The Retail Thread

[Policy Wonk]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

Good, cuz in its current state, it's a dumpy dead mall! I hope the whole feel of the mall will be improved with the redesign.

The proposed site plan shows Sears as an anchor still, although they've been gone from there for some time, and I see that nobody else has moved in there. That's a big space to fill! Walmart obviously will have a lot to say about who should occupy that space, so pretty much guaranteed it won't be Target.

If you're going from the one I posted ages ago, that is has changed. That whole end of the mall is being torn down.

[Rusty van Reddick]

great to see a proper gym (vs yoga or pilates or spinning studio) on- erm, just off- 17th.

[RyLucky]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Some tenant info I haven't seen posted about the existing Mt. Royal Village mall redevelopment.


Also mentions 250,000sq ft for the condo tower. This should be around 300 units or 40 stories.



http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1294...pment-projects

Wow. That's tall. Especially if it's above retail and/or office. My calculator tells me that you assume an average of 833 sqft/unit (which sounds about right to me, or just a tad bit low if there are a lot of penthouses and/or townhouses) and 7.5 units/floor. To me that suggests either twins or a much wider base of residential units (ie. ~6 stories over the entire development) with a tower on top. Or, most likely I think, it could be a single tower around ~30 stories and ~10 units/floor (~300 units total). I'm skeptical that we'll get 40 stories there, but you never know! Maybe 30 residential + retail levels.

[Spring2008]

I would think the average units/floor would be closer to 8, so close to 40floors.All depends on the final design though.



From Retail-Insider's Blog. Holt-Renfrew expanding again to become the second largest in the country. 4th floor addition includes a new restaurant:

CALGARY'S HOLT RENFREW TO OPEN A FOURTH FLOOR

Holt Renfrew, Calgary. Photo: Darrell Bateman

Sources tell us that Holt Renfrew will be opening the fourth floor of its Calgary store for retail, including a new restaurant and a combined mens/women's shopping area called 'Holts Commons'. The fourth floor restaurant is said to open in early 2014.

When Holt's opened its Calgary store in October 2009, it left its fourth floor shuttered so as not to 'overwhelm' the Calgary market with a store more than triple the size of its previous Calgary store. When its huge Vancouver replacement-store opened in 2007, sales struggled as shoppers adjusted to the new, larger (Neiman Marcus-like) format. Holt's subsequently figured its Calgary location should 'graduate' to a larger size as it saw sales increase.



The 4th floor of Calgary's Holt Renfrew is said to open early 2014

On opening day, the 25,494 square foot fourth floor of Calgary's Holt Renfrew laid vacant while shoppers were introduced to the stunning 121,400 square foot store below. When the fourth floor opens next year, Calgary's Holt Renfrew will be the second largest in the chain at 146,887 square feet (second only to the Toronto flagship store). Vancouver's Holt Renfrew will fall back to be third largest at about 140,400 square feet.

More changes will be coming to Calgary's Holt Renfrew store. We'll be announcing them periodically as it grows into its enlarged store space.

http://www.retail-insider.com/2013/1...ourth.html?m=1

[Spring2008]

I hope Sasks opens at the downtown Bay. There's certainly some room to work with at 450,000 sq ft. A Sasks addition, plus the new top floor conference space, and podium level restaurant/martini bar opening there this year would make this area a big attraction.

WILL SAKS FIFTH AVENUE OPEN IN CALGARY?

Hudson's Bay, Downtown Calgary. Photo: Google Streetview screenshot

Saks Fifth Avenue could open in Calgary, and it could open either downtown or at the Chinook Centre. A Calgary store could follow Saks openings in Vancouver and Toronto, which are expected to open first according to HBC CEO Richard Baker.

Calgary cold be considered a prime city for Saks Fifth Avenue. It has over 1 million people. Salaries are high and income and other taxes are relatively low compared to the rest of Canada.

We would expect a Calgary Saks store to be, at least initially, located within existing Hudson's Bay store space. More specifically, we'd likely see Saks either within the flagship Downtown Calgary Hudson's Bay store, or somehow integrated into the current Hudson's Bay store, now under renovation, at Chinook Centre. Locating within existing Hudson's Bay space would be much more cost-effective for Saks as HBC owns its Downtown Calgary store and has an excellent long-term lease at its Chinook Centre store.

As an aside, we're not sure if Hudson's Bay's opening one or more "Saks departments" within its existing stores would be a good idea. Saks stores are noted for their customer service and attractive store interiors. Hudson's Bay stores have not traditionally been known for either. The Saks brand could be damaged if it is placed too commonly within existing Bay stores, and we think segregating the two would be better for the Saks brand. With Richard Baker's recent assertions that Hudson's Bay would become "Canada's Harrod's" with the inclusion of Saks, we're concerned that random Saks spaces within Hudson's Bay stores could seriously harm Saks Fifth Avenue's image both to Canadian shoppers as well as internationally.



Hudson's Bay, Downtown Calgary. Photo: Google Streetview screenshot

Saks Fifth Avenue, Downtown Calgary:

The Downtown Calgary Hudson's Bay store is about 450,000 square feet over six levels. Its 75,000 square foot floorplates allow for some flexibility with the possible inclusion of Saks occupying one or more floors. Saks could also possibly occupy some of several floors or even include smaller "Saks departments" throughout the downtown store.

The Bay store faces several challenges for Saks. It's separated from Downtown Calgary's main shopping Centre, The Core, by an adjacent shopping plaza called Scotia Centre. Scotia lacks the attractive interiors of the neighbouring Core, and its connection to Hudson's Bay lacks both attractiveness and convenience of entry. Calgary's downtown retail is dominated by above-ground pedestrian walkways and because of this, a Saks within the downtown Bay could be less than ideal.

On the flip side, bringing Saks into the Downtown Calgary Bay could bring more shoppers eastward from The Core. A benefit to the location of Downtown Calgary's Bay is that it is located across the street from the upscale shopping strip called Fashion Central, which includes upscale retailers such as Wolford. Saks could be an interesting addition if located across from Wolford at the corner of 8th Avenue Southwest and 1st Street Southwest. Furthermore, Saks could also increase the demand to remodel Scotia Centre to include better retailing, services, access and interiors.


Wolford at Fashion Central, Calgary. Hudson's Bay is visible in the right of the photo. Photo: Google Streetview screenshot

A Saks in Downtown Calgary would join a 147,000 square foot Holt Renfrew store and would compete with a 31,000 square foot Harry Rosen store in the menswear category.

http://www.retail-insider.com/2013/0...lgary.html?m=1

[para transit fellow]

Century Downs is the new name of the Balzac race track project.

http://centurydowns.cnty.com

Rocky View County approved their recent development permit application and construction gets underway in 2014

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1297...alberta-canada

This news release from Dec 2013 has a bit of the recent acquisition and merger history
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1273...a?relation=org

[lineman]

I love that horse racing is making a comeback in our area. It's just too bad that it's out in Balzac.

[Jimby]

I noticed a bunch of flags and banners along Blackfoot for meadowsmile.
At one point they had planned to have high rise condos along the escarpment, so I guess we are getting low rise retail/automotive sales instead and maybe a hotel.

[lineman]

I believe that's where the Ferrari/Maserati dealer is relocating.

[Joborule]

Noticed that Pacific Place is apparently going to get a facelift for this year.

[Spring2008]

Fuck ya, looking forward to seeing even more of these and Ferrari's on the street!!

Lamborghini plans Calgary dealership opening this year at super sports car centre

A model poses in front of the new Lamborghini Huracan during the media day of the 84th Geneva International Motor Show, Switzerland, in early March.
A+
BY MARIO TONEGUZZI, CALGARY HERALD MARCH 12, 2014
CALGARY - Lamborghini, one of the most luxurious sports cars in the world, is expected to open a dealership in Calgary by the end of this year as part of a group of other high-end auto sellers in a super sports car centre.

The Herald has learned that Lamborghini will find a home - along with Ferrari/Maserati, Porsche and other luxury auto dealers- at the Meadows Mile project at the corner of Heritage Drive S.W. and Blackfoot Trail.

Asgar Virji, owner of Lamborghini Vancouver, confirmed the company plans to build a dealership at the site with construction to begin in the next 30 to 40 days.

“We should be up and running by the end of the year,” said Virji.

The dealership will be about 17,500 square feet, selling the luxury vehicles which range in price from $260,000 to $550,000.

“We orchestrated a long time ago to try and work with the developer to create a super sports car venue,” said Virji.

“It’s something that’s been in the works for four years . . . We’ve been coming to the (Calgary) car show for six years and we’ve been remotely managing our customers and service and all that stuff for many years to try and build market confidence. As Calgary’s economy also changes and the city grows up, one of the difficulties is in the past we just didn’t have enough product from Lamborghini to set up shop . . . They also recognize Calgary as an important market . . . There’s viability here with some legs.”

The 27-acre parcel of land at Meadows Mile is 80 per cent sold out.

Jaydean Boldt, director of development and planning for Meadows Mile, said the project will include up to six or seven high-end auto dealers, a Holiday Inn as well as a premium boutique longer-stay hotel, and retail, restaurant and office space.

“It’s the follow-up project to the runaway success of Deerfoot Meadows,” said Boldt. “This is going to be a premium shopping experience that’s going to be catered to high-end vehicles . . . All these brands are going to be quite the statement for the affluence of Calgary to some degree. There is also a few available land development opportunities for sale.

The developer is Focus Equities, owned by entrepreneur Ken Mariash.

He said the name of the project combines the past success of the Calgary Flames and the Red Mile and the success of the Deerfoot Meadows project, which is situated just east of the Meadows Mile up on the hill.

“There’s lots of life in that part of the world and hopefully up there with the exciting car part we can add two or three restaurants. That would be perfect,” said Mariash.

Carlo Galasso, dealer principal of Ferrari Maserati of Alberta, said he’s hoping the dealership will be open in 15 to 20 months.

“We’re trying to create more of a community gathering place for auto enthusiasts,” said Galasso of the four-storey, 50,000-square-foot building that will cost $15-20 million. “More like a museum than a dealership.”

He also said a “mystery brand” is part of the project.

Craig Shostak, who with his brother Doug owns several dealerships in Calgary, said they are hoping to open a Porsche dealership at that location by July of next year. It will be about 30,000 to 36,000 square feet.

“It’s one of the few areas of the city that’s actually zoned for automotive,” he said. “We outgrew the site that we’re on now on Macleod Trail and options in the city where to build a car dealership are few and far between. It’s a central location.”

Shostak said he’s not sure what will happen to the existing Porsche dealership building on Macleod Trail.

He said it was “purely accidental” that the dealership is moving to a location that will house other high-end auto sellers but the synergy of having them together will definitely help exposure and sales.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/touch/s...tml?id=9610243

[Wigs]

Lamborghini plans Calgary dealership opening this year at super sports car centre

So Calgary is now officially a major city in North America by status symbol standards

[Me&You]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Fuck ya, looking forward to seeing even more of these and Ferrari's on the street!!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/touch/s...tml?id=9610243

Great that the Herald has "learned" this info - it was only on a couple massive placards at last year's Lamborghini stand at the auto show. MTA is the architect, but they have a new "coming soon" website and I can't find any past renderings.

The "mystery" brand at the Ferrari dealership will be Alfa Romeo.

I guess what the Herald could have "learned" is that after YEARS, everyone finally came to an agreement. Despite what was said, this was far from a pure coincidence and more a case of "all or none".

[Spring2008]

Originally Posted by WIGS

So Calgary is now officially a major city in North America by status symbol standards

Hey they go real well with new billion dollar tower complexes and patio weather.

[RicoLance21]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Hey they go real well with new billion dollar tower complexes and patio weather.

I'd like to see a Lambo emerging out of the Riverhouse parkade. That would be sweet!

[flamesfan101]

A Canadian Tire and a Cineplex in Victoria park would really help round out this community. As a resident it would be great to be able to pick up the the kinds of household items that aren't sold at Shoppers and currently require me to get in my car. It would also be great to not have to walk all the way to eau claire to see a movie. I think this project would really add a lot to the livability here even if it isn't enough of a "mixed use" for the city

[fusili]

Originally Posted by flamesfan101

A Canadian Tire and a Cineplex in Victoria park would really help round out this community. As a resident it would be great to be able to pick up the the kinds of household items that aren't sold at Shoppers and currently require me to get in my car. It would also be great to not have to walk all the way to eau claire to see a movie. I think this project would really add a lot to the livability here even if it isn't enough of a "mixed use" for the city

This was a cool proposal. But it is only 3.6 FAR. Even without bonusing, this could be 5.0 FAR pure commercial and 8.0 FAR mixed use. They can get up to 12.0 FAR with bonusing and incorporating residential. Put simply, you could put 150 stories of residential towers on this site within the allowable density. Anyone want to see 3 50 storey towers?

[CorporateWhore]

Originally Posted by fusili

Anyone want to see 3 50 storey towers?

Meh, not really. I kind of prefer the Beltline to be more of a mid-rise urban community. It just feels much more friendly and human-scaled that way...40-50 story towers are cool from far away and all, but walking amongst them is always kind of of a crappy experience (usually some combo of windy, dark, and cold).

[Full Mountain]

Originally Posted by fusili

This was a cool proposal. But it is only 3.6 FAR. Even without bonusing, this could be 5.0 FAR pure commercial and 8.0 FAR mixed use. They can get up to 12.0 FAR with bonusing and incorporating residential. Put simply, you could put 150 stories of residential towers on this site within the allowable density. Anyone want to see 3 50 storey towers?

I'll take 1 150 tower please!

Definitely agree that site could be utilized so much better, but at the same time having a theatre and Canadian Tire DT would be a boon for the area.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by CorporateWhore

Meh, not really. I kind of prefer the Beltline to be more of a mid-rise urban community. It just feels much more friendly and human-scaled that way...40-50 story towers are cool from far away and all, but walking amongst them is always kind of of a crappy experience (usually some combo of windy, dark, and cold).

Sorry, I meant three 50 storey buildings on top of the proposed 4 storey podium. They can be stepped back 6m or so. Other than the residential lobbies (which can be made fairly internal), the impact on the existing building is minimal. Well, other than perhaps a couple more parking levels.