in the immediate area probably would have been another factor in the unsuccessfulness of it.

A downtown shopping complex would probably be much more successful if we built up density in the downtown core. We are getting a good start on that it with projects like MIX, Henry Bell and Star of the Sea, but hopefully in the coming years we continue to build up density in the downtown core.

Maybe sometime in the future, someone else will give a shopping complex a try :haha:

Thanks for sharing, and sorry for being so ill-knowledged!

But that was a long time ago now and I think today, things would be somewhat different and possibly more successful if they had a shopping centre on Water Street...with so many more people living in the downtown area now and more wanting to move into the downtown core and condos going up everywhere. So who knows, you may see something like that happening again in the future if things keep going in the direction they are going now with downtown.

Back when the Atlantic Place "mall" was opened in the mid seventies, I'm pretty sure there were also three department stores still open (Woolworth's, Ayre's and Bowrings), also some others such as Army & Navy, Royal Stores, probably. Water Street was quite a different place and things downtown were more competitive with all these retailers. The whole market has changed now. I'm not sure exactly how that would affect it, but it would.

I would love it if Apple opened up shop on Water Street. I love Apple products, and I LOVE the look of Apple stores!

If they bought a property on water street, and spruced it up in a way only they can do (similar to picture below) I think they would do really well! Everywhere I go, Apple Stores are like magnets! I don't know about you, but I find it hard to walk by an Apple Store without going in, even just to browse!

I know we are getting a Jump+ which is similar, but I think an official Apple Store would look spectacular and thrive on Water Street.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/...546f68c191.jpg

:previous: Just an example of an Apple Store in a "historic" area

I've not struggled to walk past every one I've seen. :P

I guess they look alright, so there's at least one thing going for it (even then, it's just glass ... groundbreaking! :wizard:). Won't happen though.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...26164475_n.jpg

Apple also builds stores in historic buildings too where they keep the integrity of the historic facade intact, like this on in London England on Regent Street (I would guess building a glass cube would be against heritage rules). Still looks nice though. Apple should build a nice store on that ugly gravel pit opposite the fortis building. LOL.

Yeah it changes almost every generation it seems, sometimes good and sometimes bad. I recall when I was a kid in the late 60's there were many big dept stores down there. Starting with Sears where the StatOil offices are now, then Woolworth's, Arcade, The Big Six, Bowring's (St. John's version of the The Bay), Ayre's Variety (where Scotia Centre is now), Ayre's Big Dept Store (where Atlantic Place now stands), The London New York And Paris (which is all boutique stores now) and others like Parker and Monroe shoes (two stores), Dicks & Co. Books and office supplies, Agnew Shoes, which is now the model shop, the classic McMurdo's Drug Store with it's soda counter which i think is now the Shanghai Restaurant. Hardware store where The Rocket is now. Oh the memories.

The Empire Theatres location is under construction as well as other buildings in the development

This was taken today Oct 22 2012 by me

If you will notice the big roundabout in the middle/ the intersection to the right!!!!! (I'm sure it's a roundabout even if you can't tell in the pic)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...12592260_n.jpg

Awesome. Our first roundabout. Now we just need one at the bottom of Freshwater Road at Cookstown.

It's our second ;) there has been one in the Dump for years :P

and then woodridge has one so thats at least three lmao! haha

:haha:

I stand corrected. Sorry, lol.

Well, it will be our first heavy traffic roundabout! Be afraid.. Very afraid!!

So empire theaters is actually under construction now? Great!

A roundabout is also planned for Carrick Drive too when the new Wedgewood Park Centre is built.

BAHAHAH that's what I ment by "woodridge" hahaha I guess I was typing too fast that day :P

I was actually going to reply and ask where Woodridge is located but your correction beat me to the punch. :D

Not sure if it has been mentioned in this thread yet but if you go to Kelsey's Bar & Grill Website and search for stores there is a list of provinces which includes Newfoundland (although it doesn't list a city as yet). So, unless i've been living under a rock...a Kelsey's in St. John's soon?

I believe there is a Kelsey's (along with a few other unknown restaurants, one of which is rumored to be a "Milestones") being built in the Field Power Center development in the Stevanger Drive area; in the same place as the new Empire Theaters.

This is an extension my post in the HRM retail thread. I think we should make a conscious effort to promote local retail and restaurants in the city. I realize this is a bit harder since local business is less advertised; I find TheScope.ca a good source of information on this front.

I agree, I don't think people realize how much some local stores have come to fill the gap of what national and international chains would provide (either as substitutes or supplying actual brands) they need to be recognized more and promoted more because for one its BETTER than a chain from away because the money stays here and helps local business grow. Also people come sometimes and say oh you dont have X Y or Z .. and they dont realize that you do not need every exact brand in every city to fill the need

:tup: I'm happy you guys brought it up in the Halifax thread :)

things like that international award for best lingerie store NEEDS to be advertised!!

:previous:

I'll start wearing their stuff on my hikes. Give them some promotion that way.