St. Laurent Shopping Centre - Page 8

JM1 · #**141** Posted **Jul 9, 2013, 1:32 PM**

Is the planned shift of Coventry road part of the mix as well?

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster

Not sure if this means anything, but I believe some of the stores around where the expansion was supposed to happen (Bluenotes, West 49, etc) have either closed or moved to other locations in the mall.

J.OT13 · #**142** Posted **Jul 9, 2013, 4:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster

Not sure if this means anything, but I believe some of the stores around where the expansion was supposed to happen (Bluenotes, West 49, etc) have either closed or moved to other locations in the mall.

Bluenotes? It's been in the same spot for at least a decade.

Anyway, I don't see it expands anytime soon. The Ottawa economy is pretty shaky, the other big three malls (Rideau, Bayshore, Promenades) are already expanding or in the midst of expanding, condos aren't yet desirable in that area and we have, for the first time in years, an overload of office space. Although, cheap suburban office space might get snapped up faster than Downtown.

toaster · #**143** Posted **Jul 9, 2013, 11:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Bluenotes? It's been in the same spot for at least a decade.

I believe that location (near the Sears entrance) has closed about a month ago.

J.OT13 · #**144** Posted **Jul 9, 2013, 11:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster

I believe that location (near the Sears entrance) has closed about a month ago.

That explains it; I haven't been there in about two and a half months. Did they open a new one? That place was always packed.

Harley613 · #**145** Posted **Jul 10, 2013, 12:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster

Not sure if this means anything, but I believe some of the stores around where the expansion was supposed to happen (Bluenotes, West 49, etc) have either closed or moved to other locations in the mall.

there are signs over those storefronts advertising new stores coming soon.

St. Laurent is really falling behind! It's already smaller than Rideau and Bayshore (a huge chunk of the mall's GLA is Caseware, Herzing College, Everest College and something else that escape's my mind). It's definitely more out of date as well in style and decor. With the huge expansions at other malls and five years of the Transitway running on the 417 in this area while the light rail is being constructed it's not going to be pretty!

J.OT13 · #**146** Posted **Jul 10, 2013, 12:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

there are signs over those storefronts advertising new stores coming soon.

St. Laurent is really falling behind! It's already smaller than Rideau and Bayshore (a huge chunk of the mall's GLA is Caseware, Herzing College, Everest College and something else that escape's my mind). It's definitely more out of date as well in style and decor. With the huge expansions at other malls and five years of the Transitway running on the 417 in this area while the light rail is being constructed it's not going to be pretty!

I think that if/when the feds announce plans for the new (what was it, the boarder agency?) complex south of the Queensway, Morguard might start moving on this file and maybe make some sort of small contribution to extend the pedestrian tunnel to the complex.

J.OT13 · #**147** Posted **Jul 25, 2013, 11:48 AM**

The old Bluenotes and 1880 Jeans space is being replaced by an American Eagle.

JM1 · #**148** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 8:58 PM**

So, I guess I missed this article, but it seems that the plans to expand St. Laurent Mall and re-align Coventry are off. Too bad. At least St. Laurent is getting a makeover.

I still shop at this mall, but it is a bit of a dump. I was really looking forward to the upgrade. Had they started now, they might have been ready in time for the LRT completion.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/c...part-of-plans/

acottawa · #**149** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 11:23 PM**

They were way too slow out of the gate, if they had got in before Trainyards, Rideau Centre Expansion, Bayshore Expansion, design for LRT, etc. then they might have been able to position themselves as the major shopping centre in the region but now they're sort of squeezed.

Harley613 · #**150** Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 2:07 AM**

It's too bad. St. Laurent has the best location of all the regional malls and yet it remains the smallest and shittiest of them. (Yes I know they list their GLA as the largest, but the actual shopping mall GLA is definitely the smallest, barely larger than the largest neighbourhood mall; Carlingwood).

eternallyme · #**151** Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 2:18 AM**

Wasn't St. Laurent at one time THE primary mall in Ottawa?

J.OT13 · #**152** Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 2:37 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Wasn't St. Laurent at one time THE primary mall in Ottawa?

It was. Over the years, the Rideau Centre has emerged as the high end, premier mall of Ottawa and Bayshore has taken up more with the population expansion south and west.

I imagine the Train Yards has also put a damper on St-Laurent's former title.

Les Promenades has also slowly been placing itself as a market player, and is now taking a huge leap forward with its own expansion. Keep in mind, St-Laurent's market share once included a large part of Gatineau when Les Promenades had lower caliber retailers.

JM1 · #**153** Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 2:04 PM**

It really is too bad. This site could have been the nucleus to get transit-oriented development going -- especially the office towers that they had planned. The realignment of Coventry would also have been an opportunity to straighten the road and better connect the neighbourhoods to the North with proper pedestrian crossings (that don't exist now). I think there were even plans for a few stores at the entrances to the parking lot on Coventry which would have helped to bring life to the area.

If you can't kick-start TOD at St. Laurent, then good luck at Hurdman, Cyrville, Train and Blair. The problem is that the walkking environment on St Laurent, Coventry, Ogilvie, and Cyrville is so poor right now. The mall could have brought in other development which could have helped justify a more pedestrian-friedly environment (possibly even some second story pedestrian overpasses between structures at the Cyrville, St. Laurent, Ogilvie intersection).

c_speed3108 · #**154** Posted **Apr 2, 2014, 1:39 AM**

With expansion now put on the back burner, there is now a zoning application to permit stand-alone retail development along the three coventry rd properties and not move coventry road.

http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__95DDQN

J.OT13 · #**155** Posted **Apr 2, 2014, 1:42 AM**

BTW, Bluenotes, which moved down the hall a few months back to make way for American Eagle, seems to now be permanently closed.

Harley613 · #**156** Posted **Apr 2, 2014, 10:09 PM**

http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/04/02/...ing-owner-says

Quote:

Business is so good at St. Laurent Shopping Centre that the owner is shelving plans for a major expansion.

"If this was a failing mall, you may have to do something in order to make sure your investment is protected. This is quite the contrary," Morguard Investments senior VP Margaret Knowles said Wednesday.

The original development plan filed with City Hall in 2010 was poised to make St. Laurent one of the 10 largest malls in Canada. The allowable gross leasable area would have jumped to 170,000 sq. m. from 82,500 sq. m. with more space at Sears, additional retail stores and office space.

Along with the expansion project came a request to realign Coventry Rd. near the mall so the shopping complex wasn't divided.

Now, Morguard is holding off on the road realignment and concentrating on renovating the existing 47-year-old mall rather than building on to it. The company is still pursuing a minor rezoning for its Coventry Rd. lands at the former Coca-Cola distribution property, the TD Waterhouse building and the former Emco distribution facility.

Knowles noted that Morguard is a real estate trust and people who own shares expect a return on their investments.

The company looked at how the mall is performing, its location and the proximity to transit and decided it didn't need to expand, for now.

St. Laurent Shopping Centre falls within one of the city's transit-orientated development areas, which are around future LRT stations. St. Laurent transit station is at the mall.

"The city is really seeing that as a node for real intensification for multipurpose buildings," Knowles said.

Instead of the mall expanding in the future, Morguard could pursue other land-use opportunities, such as additional office space or a residential component, Knowles said.

Knowles said the company is also mindful of the major expansions happening at competing malls, specifically Bayshore Shopping Centre and the Rideau Centre.

"We thought, take a breath and see how our renovation does," Knowles said.

The retail landscape in Ottawa is shifting. In addition to the mall expansions, a new commercial area is being created at Lansdowne Park and a new outlet mall is being built in Kanata.

It makes no difference to Morguard if St. Laurent Shopping Centre isn't one of the largest malls in the country.

"What you want is the most successful mall," Knowles said.

jon.willing@sunmedia.ca

J.OT13 · #**157** Posted **Apr 4, 2014, 1:53 PM**

"What you want is the most successful mall," Knowles said.

According to OBJ in a July 2012 article, St. Laurent was making 550$/sqft, nowhere near "the most successful" malls, Rideau (1000$/sqft) and Bayshore (600$/sqft). On top of that, Rideau, Bayshore and Les Promendaes are expanding and adding big name new-to-market retailers.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Retail/2012-...hores-status/1

At best, St. Laurent will stay stagnant while others see profits soaring.

eltodesukane · #**158** Posted **Apr 4, 2014, 7:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

St. Laurent has the best location of all the regional malls and yet it remains the smallest and shittiest of them.

I agree with you.
I might like St. Laurent mall, but all the good stores are at TrainYards.
So I always end up shopping at TrainYards, never at St.Laurent.

eternallyme · #**159** Posted **May 27, 2014, 2:24 AM**

It makes me wonder...lots of rumours of the demise of Sears Canada. Having a huge hole in the mall, with no reasonable tenant to fill it, could make things even worse...

J.OT13 · #**160** Posted **May 27, 2014, 3:18 AM**

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.