General Retail News

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by RTWAP

Are they getting rid of the newer buildings (restaurants?) in the NE corner of the property?

I know IKEA currently has other space in that area so I expect they'll be consolidating into the single large location and freeing up some warehouse space on Morrison.

The restaurants (Montana's & Milestones) and bank (Scotia) are definitely staying. The buildings aren't shown on the rendering above, but you can see their parking lots just to the bottom left of the new IKEA building.

In fact I submitted a comment as part of the site plan control since the sidewalks between the IKEA and restaurants weren't initially very good on the site plan; they were subsequently improved.

Also, the Chapters/Globo building is staying; it is also not drawn on the above rendering.

The new IKEA will have underground parking; the building is oriented such that the main driveway through the site heads directly into the garage.

[RTWAP]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

The restaurants (Montana's & Milestones) and bank (Scotia) are definitely staying. The buildings aren't shown on the rendering above, but you can see their parking lots just to the bottom left of the new IKEA building.

In fact I submitted a comment as part of the site plan control since the sidewalks between the IKEA and restaurants weren't initially very good on the site plan; they were subsequently improved.

Also, the Chapters/Globo building is staying; it is also not drawn on the above rendering.

The new IKEA will have underground parking; the building is oriented such that the main driveway through the site heads directly into the garage.

One concern would be the difficulty of getting out of the Chapters parking lot.

Even at non-peak times you can end up waiting a while for a gap in the traffic. And if you're behind a timid driver it's even worse. With a larger IKEA store, and perhaps more floorspace for the other tenants, the traffic situation is just going to get worse. Perhaps they'll reconfigure the main road so it has two lanes heading WB. And then introduce traffic lights so cars exiting the Chapters lot and the old IKEA lot have a chance to get out.

Maybe a traffic circle would work. I dunno.

[c_speed3108]

Struggling Herongate Mall in limbo
Last Updated: Monday, April 12, 2010 | 2:19 PM ET Comments1Recommend2
CBC News

Storekeepers and customers are worried about the future of Ottawa's Herongate Mall after redevelopment plans fell through and the mall was put up for sale.

The vacancy rate at the shopping centre sits at 40 per cent. To make matters worse, the 50,000-square-foot Convergys call centre at one end of the building closes this week, taking 800 employees and potential customers with it.

"It's going to be very bad for the business," said Nazih Ismail, who works long hours at his shawarma shop in the mall, pinched between Heron and Walkley roads in Ottawa's southeast. "We're looking for the mall to do something."

The building is currently owned by Mississauga, Ont.-based Transglobe Property Management, which bought it three years ago. The company planned to redevelop the mall by converting it into big box stores. It had just bought 1,500 apartments nearby.

"And they thought they'd buy this and improve it but…didn't realize how complicated it was," said Geoff Moore, a Thornhill, Ont.-based lawyer for the company.

Transglobe lost its financing to the recession about a year and a half ago, Moore said. Enclosed malls like Herongate don't work anymore, he added, and it's impossible to lease the space without redeveloping it.

"The stumbling block is really finding a developer that wants to invest $20 million into making this happen."
Mice, dirty washrooms reported

Meanwhile, some shopkeepers blame the mall's woes on their landlord.

Shapour Ninavaie has served coffee and muffins from his Treats franchise at Herongate for 10 years. Sales have plunged 30 per cent in the past six months, he said, and he wants to get out of his lease early, but Transglobe refuses to let him go.

He thinks his landlord is largely responsible for the mall's demise.

"We have the mouse problems, we have the fly problems, the washrooms sometimes break down and it's total chaos," he said. "The irony is we pay for the maintenance."

Louise Charette, whose husband runs a jewelry shop at the mall, said she has called Ottawa Public Health before about the bathrooms and the rodents.

City of Ottawa documents confirm that Ottawa Public Health has made multiple visits to the mall in the past year and that Ottawa Fire Services responded to complaints of blocked exits and water damage to ceilings during the same time period.

Losing mall hard for seniors

Nevertheless, some customers remain loyal and are very upset that they could soon lose their community gathering place.

Diane Lawson said her mother Gabrielle LaPrade lives at a nearby seniors' building and comes to the mall every day.

"This is her second home," Lawson said.

LaPrade, who was sitting on a bench sipping coffee and nibbling on muffins with Lawson and another one of her two daughters, said she wouldn't know what to do if the mall closed: "I think I would die."

LaPrade and her friends meet at the mall to stay cool in summer and stay warm in winter while walking and catching up with their friends or chatting with the business owners who know them by name.

Lawson said she'll pick her mother up and take her to other malls, but not all seniors have that option.

"And it's a hardship for them not to be able to go here every day. It's a really big hardship."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/04/12/ottawa-herongate-mall.html#ixzz0kubPL8Vt

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[Ottawan]

The previously proposed Herongate Mall redevelopment (essentially just ripping out the building and replacing it with a few big box stores) was a horrible, horrible waste of the site. I hope the new owners come up with some better redevelopment concept, hopefully something mixed-use and with some height. It's clear that the mall as it currently operates is no longer viable.

[rakerman]

The purple majesty that is the Murale facade





I wonder when, if ever, stores will start actually showing products in their windows again, instead of using them as blank walls and aiming (I guess) at cars driving by to notice the brand.

Since Murale is just a highend Shoppers and Shoppers always acts as if its windows are just walls, I don't hold out much hope for this particular instance.

[rakerman]

Murale is open now.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by rakerman

The purple majesty that is the Murale facade





I wonder when, if ever, stores will start actually showing products in their windows again, instead of using them as blank walls and aiming (I guess) at cars driving by to notice the brand.

Since Murale is just a highend Shoppers and Shoppers always acts as if its windows are just walls, I don't hold out much hope for this particular instance.

Interestingly, their windows are not blocked with posters etc. (a welcome change for a Shoppers brand) and you can actually see into the store. They don't have any set window displays, but there are products oriented towards the outside. The store looks pretty good though I don't really have any use for any of their million or so beauty products....my wife is pretty happy though . I definately don't like the giant white signs, some of which have NO text on them (just white). It really does not go with the existing building's style.

[rakerman]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

Interestingly, their windows are not blocked with posters etc. (a welcome change for a Shoppers brand) and you can actually see into the store. They don't have any set window displays, but there are products oriented towards the outside. The store looks pretty good though I don't really have any use for any of their million or so beauty products....my wife is pretty happy though . I definately don't like the giant white signs, some of which have NO text on them (just white). It really does not go with the existing building's style.

The sightlines into the store are pretty good, aside from the purple panels. I think the giant TV or whatever it is they have set vertically into the panel along Bank has the potential to be a bit annoying but I didn't stay long enough to see what they were showing on it.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rakerman

......

I wonder when, if ever, stores will start actually showing products in their windows again, instead of using them as blank walls and aiming (I guess) at cars driving by to notice the brand.

.......

Since that would cost money, I think it is unlikely in today's "econo-box" retail world. It makes a mockery of the term "window shopping", doesn't it?

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

Interestingly, their windows are not blocked with posters etc. (a welcome change for a Shoppers brand) and you can actually see into the store. They don't have any set window displays, but there are products oriented towards the outside. The store looks pretty good though I don't really have any use for any of their million or so beauty products....my wife is pretty happy though . I definately don't like the giant white signs, some of which have NO text on them (just white). It really does not go with the existing building's style.

I walked past the store at lunch time yesterday and also noticed the clear windows. Lots of women inside for the opening! Bank & Laurier could turn out to be a great spot for "people watching"...

[Mille Sabords]

dp

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

I walked past the store at lunch time yesterday and also noticed the clear windows. Lots of women inside for the opening! Bank & Laurier could turn out to be a great spot for "people watching"...

Yes, there are still plenty of "people" out there now as I just got home from work and I did my share of watching.....by that, I my I stared creepily at the hot women working and shopping at Murale .

[reidjr]

I had a chance and went to the kanata centrum city walk today i was impressed this is the first time i did this.With that said whats everyones take on the city walk good or bad and how would you change it.I am sorry if this is not the correct thread for this.

[waterloowarrior]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

a shoppers is proposed near Greenbank/Craig Henry

Went by the other day and this one is already open. I guess they aren't exactly complex structures. There was a bit of controversy for this one though

http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/cit.../2-ACS2009-ICS-PLA-056-38%20Elvaston.htm
http://www.stopshoppers.ca/

[adam-machiavelli]

Originally Posted by reidjr

I had a chance and went to the kanata centrum city walk today i was impressed this is the first time i did this.With that said whats everyones take on the city walk good or bad and how would you change it.I am sorry if this is not the correct thread for this.

I would tear the whole Centrum down and start again by building it with at least twice the density and connect the pedestrian routes directly to the main roads.

[rakerman]

Stroked Ego - new store opening at 224 Bank Street, selling (as far as I can tell from the Facebook page) men's watches and underpants

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ottawa-ON/Stroked-Ego/256241442374

[aesthetic]

Noticed on Craigslist this job listing from Urban Outfitters. It says they'll be opening this September. I wonder if it'll be free standing or in a mall.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by rakerman

Stroked Ego - new store opening at 224 Bank Street, selling (as far as I can tell from the Facebook page) men's watches and underpants

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ottawa-ON/Stroked-Ego/256241442374

I saw the sign the other day but wasn't sure what exactly it is. This is exactly the kind of retail additions that Bank Street so dearly needs. Hopefully, it's the first of many!

[barrist]

The new laurentian redevelopment will be anchored by a supposedly green Wal-Mart

http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100519/OTT_WalMart_100519/20100519/?hub=OttawaHome

[Cntrtwnr]

Florist to open at Bank and Florence.
Empty store at Bank and James is finally Leased...no idea what's going in yet.
Still a number of vacant shops to fill...Bank and Gladstone I would think is a prime location, and good sq/ft...for a deli perhaps.