St. Laurent Shopping Centre

[wingman]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I guess, but the only one of the bunch in Les Galeries Gatineau I could see expanding is The Brick...

Only store in Gatineau that really needs to expand is Canadian Tire. Les Galeries is not an option for that. If Target were to do 1 store in the Outaouais, it would be the one on Maloney I think...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by wingman

Only store in Gatineau that really needs to expand is Canadian Tire. Les Galeries is not an option for that. If Target were to do 1 store in the Outaouais, it would be the one on Maloney I think...

The current Zellers plus the empty Winners space right next to it would make a great mega Target store, you are right.

[J.OT13]

From Open File Ottawa on June28 2012;

St. Laurent mall's expansion stalled indefinitely

Were it not for its $2 cinema, St. Laurent Shopping Centre might be like any of Ottawa’s malls: it has a Sears and a Bay, a Subway, and a Manchu Wok, among dozens of other stores.

If plans to expand the mall, originally proposed in 2010, get underway, St. Laurent would rack up further distinctions. It would become the largest mall in Ottawa, and one of the 10 largest in Canada.

The Ottawa Sun first reported that story in November 2010, and noted that the proposal included increasing the leasable area from the current 82,500 square metres to 170,000 square metres, more than doubling the size of the mall. The plan also included zoning changes to allow for an office tower up to 20 storeys to be built on the land owned by Morguard Investments, according to the Sun report.

St. Laurent would grow to the west, expanding into land across Coventry Road on both the north and south sides of where the street currently runs, though the expansion plan also involves rerouting the street. The full report to the city's planning and environment committee (since shortened to planning committee) is available here.

But in the 17 months since the proposal was approved, not much has happened. City spokesperson Jocelyne Turner confirmed that the plans are stalled.

“New zoning for the shopping centre’s lands was approved by the former City Council,” she writes in an email. “To date, the company has not submitted a site-plan application.”

Tenants in the mall—in particular, the mall’s west end, where the expansion is focused and which includes Sears, Toys R’ Us, Bluenotes, and West 49—hadn’t heard anything about the start of construction. Nobody at Morguard was available to respond to numerous calls, messages and emails.

The silence from the mall’s ownership says something, at least according to Rideau-Rockcliffe councillor Peter Clark. He suggests that the mall’s management is staying quiet simply because they have nothing new to say.

Clark offered a few updates on the situation, however.

“They have acquired a piece of property across the road from them and they’re thinking about rearranging the road system so that they can do an expansion, but I don’t believe they’ve found the major tenants they’re looking for, so there’s no proposals at the moment,” he says.

He’s referring to rerouting Coventry Road, which currently bends north to skirt around the mall. The city conducted a traffic study as part of the initial review and, according to the Ottawa Sun’s report, “indicated that modifications to signals can handle the volume on the existing roads.”

Clark says that his constituents haven’t voiced any concerns about the potential construction along Coventry Road.

“There’s industrial [zoning] on both sides of it,” he says. “And it doesn’t directly impact any residential areas.”

So without objection from the city or residents, the delay in the mall’s expansion is, according to Clark, self-imposed.

“It’s their choice,” he concludes.

As the commenter "Chris B"pointed out, there is a lot of retail expansions in the books

Proposed retail expansions in the city are: Rideau Centre, Bayshore, St. Laurent, Trainyards, Tanger and Lansdowne. That is a lot of new retail/tenants

Other factors may include the feds selecting their own sites to build new office space (referring to the 20 story office tower proposed for the St-Laurent expansion) and the impending/current mass layoffs. Furthermore, Morguard already has a lot of OT money tied up in 150 Elgin, that has yet to find any major tenants.

I'm hoping that the Rideau Centre will still announce/start construction on their own major expansion sometime this fall/spring 2013. They have everything going for them in contrast with the other retail projects;

-Shiny new Convention Centre
-Demand for a large new Hotel that could be built into the expansion
-Other hotels to be built in proximity (Re, Germain x 2)
-Hundreds of new condos built near it every year
-Prospect of a new subway station within 5/6 years...

[c_speed3108]

I had noticed the mall was (and has been) doing lots of different repairs lately on areas of the mall and parking that were supposed to get torn up in the expansion. It certainly made me think that this thing is not good ahead in the immediate future.

It was likely an issue with either finding tenants or finding financing or some combination of the two.

[toaster]

Could it also be that Trainyards took a lot more traffic away from St. Laurent than expected?

Also, anyone have any idea when Tanger will get a shovel in the ground?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by toaster

Could it also be that Trainyards took a lot more traffic away from St. Laurent than expected?

Also, anyone have any idea when Tanger will get a shovel in the ground?

Good theory about the train yards.

And about Tanger;

At least part of the complex is expected to be open by 2013 or early 2014.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/11/21/tanger-mall-planned-for-kanata

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

From Open File Ottawa on June28 2012;



As the commenter "Chris B"pointed out, there is a lot of retail expansions in the books


Other factors may include the feds selecting their own sites to build new office space (referring to the 20 story office tower proposed for the St-Laurent expansion) and the impending/current mass layoffs. Furthermore, Morguard already has a lot of OT money tied up in 150 Elgin, that has yet to find any major tenants.

I'm hoping that the Rideau Centre will still announce/start construction on their own major expansion sometime this fall/spring 2013. They have everything going for them in contrast with the other retail projects;

-Shiny new Convention Centre
-Demand for a large new Hotel that could be built into the expansion
-Other hotels to be built in proximity (Re, Germain x 2)
-Hundreds of new condos built near it every year
-Prospect of a new subway station within 5/6 years...

I have heard that St-Laurent was unable to come to an agreement with Simons, which would have been the major anchor tenant of the new section. This alone might explain why the expansion was put on ice.

[eternallyme]

The problem is that the east end has two regional shopping centres splitting business so they cannot become nearly as successful as, say, the Rideau Centre (the hub of the city today) or Bayshore (which dominates the west end).

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

The problem is that the east end has two regional shopping centres splitting business so they cannot become nearly as successful as, say, the Rideau Centre (the hub of the city today) or Bayshore (which dominates the west end).

Which one do you consider the second competing creating the split? Place d'Orleans? Gloucester Centre?

The west end also has similar sized malls to the 2 stated above with Carlingwood and Westgate. Although the west end is gaining more population. But still, Orleans and Vanier are also quickly gaining.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Which one do you consider the second competing creating the split? Place d'Orleans? Gloucester Centre?

The west end also has similar sized malls to the 2 stated above with Carlingwood and Westgate. Although the west end is gaining more population. But still, Orleans and Vanier are also quickly gaining.

Place d'Orleans is the splitting mall, and it is tough to dominate when they are about equal.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Place d'Orleans is the splitting mall, and it is tough to dominate when they are about equal.

I'll take your word for it since I've never been there myself.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Place d'Orleans is the splitting mall, and it is tough to dominate when they are about equal.

Place d'Orléans is definitely the weaker of the two and the gap has widened in St-Laurent's favour in recent years. But it is still big enough to draw some of St-Laurent's clientele away, a situation thay Bayshore does not really face.

[archie-tect]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Place d'Orléans is definitely the weaker of the two and the gap has widened in St-Laurent's favour in recent years. But it is still big enough to draw some of St-Laurent's clientele away, a situation thay Bayshore does not really face.

I would have to agree. Based on a series of factors Place D'Orleans has too much square footage and has for a while, hence the office space and large footprint stores (like Sportchek).

[JCL]

Originally Posted by archie-tect

I would have to agree. Based on a series of factors Place D'Orleans has too much square footage and has for a while, hence the office space and large footprint stores (like Sportchek).

I have been a lifelong resident in Orleans, and I can tell you that the major reason why there isn't as many people going to Place d'Orleans was because of the closure of Walmart in 2005 (when it moved to Innes Road).

[Lakche]

Originally Posted by JCL

I have been a lifelong resident in Orleans, and I can tell you that the major reason why there isn't as many people going to Place d'Orleans was because of the closure of Walmart in 2005 (when it moved to Innes Road).

I fully agree with this.

Place d'Orleans was at its prime when Walmart still operated there. People would come for Walmart and stay for the other stores. Zellers does not draw in the same amount of people at all...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Lakche

I fully agree with this.

Place d'Orleans was at its prime when Walmart still operated there. People would come for Walmart and stay for the other stores. Zellers does not draw in the same amount of people at all...

Will a Target be replacing that Zellers?

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Will a Target be replacing that Zellers?

Yes and it will be one of the first Target stores in Ottawa. (probably because that Zeller's was newish and in good condition)

[citydwlr]

Has anyone found/heard anything regarding the SLSC expansion? The current store directory seems a bit pathetic at this point in comparison to the retail offerings at both Rideau and Bayshore. I'm assuming Morguard REIT is simply waiting until final LRT station designs have been fully approved and to see what the City decides in terms of intensification around the LRT Station.

A quick search turned up this Sept. 2012 article from Real Estate News Exchange (originally from Property Biz Canada, apparently):

Morguard set to benefit from Ottawa LRT

Derek Abma
Property Biz Canada
Tue Sep 11 2012

Morguard Corp. is among the companies that stand to benefit from Ottawa’s transition to light rail from high-frequency buses as the spine of the city’s public transit system.

The Mississauga, Ont.-based company owns and manages properties across Canada, but has particular significance in Ottawa. It owns the St. Laurent Shopping Centre, the city’s largest shopping mall in terms of leasable retail space, according to Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa. It is also one of the biggest landlords for the federal government in Ottawa.

St. Laurent Shopping Centre is the site for one of the stations along the LRT line that is to begin operating in 2018. It is among three LRT stops east of downtown for which the City of Ottawa is conducting transit-oriented development (TOD) studies, anticipated to result in higher-density zoning for these areas.

St. Laurent LRT station and shopping centre

Margaret Knowles, senior vice-president of development for Morguard, is enthusiastic about Ottawa’s transit plans, though she comes short of saying they have a direct impact on the company’s development plans.

While the St. Laurent Shopping Centre already benefits from being on the “Transitway” — the portion of Ottawa’s public bus system that features dedicated roads or lanes and high-frequency runs — she said upgrading to light rail “is nothing but beneficial” for Morguard.

She said such plans support the firm’s development and leasing aspirations at St. Laurent because “it brings more people into the (St. Laurent) Centre . . . (and) the more people that can access the centre, the better.”

The shopping centre is currently 971,000 square feet and that will grow to about 1.3 million square feet, according to the shopping mall’s website. Knowles said a specific plan for expansion has not been finalized, nor has a timeline.

“Anything that we do will be over a longer-term horizon as we work to get all the stakeholders aligned with our plans,” she said, making special mention of anchor tenants Sears and The Bay.

Not only would the LRT line make getting to this mall easier, but the city’s goals of adding residential and commercial density near LRT stations would also boost the pool of potential customers who spend time in the vicinity anyway, and enhance conditions for Morguard to expand its office space there, Knowles said.

Currently, Morguard owns a separate seven-storey, 90,000 square foot office building that shares a parking lot with the St. Laurent Centre.

TOD reports on areas such as St. Laurent are due to come before the city’s planning committee in September. City planners are looking at increasing the density in these areas that are within 600 metres of future LRT stations from about 6,000 residents and workers combined to 16,000 over 20 years and up to 40,000 in the long term.

“The key thing for me is that (city officials are) now talking mixed-use, and with mixed-use you are looking at the opportunity to introduce residential and commercial into the whole mix,” Knowles said. “And ultimately, that’s sustainability; that’s live, work, play.”

Asked about how the LRT plans ultimately affect Morguard’s development plans, Knowles said: “Would that be the reason why we would expand? No. But is it complimentary? Absolutely.”

Federal Government attracted to TODs

The LRT line is expected to attract federal government operations, which are mostly downtown, to areas outside the core as the government looks for newer developments that are more efficient, with cheaper rents but still near transit.

Such a trend could bring mixed fortunes for Morguard, which on one hand could benefit from more demand for office space in areas such as St. Laurent but also be challenged by vacancies downtown.

However, Knowles expressed confidence in Ottawa’s downtown office market even if government operations increasingly move elsewhere.

“It’s a pretty good market,” she said. “It’s steady. It’s not volatile. It’s not up and down like a lot of other markets in the country, like Calgary or Toronto, where we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot with oversupply historically.”

Morguard builds 150 Elgin on spec

Morguard’s bullishness on the downtown Ottawa office market can be seen in its recently started construction project building a 21-storey, 300,000-square foot office tower on Elgin Street, just blocks away from Parliament Hill.

Due to open by January 2014, Knowles said there is “plenty of interest from the private sector” for space in this building. She said in cities all over Canada companies are locating downtown largely because that’s where their employees want to live.

“It’s actually quite phenomenal,” she said. “There’s been a lot of condo development in Ottawa. You’ve got a lot of people living in the downtown core, so I think you’re always going to have a very vibrant office market (downtown).”

James McNeil, associate vice-president of Cushman & Wakefield’s green real estate practice in Ottawa, said the light-rail project is good news for a company like Morguard. He agreed that it’s good for leasing and expansion opportunities at St. Laurent, and he added that Morguard is unlikely to face much risk downtown. McNeil said some of Morguard’s key properties in the core are close to where the light-rail line will go, and its buildings are well managed and in good shape.

“I don’t see them as being really exposed in any significant way,” he said, adding that Morguard has much more to gain than to lose as a result of light rail in Ottawa.

Read More: http://www.renx.ca/Detailed/Commercial/Morguard_set_to_benefit_from_Ottawa_LRT_30640.html

I couldn't find anything else really, not even on the St. Laurent website...

[c_speed3108]

I don't imagine they are planning on starting anything too soon. They are repaving a section of parking lot and performing fairly heavy repairs on several parking garages. One of the parking garages (behind sears) was slated to be demolished and the much of the parking lot area being repaved would have been torn up.

I also suspect that the fact that the city gave them zoning for 30 stories or something, will probably make them think of other designs rather than a mostly one story addition.

[toaster]

Not sure if this means anything, but I believe some of the stores around where the expansion was supposed to happen (Bluenotes, West 49, etc) have either closed or moved to other locations in the mall.