The retail podium of One Bloor East in downtown Toronto has been fully leased. New tenants will include a flagship Nike store, Spanish retailer Mango, and a flagship branch for Scotiabank. Previously announced tenants will include The Ballroom and AVANT by Altea Active.
The commercial podium, acquired after construction by First Capital REIT in 2016, is at the base of a mixed-use tower which includes a 75 floor residential tower. Previous retail tenants at One Bloor East included a 20,000 square foot basement-level McEwan grocery store which shut amid bankruptcy in late 2021, and a 39,000 square foot Nordstrom Rack store that closed last spring with the retailer’s Canadian exit.
Bowling concept The Ballroom is replacing the McEwan grocery store, and it appears that construction is nearly complete. The former Nordstrom Rack store will be split by its floors, with a luxury wellness and social club concept AVANT by Altea Active to open on the 30,000 square foot upper level of the former Nordstrom Rack space. The approximately 8,000 square foot main floor of the former Nordstrom Rack, directly at the southeast corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets, will become a flagship branch for Scotiabank. The bank is relocating from a site nearby because of a proposed tower redevelopment.
Israel-based conglomerate Fox Group has leased the rest of One Bloor East, which includes two glass-fronted levels facing Bloor Street. Two of Fox Group’s key brands, Nike and Mango, will be moving in and splitting up the space. The retail space next to the Bloor Street entrance to the building’s residential tower will become home to Spanish retailer Mango, which entered Canada in 2023 and has opened several stores in the Toronto area. This will be Mango’s first street-front store in Canada, spanning about 4,000 square feet.
Nike will occupy about 17,000 square feet of space over two levels at the eastern end of the One Bloor East podium, making it one of the larger Nike flagship stores in Canada. The Fox Group has been expanding the Nike brand in Canada with standalone stores for several years, including a mix of smaller and large flagship stores in major markets. This will be the second Nike flagship store in Toronto, following the summer 2021 opening of a 24,000 square foot Nike store at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
International firm SAJO is doing the design-build for the the Nike flagship as well as the general contracting work for Lululemon across the street.
Eric Sherman, Head of National Operations at First Capital REIT, said that the new tenants at 1 Bloor Street East will be opening in late 2024 or early 2025.
“We are proud to share that we are fully leased at One Bloor East in over 80,000 SF of retail space spread over 3 levels,” said Sherman. “We are more proud though of the spectacular roster of tenants we will be welcoming to this iconic corner which includes a curated mix of F&B and entertainment, health & wellness, flagship fashion, and a financial institution, all of whom are of the best in their respective categories. The efficiency with which the team was able to backfill the Nordstrom Rack space is extremely impressive and should generate a lot of optimism in the market.”
The movement of Nike, in particular, to this stretch of Bloor Street spells confidence in the future of the intersection from a retail perspective. Nike will join other recently opened tenants directly east that include a Cafe Landwer restaurant and a flagship location for LensCrafters that was recently profiled in Retail Insider.
Diagonally across the street at 2 Bloor Street West, Vancouver-based Lululemon is preparing to open its multi-level flagship that will occupy the prominent corner, and tower development The One continues construction at the southwest corner. Apple had been the secured tenant for the base of The One at 1 Bloor Street West, but it appears after court proceedings that Apple has exited plans to open what would have been a massive location at the prominent corner. This week it was announced that Mizrahi is no longer the developer on The One project, which has struggled with debt and other issues.
Changes are planned for the former Hudson’s Bay Centre building at 44 Bloor Street East, which will include a mix of retail and office space in a shopping centre connected to Canada’s busiest subway interchange. And the subway interchange will be getting updates budgeted in excess of $1.5 billion, which includes new platforms and new entrances for the subway on the south side of Bloor Street East. New foot traffic from one new station entrance on Bloor could see thousands of pedestrians walk past the new Nike and Mango stores.
The entire Bloor-Yorkville appears to be undergoing a sort of transformation, which includes the addition of thousands of new residential units in new towers that are either being built or proposed. Some of the condominium units being sold are priced upwards of $10 million, which means that hundreds of wealthy households will be moving into the area over the next five years. That could have a major impact on spending patterns in the area, including supporting the luxury brand flagship stores that are populating the stretch of Bloor Street West between Bellair Street and Avenue Road. Various other high-end services are either already in the area or will be opening, as well as various restaurants and other businesses catering to the monied demographic.
The opening of major retailers such as Nike signals an expectation that the Yonge and Bloor intersection will only become busier with more foot traffic and shopping dollars. There are few other strong retail opportunities east of the new Nike store on the south side of Bloor Street, which means that the progression of new retail in the area could eventually be pushed south onto Yonge Street. The stretch of Yonge Street south of Bloor Street includes a collection of various older buildings with independent businesses, and in the coming years there could be demand for space from national and international brands. This could be expected as new developments take place on the street, and new residential buildings are being added nearby. Years ago, Yonge Street south of Bloor Street housed various retail offerings, including some larger footwear chains and even luxury retailer Alan Cherry. The coming years will be interesting as new retail demand continues in the Yonge and Bloor area.
Related Retail Insider Articles
- Luxury Wellness and Social Club AVANT by Altea Active Opening in Former Nordstrom Rack Space at Bloor and Yonge in Downtown Toronto
- Bowling and Entertainment Concept ‘The Ballroom’ to Replace Mark McEwan Grocery Store at Yonge & Bloor in Toronto [Exclusive]
Additional Photos from One Bloor East
The best of outcomes possible, post-Nordstrom. I just wish Scotiabank wasn’t on the corner. A bank is always a good way to deactivate a prime corner.
Having the bank at that prime spot is so ridiculous to me. Why do developers always let this happen at retail podiums?