To ensure delivery, please add newsletter@bisnow.com to your address book, learn how
August 21, 2014
Why Erin Mills Town Centre Got A Makeover
1989. That's when Erin Mills Town Centre opened. And it hasn't had a renovation since. (Whereas most people born in 1989 have changed from grunge, to punk, to... Macklemore?) EMTC VP Nance MacDonald tells us the mall's $100M makeover will lure back customers and attract new retailers.
Here's Nance, with 20VIC Management, inspecting work on the 850k SF EMTC. Rival malls Sherway Gardens and Square One are renovating and expanding to cater to the wealthy and rapidly growing Mississauga marketplace. Nance says her team conducted extensive market research and found that while people didn't want EMTC to expand, they wanted it to improve. “They said get some new retailers in here, spruce the place up, and they'd come back.” The mall is owned by Ontario Pension Board.
The spruce up starts with EMTC's centre court, which will feature a new infinity pool and a 283-foot glass sphere, replacing the mall's iconic clock tower. The food court will be reborn as a foodie destination. The court will have a 54-foot glass entrance, two floors of vendors and restaurants, and an upper-level outdoor patio yielding views of the Mississauga skyline. It opens in November. EMTC's also getting new escalators, limestone flooring, and higher ceilings. (This will help lure the appealing demographic of Raptors players.)
Improvements are being made to the mall's main wings, occupied by anchors Hudson's Bay and Sears (the only one remaining in Mississauga). This month, a new anchor, Target, opened a 136k SF location. It's one of the first new Target locations launched since the retailer vowed to improve its offerings following a disappointing launch in Canada, which saw it rack up nearly $1B in losses. EMTC is looking to bring in “aspirational brand” retailers, says Nance, primarily fashion-focused.
Energy efficiency has always been a top priority; the mall won the 2010 BOMA National Earth Award for shopping centres. With the revamp, lighting has been converted to LED, and the glass dome over centre court and ETMC's new skylights will have fritting that allows for natural light but mitigates sun-ray penetration. More than 250 trees have been planted at the outdoor entrances.
Freshii to Rosedale
Freshii, the ever-expanding, customized-order fast-food franchise, has just opened the doors at 1055 Yonge St (seen above pre-Freshii) in Rosedale. This will be the Toronto-founded chain's 24th operation in the city. Bob Robertson at Colliers, who brokered the deal, tells us Freshii has spent the past two months renovating the 5k SF ground-floor space. There will be the eatery in front (including a new White Squirrel Coffee Shop) and corporate offices at back for chain founder Matthew Corrin and his team, Bob says. The space includes a prep kitchen for training franchisees.
Toronto Mulls Building Energy Reports
Toronto is a step closer to requiring big buildings to report energy and water consumption. In line with cities like New York and Chicago, the parks and environment committee is recommending the city make energy-reporting mandatory. A city report says this would enhance transparency and help motivate owners and managers to improve energy efficiency; energy-consumption reporting would also aid investors in determining property valuations. Earlier this year, BOMA's GTA prez Chris Conway said that building energy-reporting is “more or less inevitable.”
PATH Bridge Goes Up Without A Hitch
The super cool PATH bridge we told you about last week was installed successfully Saturday night. The glass walkway's designer, WZMH Architects principal John White, tells us the job—connecting Air Canada Centre to new South Core office development One York Street underneath the Gardiner— went “very smoothly.” He notes the bridge section, the second of three, was raised into place by hydraulic jacks, some mounted on the flatbed truck that delivered it (as seen above).
John says it took a while to get the piece into position, but only 15 minutes to raise it up into place, resting a mere 8 inches under the Gardiner. When the third section goes up next month, the PATH bridge will connect One York with RBC Waterpark Place III, owned by Oxford Propeties Group, which paid for the project in order to secure RBC's tenancy at the 1M SF complex. More symbolically, the bridge represents the first official link between the city's old financial core with its burgeoning new one.
Your First Summer Job: WZMH's John White
As part of our continuing series, we asked John White about his first summer job. It was scooping 31 flavours at the now-defunct Delisle Court Baskin-Robbins at Yonge and St. Clair. “I could tell what you were going to order when you walked in the door,” he recalls with a grin. The job had its upside, says John, who insists "you never get sick of ice cream.” While he admits he can't read the desires of his architectural clients quite as quickly, John's pretty sure he could decipher what their choice of ice cream would be.
See You in a Week
We're taking next week off to upgrade our technology and recharge our batteries. We pride ourselves on being active members of the commercial real estate community—out at events, in-person interviews—and keeping up with you takes energy. When we return, expect more scoops, more photos, and more moorings (if we're doing a story about a port).
We still want to hear about your first summer jobs. Keep sending in your early-employment tales and we'll publish the best ones in an upcoming edition: ryan.starr@bisnow.com
