Bear was already dug up last time I walked by a few days ago.
http://www.obj.ca/Local/Retail/2014-10-1...e-bright-future-for-Sparks-Street-Mall/1
BIA, analyst see bright future for Sparks Street Mall
David Sali
Published on October 10
Les Gagne hopes the end of an era in Ottawa retail will coincide with the dawn of a major renaissance at the city’s downtown pedestrian mall.
Mr. Gagne, the executive director of the Sparks Street Mall Business Improvement Area, admits Holt Renfrew’s recent announcement that it will close its Ottawa store at 240 Sparks Shopping Centre early next year wasn’t exactly cause for celebration in his office.
Still, the self-described “eternal optimist” says he prefers to see the luxury retailer’s decision to leave Ottawa after 78 years, including 37 years on Sparks Street, as an opportunity rather than a defeat.
“There are some negatives with the Holt Renfrew closing, but I also do think that what we’ve been working on for the last two years … I think you’re going to see a lot of the new retail and the new storefronts be built around that,” he says. “I wouldn’t say we’ve completely turned the corner, but we’ve certainly made a lot of progress in rejuvenating Sparks Street and hopefully creating something new.”
Currently, his group’s responsibility for promoting businesses at the mall extends only from Elgin to Bank streets. Starting in March, the BIA will add 240 Sparks to its territory, and Mr. Gagne is excited about the opportunities that presents, even despite the departure of Holt Renfrew.
“I’m pretty confident that a space like that, if it’s positioned properly and they take the necessary measures to create a cluster environment for higher-end boutiques, I think 240 would be a great complement to what we’re doing and vice-versa,” he says. “That’s a huge name that’s leaving, especially when they’re expanding in other markets. Am I disappointed? One hundred per cent. But do I think we’re going in the right direction to identify that next opportunity? Yes – very much so.”
Plagued by empty storefronts and often a virtual ghost town after office workers go home for the day, Sparks Street has long battled a perception as a retail wasteland. Holt Renfrew’s decision to bolt from the area doesn’t help matters – indeed, longtime retail consultant Richard Talbot told the National Post the store’s location is a “disaster” because Sparks is a pedestrian mall without easy access by car.
Barry Nabatian, director of the market research division at Shore Tanner & Associates, says he thinks Holt Renfrew “regretted” not moving to the Rideau Centre when it had the chance. He says the current location, one of the chain’s smallest stores at 35,000 square feet, needed millions in upgrades to compete with the likes of Nordstrom, which will open its Rideau Centre outlet next March, and Holt Renfrew probably just decided it wasn’t worth it.
“Ottawa was supporting it, but because of Nordstrom and a number of other retail changes, I think Holt Renfrew came to the conclusion that the status quo isn’t working for (them),” Mr. Nabatian says.
Still, he says “there are a number of businesses that would do extremely well” in the space, among them lower-end retailers such as Winners or Mark’s, an electronics or similar consumer goods store or even a supermarket. The growing number of relatively affluent consumers moving into nearby condos makes Sparks Street an increasingly attractive option for retailers of all kinds, Mr. Nabatian says.
“The people who are moving into these, the vast majority of them are single-person and two-person households, which means that they have got a lot of income on a per-capita basis and they are the ones who are going to spend lots of money on fancy cheeses, chocolates, high-end retail, fancy services, spas, things like that,” he says.
“I think Sparks Street has really tremendous potential. I think it’s really in a good position for a renewal.”
Mr. Gagne says he hasn’t heard of any potential new tenants eyeing Holt Renfrew’s space yet. A spokesperson for Public Works, which owns 240 Sparks, told OBJ in an e-mail last week the federal department “is currently reviewing the options for the soon to be vacant space, including looking for a new retail tenant(s).”
In the meantime, Mr. Gagne says he has plenty to cheer about in his ongoing mission to revitalize the pedestrian mall.
Toronto-based restaurant and bar chain Bier Markt is set to open its first Ottawa location in part of the space formerly occupied by Zellers at 156 Sparks, and Mr. Gagne says a “major Canadian retailer” is preparing to take over another 20,000-30,000 square feet of space at the site later this fall.
In addition, renowned chef Matthew Carmichael, the man behind trendy establishments such as Restaurant 18 and Social in the Market and El Camino on Elgin Street, has confirmed he plans to launch a new restaurant in the former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building at 119 Sparks in the next year or so.
“We can never compete with the Rideau Centre, but there are things that we are able to do,” Mr. Gagne says. “We just have to do a better job of targeting the right businesses that could be successful here. We offer something a bit different than the other destinations in Ottawa, and I really think we’re starting to realize what we want to be when we grow up.”
meanwhile, at the other end
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Well, at least the rendering accurately represents the lack of people and attractions along Sparks St. after they do this.
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