Vancouver-based retailer lululemon will open one of its largest stores in early 2024 in 2 Bloor at the iconic northwest corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets, in downtown Toronto.
The lululemon store will span about 12,100 square feet over three floors including street level and second floors as well as access in the concourse with direct connection to the TTC. A signature double-height glass facade with wraparound corner exposure will give lululemon a significant presence. The store is part of a substantial podium renovation including an expanded third floor glass façade and an office lobby upgrade which will modernize the 430,000 square feet Class A office tower located above.
Tim Sanderson of JLL in partnership with Open Realty Advisors acted on behalf of lululemon in the lease deal with KingSett Capital which owns 2 Bloor Street West. The landlord broker for the deal was Graham Smith of JLL with Jaimy Hunt of KingSett Capital handling the transaction on behalf of the company.
Lululemon is relocating from a much smaller 3,067 square foot space nearby at 153 Cumberland Street. That building, known as 130 Bloor Street West, is also owned by KingSett Capital and houses retailers Aveda, Nicolas Menswear and a recently opened Moscot store on the Cumberland Street facing side, and Gucci, St. John Knits and a future Lafayette 148 store on the Bloor Street side.
When it opens in early 2024, the Yonge & Bloor lululemon storefront will be one of the retailer’s largest. In Chicago, lululemon operates a store spanning about 20,000 square feet in the city’s Lincoln Park area that opened in July 2019.
KingSett Capital’s 2 Bloor Street West retail podium is located directly at the northwest corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets. We recently reported that retailers Swarovski and Talbots had shut for the podium renovation which will create about 15,500 square feet of retail space at the corner.
The commercial podium has a few remaining available spaces. Next to lululemon at the corner of Mayfair Mews/ Bloor, there is a 3,355 square foot flagship opportunity (825 square feet at street level and an additional 2,530 square feet on the second level). There are also four small CRU units spanning from 380 square feet to 640 square feet in the concourse that are directly connected to the TTC subway entrance. The space is being marketed by Graham Smith and Brandon Gorman, co-Practice Leads of the Agency Retail Group at JLL.
The immediate area is seeing significant changes. A development facing Cumberland Street called Cumberland Square in years to come will transform the area behind Holt Renfrew into a new neighbourhood also housing thousands of new residents in tall residential towers. Significant changes to the Hudson’s Bay Centre at the northeast corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets is said to be at play following the closure of a Hudson’s Bay store next month. On the southeast side of the intersection is a Nordstrom Rack store and on the southwest side is The ONE, a massive tower that is under construction that will house an Apple flagship store at its base according to news reports. The Bloor Street corridor to the west will also see big changes as per an article in Retail Insider last month.
Lululemon won’t be the only yoga-themed retailer on the block — we reported in January that US-based Alo Yoga will be opening a flagship storefront at the northeast corner of Bloor and Bay Streets in the 60 Bloor St. W. office tower podium, replacing The Gap which shut early last year. Sources said that Gap-owned yoga-focused brand Athleta had also been considering the former Gap space.
