St. Laurent Shopping Centre

[Acajack]

St Laurent was sitting pretty with quite possibly the best overall potential of any mall in Ottawa but for some reason they seem to be blowing it.

Their main competitors historically have been Rideau Centre, Place d'Orléans and Les Promenades and all three of them are ramping things up. For a while it even looked like Place d'Orléans was moving towards crappy mall status (Les Promenades too) but look at them go now. Plus Trainyards has moved in on St Laurent's turf as well.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Acajack

St Laurent was sitting pretty with quite possibly the best overall potential of any mall in Ottawa but for some reason they seem to be blowing it.

Their main competitors historically have been Rideau Centre, Place d'Orléans and Les Promenades and all three of them are ramping things up. For a while it even looked like Place d'Orléans was moving towards crappy mall status (Les Promenades too) but look at them go now. Plus Trainyards has moved in on St Laurent's turf as well.

It seems to me that St. Laurent is blowing it. They had all the potential a few years ago when they announced the expansion, but lately they've smugly said they don't need to expand because they are the most profitable. Obviously they aren't thinking ahead because their profits are about to disappear. St. Laurent will be relegated from regional super centre to neighbourhood mall in a couple of years.

[1overcosc]

Honestly, I see the demise of St. Laurent as a good thing. If it becomes less profitable, Morguard will be motivated to redevelop the site into something else, and with the Confederation Line passing through, there's serious potential for something really awesome to be built here. Perhaps an urban response to the Trainyards?

It was bound to happen to at least one of the malls as east Ottawa is oversaturated with retail and has been for a while now. Like Acajack said, for a while it looked like Place was the one going out, but now it's coming back. Phase 2 LRT will benefit Place massively as it will be the transfer point between LRT & bus for practically all of Orleans save for the southernmost parts. You'll have lots of transit users deciding to pop into the mall for some shopping on their way home. Bayshore will get the same boost in the west, for the same reason.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

It was bound to happen to at least one of the malls as east Ottawa is oversaturated with retail and has been for a while now.

Is it? My understanding has been that Ottawa is statistically under-served by retail, not sure if that holds true in the east end or not?

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by gjhall

Is it? My understanding has been that Ottawa is statistically under-served by retail, not sure if that holds true in the east end or not?

The city as a whole is, but this specific part of the city isn't. You've got Trainyards, St. Laurent mall, Place d'Orleans, Gloucester Centre, plus all the box stores all along Cyrville, Innes, Ogilvie, and St. Laurent. That's a lot for an area with a population of about 200k.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The city as a whole is, but this specific part of the city isn't. You've got Trainyards, St. Laurent mall, Place d'Orleans, Gloucester Centre, plus all the box stores all along Cyrville, Innes, Ogilvie, and St. Laurent. That's a lot for an area with a population of about 200k.

So where does that land on a leasable sq ft per 100,000 residents ratio? Compared to the region/city as a whole?

[eltodesukane]

[QUOTE=1overcosc;6593677]Honestly, I see the demise of St. Laurent as a good thing. If it becomes less profitable, Morguard will be motivated to redevelop the site into something else, and with the Confederation Line passing through, there's serious potential for something really awesome to be built here. Perhaps an urban response to the Trainyards?
QUOTE]
It's too late for a response to Trainyards.
St. Laurent Mall missed the boat.
All the good stores are already at Trainyards.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by gjhall

Is it? My understanding has been that Ottawa is statistically under-served by retail,

I wonder if this still holds true. There has been a lot of catching up in recent years.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I would imagine that the St-Laurent Sears is fairly profitable. Lower middle class store in a lower middle class area. Seems to always be quite busy. And of course, the Carlingwood location is one of the most profitable (some other poster said at some point about 2 month ago).

Regardless, the demise of Sears in inevitable. The mall's original anchor is likely months away from shutting its doors for the last time.

Now who might take up the space? I don't know how big the store is, but I suspect it might get chopped up and handed over to several retailers. Possibly H&M and other retailers that have recently established themselves in Ottawa.

Possibly Simon's might opt to open a third store in the Ottawa region. It wouldn't be that far fetched: they have 4 locations in the Montréal area and three around Québec City.

St. Laurent to the Rideau Centre is a distance of about 5 km - or less than 10 minutes by train once the LRT opens. They are the closest major malls from each other. That is another big factor as well.

The LRT will likely be beneficial for large-scale development, but perhaps not retail development given the short distance to Rideau (if it was 30 minutes away, it would be beneficial).

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

St. Laurent to the Rideau Centre is a distance of about 5 km - or less than 10 minutes by train once the LRT opens. They are the closest major malls from each other. That is another big factor as well.

The LRT will likely be beneficial for large-scale development, but perhaps not retail development given the short distance to Rideau (if it was 30 minutes away, it would be beneficial).

Good point and ironically LRT could be bad for the St. Laurent Centre. Unlike a bus, once on a train a few more stops is insignificant. e.g east end kids may no longer be dropped off at St. Laurent but instead at a further east LRT stop and head directly to Rideau Centre/Byward Market.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

St. Laurent to the Rideau Centre is a distance of about 5 km - or less than 10 minutes by train once the LRT opens. They are the closest major malls from each other. That is another big factor as well.

The LRT will likely be beneficial for large-scale development, but perhaps not retail development given the short distance to Rideau (if it was 30 minutes away, it would be beneficial).

Which is why I'm hopeful that Morguard will respond by redeveloping the mall as a mixed-use site. The area has big potential for office development, what with its amazing transportation links (both car and transit), and proximity to both downtown & the industrial area, so that would probably be the main component of any redevelopment, with some residential & retail.

Morguard traditionally is one of the most market-responsive developers; if one of their properties is headed downhill, they do something about it, rather than selling it off or just letting it die.

[J.OT13]

Another factor is the potential development of the new Boarder Services that are planned for the land across the Queensway. This will be a huge new client base directly connected to the mall.

[DEWLine]

CBSA is thinking of moving out of the tower attached to the OPL main branch?

Actually, because of the OPL main branch being on the ground floors, maybe that's not so much of a surprise to learn. Unless a change of Parliamentary management comes next year, security "concerns" could prompt a departure for more self-isolation-capable grounds.

[Harley613]

This thread needs to be moved to 'Downtown and City of Ottawa'

The lipstick application is moving along quite rapidly now:


The new floors look old fashioned...Definitely an improvement over what was there, but nowhere near as clean an modern as Rideau or Bayshore. They look cheap.


The entrances are all being redone

[borninthe70s]

I was there a few weeks ago and got a pic of the old sweeping ceiling with sky light that's been roofed over. I think there were two or three of these sky lights throughout the mall. They've been covered up for at least a couple of decades.

[Harley613]

Fascinating! I've always wondered what is under 'the wave' on the roof. I didn't realize it had windows on top at one point.

[movebyleap]

I remember those skylights well from when I was a kid. I always thought it was a pity that they got covered up.

[drawarc]

Wonder why it was sealed off like that.

[borninthe70s]

The ceilings used to be quite high throughout the main hall. Gave the mall an more open airy feel. I thought it looked neat as a kid. I agree that's too bad they covered up this modern bit of design with a generic dropped ceiling in the early 90s.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by borninthe70s

The ceilings used to be quite high throughout the main hall. Gave the mall an more open airy feel. I thought it looked neat as a kid. I agree that's too bad they covered up this modern bit of design with a generic dropped ceiling in the early 90s.

I remember that as a kid as well.

Also noticed in my most recent visit the signs in the mall that warn workers that heavy skids aren't permitted there as they could damage the floors. I wondered if these signs would be permanent - looks a bit dumb if it's not just temporary as I've never seen this anywhere else in the world.