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May 15, 2014
Niagara Celebrates Its Record-Setting Outlet
Canada's largest open-air outlet shopping centre is now rolling, with the opening ceremony this morning in Niagara Falls. (We never know how to dress for these things. Casual? Formal? We wore a barrel.)
The Outlet Collection at Niagara, located on Taylor Road, just off the QEW, is 520k SF. Snapped is Ivanhoe Cambridge CEO Daniel Fournier with Outlet GM Bri-Ann Stuart.
This line from this morning proves it isn't just cronuts that get people worked up. Kate Spade, NIKE, Calvin Klein, and Michael Kors are some of the 102 retailers.
Niagara-On-The-Lake mayor David Eke presents a plaque this morning to Daniel. Some live entertainment marked the festivities, including dancers infront of a wall of rushing water—a nod to the tourist attraction just to the south. (Hopefully the food court soda fountains don't make the same homage.) Another highlight this morning was the Barrel wall—216 wine barrels donated by dozens of local wineries, which the area is known for.
Sears Canada Up For Grabs?
While on the topic of retail, a lot of people are talking about the news that Sears Canada may be on the block. Some are wondering if the door is now open for another big US retailer to swoop in, or if the Target experience up here scared people off. DIG360 retail analyst David Ian Gray (snapped with colleague Raymond Shoolman) says, “Whether or not Sears Canada is a tragic victim of the parent Sears Holdings debacle is a moot point. It's simply been selling off assets with no real hope for a future.”
Sears will go not with a “bang,” but a “whimper, piecemeal,” David says. In terms of other big US or international retailers coming up here to fill the real estate footprint, similar to what Target did with Zellers, don't count on it, David says: “More likely landlords might take some back and divide it up. The plum urban locations are already gone.”
Putting The "H" Back In "Heritage"
Not that anyone is going to get teary over the departure of the adult establishment Jilly's (hilarious take-off on “Jilly's memories” this morning on the Mike Richards Show on TSN Radio) from the historic Broadview Hotel at Queen and Broadview, a strategic location to say the least, with the fast development of Canary District to the southwest. We wrote the other day on the news that Streetcar Developments purchased the heritage building that houses Jilly's. Company CEO Les Mallins tells Bisnow that there will be “significant investments to restore this building to reflect its historical status.”
Les isn't sure what he'll do with the project—although it won't be another condo project, which Streetcar is known for. Makes you wonder if they'll capture what developers did with the Drake Hotel and the Gladstone in the west part of the downtown. Les says he fully appreciates the landmark status, and will work to bring the building back to its former glory. The building is actually collapsing onto itself. “Significant investment will be required to repair the structural issues,” he says. “And that's just the damages we can see.”
Mid-Range Computes Your Data Centre Needs
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Live From ICSC!
Bisnow will be LIVE at ICSC this weekend as the retail world converges in Vegas, and our Washington, DC, reporter Chris Baird will be burning up shoe leather to give you the most up-to-date coverage. He'll be on-site Sunday through Tuesday to report all of the happenings on the Convention Center floor, as well as the glitz and glamour of the night's evening festivities. We'd love to see you there. To meet up, email Chris for editorial needs or Bisnow SoCal business director Frank Sanchez for sales.
Bisnow Seeks Toronto Ad/Sponsorship Sales Manager
Like delicious Canadian bacon, Bisnow's Canadian markets are sizzling, and the time has come to welcome an ad/sponsorship sales manager to our smokin' Toronto office. The successful candidate will have five or more years experience in media ad sales focused on commercial real estate or event sponsorship sales. As the face of Bisnow Canada, you'll interact with all the country's most powerful commercial real estate power players. Competitive compensation includes salary and bennys. You won't be getting in on the ground floor; it's more like the third floor, but you'll be riding the express elevator to the top-floor penthouse. Send your resume to Matt at matt.black@bisnow.com.
We noticed Shanny made the rounds to all Toronto sports media outlets yesterday to talk about the Leafs, an especially painful time as we watched the Habs cruise past the Bruins last night in Beantown to move on to the next playoff round. If he came to Bisnow's HQ we would have told the new Leafs prez this—in the name of Harold Ballard, keep Dion! Email mark.keast@bisnow.com
