Rideau Centre Expansion | Completed

[UrbOttawa]

Noticed yesterday that TD is taking over the former Paramount space on Rideau Street. Going from 2 restaurants with potential patios on Rideau to a blank storefront weed shop and a bank...

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

Noticed yesterday that TD is taking over the former Paramount space on Rideau Street. Going from 2 restaurants with potential patios on Rideau to a blank storefront weed shop and a bank...

Well that's disappointing.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

Noticed yesterday that TD is taking over the former Paramount space on Rideau Street. Going from 2 restaurants with potential patios on Rideau to a blank storefront weed shop and a bank...

The bank is at least somewhat welcoming unlike Canabis though it is our fault as I guess we are not allowed to see inside them. I don't think the walk in traffic is anything to write home about at this point.

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

The bank is at least somewhat welcoming unlike Canabis though it is our fault as I guess we are not allowed to see inside them. I don't think the walk in traffic is anything to write home about at this point.

I wonder if this means that the TD branch at Rideau & Friel is moving to the Rideau Centre. I would not be surprised if this were the case. That means another splendid redevelopment site opens up on Rideau Street (at Friel).

As an aside, the Rideau-Friel branch is regularly visited by a Garda truck that parks on the sidewalk so that the driver can be 1.5 metres from the entrance, rather than 5 metres if he used the parking lot next to the building...

[SL123]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

I wonder if this means that the TD branch at Rideau & Friel is moving to the Rideau Centre. I would not be surprised if this were the case. That means another splendid redevelopment site opens up on Rideau Street (at Friel).

As an aside, the Rideau-Friel branch is regularly visited by a Garda truck that parks on the sidewalk so that the driver can be 1.5 metres from the entrance, rather than 5 metres if he used the parking lot next to the building...

it was sold to a developer in 2020, but he had no immediate plan for redevelopment

Rideau Street development site sells for $3.25M
https://obj.ca/article/rideau-street-development-site-sells-325m

[jchamoun79]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

This looks very permanent. Like it's being converted to offices or another non mall facing space. Overall the mall looks like it is struggling or is it just the post Covid cobwebs?

Chapters/Indigo will be moving into that space, with a street-facing entrance where Forever 21 used to be.

[DarthVader_1961]

Originally Posted by jchamoun79

Chapters/Indigo will be moving into that space, with a street-facing entrance where Forever 21 used to be.

Is this for real about Chapters moving?

[Harley613]

That would be a fantastic move and would free up the old Chapters building for much needed redevelopment.

[TransitZilla]

Indigo moving to Rideau Centre would be great. I'm sure this is being done with redevelopment of the existing store in mind.

It 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 about Paramount being replaced by a bank. I never went, but I think Paramount is pretty popular in Toronto. I think there is still one in business in Barrhaven- not sure why it didn't work out on Rideau..?

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

It 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 about Paramount being replaced by a bank. I never went, but I think Paramount is pretty popular in Toronto. I think there is still one in business in Barrhaven- not sure why it didn't work out on Rideau..?

Analyzing the reason for the first might explain the answer to the second.

[MichelKazan]

Originally Posted by jchamoun79

Chapters/Indigo will be moving into that space, with a street-facing entrance where Forever 21 used to be.

I think it will be great to not have to go outside to get to Chapters while shopping at Rideau.

But is this new space even big enough compared to the current space?

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Analyzing the reason for the first might explain the answer to the second.

pandemic, convoy protest, work from home particularly amongst downtown employees, parking issues downtown, street closures and restrictions and transit coverage without a transfer.

I would like to see a map of all-day transit coverage from downtown before and after October 2019. Phase 2 will improve the situation, but it will still be much less coverage than before 2019.

I tried going downtown before and after 2019 for evening events. Post 2019, it involved the dreaded 30 minute wait at Hurdman. From my experience, transit has become increasingly unreliable in the last few years, if your trip involves a bus. So, a suburban destination with free parking becomes much more attractive.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Analyzing the reason for the first might explain the answer to the second.

There's a lot of businesses downtown and elsewhere that seem to do quite well without my patronage. I don't think I'm that special.

For lrt's friend- I agree that frequency should be better, but most local routes have always been 30 minutes in the evenings, so that potential wait is the same with the O-Train or the Transitway.

In my recent trips downtown the market has seemed pretty busy but I suppose that is more recent. I guess Paramount at Rideau just had terrible timing.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

There's a lot of businesses downtown and elsewhere that seem to do quite well without my patronage. I don't think I'm that special.

For lrt's friend- I agree that frequency should be better, but most local routes have always been 30 minutes in the evenings, so that potential wait is the same with the O-Train or the Transitway.

In my recent trips downtown the market has seemed pretty busy but I suppose that is more recent. I guess Paramount at Rideau just had terrible timing.

Some routes had evening service cut in 2019, including the route I was using.

[jchamoun79]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

I guess Paramount at Rideau just had terrible timing.

It also wasn't that good, in my opinion. I went a couple of times and found it to be mediocre at best.

[CanadaGoose]

Originally Posted by MichelKazan

I think it will be great to not have to go outside to get to Chapters while shopping at Rideau.

But is this new space even big enough compared to the current space?

I estimate the current one is 20 000 sq ft (Based of google maps measurements)

Urban Planet will add 16 000 sq ft (4000 level 1, 12000 level 2), and Old Navy would add 16 789 sq ft.

Possibly up to 32000 sq ft.

I'd assume they would adjust the space a bit and reallocate some of Old Navy to the old Pink space.

[OTSkyline]

Really interested to see plans for a redeveloped The Bay. We all know it's coming. That space is huge and prime real estate in the centre of our city. Would love to see a smaller but renovated Bay, new animated ground floor (on both the Rideau & Market sides) and potentially a new tower on the corner with some residential or hotel?

[MichelKazan]

Originally Posted by CanadaGoose

I estimate the current one is 20 000 sq ft (Based of google maps measurements)

20,000 square feet. Is that one floor alone or did you take the second floor into consideration? Keeping in mind, the second floor of the existing Chapters has a big open space to down below.

[MichelKazan]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Really interested to see plans for a redeveloped The Bay. We all know it's coming. That space is huge and prime real estate in the centre of our city. Would love to see a smaller but renovated Bay, new animated ground floor (on both the Rideau & Market sides) and potentially a new tower on the corner with some residential or hotel?

Pretty sure the store was renovated and modernized inside not too long ago.

Personally, I like the big store. It's in line with the big downtown stores in Toronto and Montreal.

[RuralCitizen]

I like the big store too. I don't understand how The Bay is sitting on some of the best real estate in every city and still be loosing money. Although they lease in some cities, I find it stupid when they sell their properties to reduce the size of their stores.

To me, when you own the best pieces of land, you should do everything possible to keep it. The potential for revenue is gigantic. They should just use their land better to diversify/complement their current stores. They still can reduce their stores, but they shouldn't sell them.

One example of service they could provide is a Daycare. Some people could drop their kids there before doing their shopping. Having people walk in the store just for the daycare increases your foot traffic and potential for sales in your own store.

Malls are slowly dying because of the competition with online shopping. The way for survival is to provide an experience that isn't matched online. It is about bringing community services and providing a social experience. the downfall of shopping centers started when malls became purely a commercial space, doing away with it's public amenities. Maybe we should try to bring back some of Victor Gruen's ideologies, which brought the initial success of shopping malls.