General Retail News

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...n-former-sears-locations/article4426420/

It's confirmed that Nordstrom will be replacing Sears at the Rideau Centre.

Wow that is shocking!

One thing the Rideau Centre still should do: reconfigure the current Sears store to allow for the food court to move to the 3rd floor facing Mackenzie King Bridge, to be closer to the bridge. Any new anchor(s) could take the remainder of the space. As well, the current food court should become an additional street-facing store like Forever 21.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Wow that is shocking!

One thing the Rideau Centre still should do: reconfigure the current Sears store to allow for the food court to move to the 3rd floor facing Mackenzie King Bridge, to be closer to the bridge. Any new anchor(s) could take the remainder of the space. As well, the current food court should become an additional street-facing store like Forever 21.

Agreed.

I don't see how Nordstrom could support a space as big as this anyway. Besides, before the Rideau subway station was moved, wasn't the food court turning into an entrance? Wouldn't they have made preliminary plans to move the food court? Or will they move it to a new expansion?

I hope Nordstrom at least gives the horrible Sears façade a major, overdue facelift!

[Harley613]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...they need to gut the Sears and build a Casino/Hotel! I'll be pissed if they don't...perfect location!!!

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Wow that is shocking!

One thing the Rideau Centre still should do: reconfigure the current Sears store to allow for the food court to move to the 3rd floor facing Mackenzie King Bridge, to be closer to the bridge. Any new anchor(s) could take the remainder of the space. As well, the current food court should become an additional street-facing store like Forever 21.

Unfortunately the switch from Sears to Nordstorm is not a design/visioning exercise. It is simply about getting in a tenant that will pay higher rent then Sears with had the old bargin Eaton's lease.

[kevinbottawa]

I have mixed emotions about this. On side of the coin, Ottawa will be one of the first cities in the country to have a Nordstrom when we're usually the last to attract American retailers. On the other side of the coin, they could've first a lot of stores in that space.

I hope they do what eternallyme suggested. I also hope they open up the store to the outside by replacing the empty walls with some glass and build that high-end hotel people have been talking about in the empty space on Nicholas. They could connect it to Nordstrom somehow.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I have mixed emotions about this. On side of the coin, Ottawa will be one of the first cities in the country to have a Nordstrom when we're usually the last to attract American retailers. On the other side of the coin, they could've first a lot of stores in that space.

I hope they do what eternallyme suggested. I also hope they open up the store to the outside by replacing the empty walls with some glass and build that high-end hotel people have been talking about in the empty space on Nicholas. They could connect it to Nordstrom somehow.

"they could've first a lot of stores in that space"

Think of it this way; if they would have put a bunch of stores in there, it would have taken away from the need for an expansion (or an expansion without expansion, if you will).

As for a hotel, I'm still hopeful it will come with the expansion, opening in 2017. And I would love to see the Rideau Centre connected thru underground walkways to Arts Court (with or without the Carlton County Casino). 4 city blocks directly connected to the subway.

[jslath]

Originally Posted by Harley613

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...they need to gut the Sears and build a Casino/Hotel! I'll be pissed if they don't...perfect location!!!

Can you please elaborate as to why you would like to see a casino in Rideau Centre. Having a casino in the complex may have the unfortunate side effect of shifting disposable income from being spent in the Rideau Centre stores to being spent in a casino. Stores compete with each other for peoples' money; stores cannot compete with a casino.

This is a good move for Rideau Centre as Nordstrom is a unique high-end store and will attract people with a higher disposable income to the centre. It's all about bringing people into the centre to spend money. This hopefully will increase demand for retail space and help push the expansion forward, potentially attracting other stores such as H&M. Also, this also may finally force the Bay (which is positioning itself to be a higher-end store) to start renovating its space to compete.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by jslath

Can you please elaborate as to why you would like to see a casino in Rideau Centre. Having a casino in the complex may have the unfortunate side effect of shifting disposable income from being spent in the Rideau Centre stores to being spent in a casino. Stores compete with each other for peoples' money; stores cannot compete with a casino.

This is a good move for Rideau Centre as Nordstrom is a unique high-end store and will attract people with a higher disposable income to the centre. It's all about bringing people into the centre to spend money. This hopefully will increase demand for retail space and help push the expansion forward, potentially attracting other stores such as H&M. Also, this also may finally force the Bay (which is positioning itself to be a higher-end store) to start renovating its space to compete.

What store could fit in the current food court space? It looks to be about 20,000 square feet.

One possibility would be to renovate the ENTIRE Mackenzie King Bridge facade. Since the entrance to Nordstrom (which would have a portion of the 3rd floor) would be at the far side, while the front part would lead into the new (much larger) food court. Nordstrom would get the entire 4th floor and the eastern parts of the 2nd and 3rd. The western part of the 2nd floor could be opened up to additional retailers?

I strongly oppose a casino in the downtown area, due to the increased crime potential. I would personally keep it at Rideau Carleton, while making a deal to ensure that some benefits to the horse racing community is made, even if the province hates the idea.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

What store could fit in the current food court space? It looks to be about 20,000 square feet.

One possibility would be to renovate the ENTIRE Mackenzie King Bridge facade. Since the entrance to Nordstrom (which would have a portion of the 3rd floor) would be at the far side, while the front part would lead into the new (much larger) food court. Nordstrom would get the entire 4th floor and the eastern parts of the 2nd and 3rd. The western part of the 2nd floor could be opened up to additional retailers?

I strongly oppose a casino in the downtown area, due to the increased crime potential. I would personally keep it at Rideau Carleton, while making a deal to ensure that some benefits to the horse racing community is made, even if the province hates the idea.

I'm not a fan of a Casino and I definetly don't want it in either the CBD, Market or Rideau area. I think they should have gotten their act together back in the 80s and 90s. Gatineau beat them to it, so too bad.

[kevinbottawa]

I really hoped the Rideau Centre expansion would've included a new Holt Renfrew on Rideau Street, I guess that's not gonna happen. One rumour was that the empty parking lot and the Ogilvie building would be home to luxury retailers. I don't think that's happening with Nordstrom coming.

[Nepean]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'm not a fan of a Casino and I definetly don't want it in either the CBD, Market or Rideau area. I think they should have gotten their act together back in the 80s and 90s. Gatineau beat them to it, so too bad.

I agree with you. A casino in downtown Ottawa would be a disaster, as it would effectively cutoff part of downtown to non-gamblers.

I like poker and have gone to the Hull casino several times. However, I also know that a lot of people dislike gambling, and that if a casino is put anywhere in downtown Ottawa these folks will stop going to that area.

Casinos only work if you isolate them, e.g. the Montreal Casino on Île Notre-Dame, the Gatineau casino which has a buffer area, or cities like Las Vegas, Reno or Atlantic City that are adult playgrounds. But to place a casino in the middle of a normal urban community, that is just stupid.

Again, I like playing cards and sometimes frequent casinos. However, I also know that I am part of a larger community, and that we shouldn't implement urban plans that exclude non-gamblers from parts of their own downtown.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Agreed.

I don't see how Nordstrom could support a space as big as this anyway. Besides, before the Rideau subway station was moved, wasn't the food court turning into an entrance? Wouldn't they have made preliminary plans to move the food court? Or will they move it to a new expansion?

I hope Nordstrom at least gives the horrible Sears façade a major, overdue facelift!

nordstrom stores are usually pretty big, most of the seattle area ones are 3 floors, the downtown flagship is about 4 floors

i am not familiar with rideau centre space but one of the floors if available could be the nordstrom rack

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

nordstrom stores are usually pretty big, most of the seattle area ones are 3 floors, the downtown flagship is about 4 floors

i am not familiar with rideau centre space but one of the floors if available could be the nordstrom rack

I guess your right. From Wikipedia;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordstrom

At 383,000 square feet (35,600 m2), the downtown Seattle location is the chain's largest store. By contrast, the smallest Nordstrom store (as of September 2008) opened in 1980 in Salem, Oregon and has a total area of just under 72,000 square feet (6,700 m2).

With Rideau Centre's Sears at 240,000, it would be mid-sized.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

I really hoped the Rideau Centre expansion would've included a new Holt Renfrew on Rideau Street, I guess that's not gonna happen. One rumour was that the empty parking lot and the Ogilvie building would be home to luxury retailers. I don't think that's happening with Nordstrom coming.

Well, they would still have the opportunity to expand out into the parking lot and Ogilvy building, and yes I agree that would be good to be moved over...a lot more business potential at Rideau Street than Sparks Street.

[kevinbottawa]

There's a website for the Bayshore redevelopment. That mall's gonna look nice. Can't wait to shop there.

http://www.bayshoreredevelopment.com

[kevinbottawa]

Here's one of the renderings.

[J.OT13]

That is pretty nice.

[kevinbottawa]

According to the Globe & Mail, Nordstrom is opening its first Canadian stores in 2015.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...tores-by-2015/article4537579/?cmpid=rss1

I wonder how Cadillac Fairview will use the Sears space at the Rideau Centre until then. Hopefully they move some stores/the food court there temporarily until the expansion is done so they can improve the shopping experience along Rideau Street.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

According to the Globe & Mail, Nordstrom is opening its first Canadian stores in 2015.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...tores-by-2015/article4537579/?cmpid=rss1

I wonder how Cadillac Fairview will use the Sears space at the Rideau Centre until then. Hopefully they move some stores/the food court there temporarily until the expansion is done so they can improve the shopping experience along Rideau Street.

Likely 2-3 years of renos and modernization.

[J.OT13]

Nordstrom may not arrive at the Rideau Centre until 2015

http://www.openfile.ca/ottawa/blog/2012/nordstrom-may-not-arrive-rideau-centre-until-2015