Ivanhoé Cambridge to Outsource Canadian Shopping Centre Operations to JLL

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August 24, 2021

Ivanho- Cambridge Inc--Ivanho- Cambridge and JLL enter strategic — Ivanhoé Cambridge and JLL enter strategic alliance for Canadian retail operations (CNW Group/Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc.)

Commercial real estate firm JLL is assuming operations of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s retail properties across Canada.

As of October 1, Ivanhoé Cambridge will transition the operations of its Canadian shopping centres over to JLL, the largest third-party retail property management company in North America.

“I think this alliance reinforces the degree of complexity that exists within the retail real estate sector,” said Bruce Winder, author of RETAIL Before, During & After COVID-19 and President of Bruce Winder Retail. “The pandemic has accelerated many trends that were in play before 2020 such as the growth of e-commerce, the decline of department stores and the polarization of shopping malls between the haves and have nots.

“Add in the pandemic and one can see how being a retail landlord is not for the faint of heart. JLL should bring a fresh approach to managing Ivanhoé Cambridge’s portfolio for this emerging retail arena through the addition of digitally native brands, the integration of online shopping and more experiential consumption.”

Image: Metropolis at Metrotown (Ivanhoé Cambridge)

Michael Kehoe, broker/owner of Fairfield Commercial Real Estate in Calgary, said the strategic alliance between Ivanhoé Cambridge and JLL is a significant development on the Canadian commercial real estate scene.

“The alliance comes at a time when the bricks and mortar retail and retail real estate in general is in a period of disruption and change. JLL, the largest third-party management group in North America, brings abundant operations and leasing muscle to the partnership and this bodes well for the Ivanhoé real estate properties and projects,” he said.

“I am certain that with fresh eyes and boots on the ground JLL will provide the innovation and horse power needed in these challenging times that will lead to positive results over time across this national portfolio.”

In a statement to Retail Insider, Ivanhoé Cambridge said it is refocusing on its core business as a real estate investor and concentrating on what it does best: buying, increasing value and selling.

“With this in mind, we want to standardize our business model for shopping centres in Canada with the one we have in place elsewhere in the world by outsourcing their operations to a strategic partner. Management outsourcing has proven successful at our international shopping centres (Brazil, Europe) as well as in other asset classes (Offices and Logistics),” it said.

Image: Guildford Town Centre (Ivanhoé Cambridge)

“We selected JLL as a strategic partner because:

It is the largest shopping centre manager in North America;
Based in the United States and with a global presence, JLL has an impressive track record and expertise, as well as in-depth knowledge of market trends, which is invaluable for our retail assets;
JLL shares the same DEI and ESG goal of carbon neutrality by 2040 and has a clear commitment to help us achieve it;
JLL is recognized for its leadership as well as its vision for innovation and performance in the current retail environment;
JLL has committed to expanding its presence in Canada and Quebec by committing to keeping jobs in Canada, using Canadian suppliers for the properties and investing in the communities.

The company said that in selecting its partner it remained mindful of making a positive impact in Quebec across all of its activities and contributing to Quebec’s economic recovery and vitality.

“The announcement of this new strategic alliance, combined with our ongoing asset disposals and investments in promising sectors, is enabling us to rebalance our portfolio for greater resilience. With a partner such as JLL at our side, we will be able to optimize asset performance, continue to drive innovation and ESG performance,” it said.

As of June 30, Ivanhoé Cambridge had: 41 shopping centres for 27 million square feet including: 21 in Canada (five) in Quebec; 17 in Brazil; one in Germany; one in China; and one in the US.

Ivanhoé Cambridge holds interests in more than 1,100 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. Ivanhoé Cambridge held C$60.4 billion in real estate assets as at December 31, 2020, and is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a global investment group.

Laurier Québec (Image: Ivanhoé Cambridge)

“Through this alliance, we are expanding our presence in Quebec, a strategic market for the growth of JLL given the dynamism of its real estate sector and of its various industries contributing to the Canadian economy. We also look forward to collaborating with Ivanhoé Cambridge to shape growth opportunities, transform through technology and build strong communities in Canada through the COES,” said Alan MacKenzie, CEO, JLL Canada.

“I’m most importantly looking forward to tapping into the Ivanhoé Cambridge retail team’s deep knowledge of the local retail market to combine efforts and increase the value of the Ivanhoé Cambridge properties, benefitting retailers, their customers and our environment.”

In a news release, the companies said the vast majority of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s property team of retail employees are expected to join JLL Canada, whose management team and key decision-making roles will be headquartered in Montreal. JLL also plans to open an office in Québec City in the coming months.

“We are excited to bring a globally renowned company to deepen its footprint and investments in Quebec. To focus on our core business as a seasoned, clear-sighted real estate investor and to align and standardise our business model globally, we wanted to find a partner with the scale, track record and expertise to continue the optimization of our assets’ performance and lead the industry in defining the future of the retail sector, thus creating long-term value for our depositors,” said Nathalie Palladitcheff, President and CEO, Ivanhoé Cambridge, in a statement. “JLL’s global reputation and like-minded culture will continue to support us, while creating career opportunities for our retail teams joining the JLL family.”

“Retail has been going through a transition period over the last decade plus, where the focus has become on creating sustainable and dynamic experiential settings that engage and excite the communities it serves – and the pandemic has acted as a major accelerant on those trends,” said Greg Maloney, CEO, JLL Americas Retail. “Retail is our division’s sole focus and we are thrilled to expand our expertise and footprint in Canada, and Quebec, establishing JLL as the largest third-party retail manager in Canada as well.”

JLL said it will also collaborate with Ivanhoé Cambridge to develop a Centre of Excellence for Sustainability (COES) in Quebec, and an accompanying team, to accelerate the transition to sustainable and inclusive real estate through the development and implementation of current and near-future technologies.

JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.6 billion in 2020, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 92,000 as of June 30, 2021.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web For August 24th, 2021

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Retail Insider

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August 23, 2021

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web

Central/Eastern Canada News

Rabba opens new market location with Rabba Kitchen by Paramount in Toronto’s Regent Park (Grocery Business)
T&T Supermarket opens new downtown Toronto location (Grocery Business)
City mask bylaw to expire, but masks still required indoors (Ottawa Citizen)
FreshCo opens new Ontario store in Toronto’s Weston area (Grocery Business)
Sort-of Secret: These pillowy loaves of Japanese milk bread from a Roncesvalles ramen shop (Toronto Life)
Montreal updates single-use plastics regulations (Retail Council of Canada)
In Grand Bend, a new twist on marijuana: A ‘cannabis consumption’ cafe (London Free Press)

Western Canada News

Groundwork: Downtown Edmonton set to return to life, but risks to recovery remain (Edmonton Journal)
Vancouver property owners launch legal action over Broadway subway project (VIA)
Sidney retail analyst says arrival of ‘Godzilla’ Amazon could benefit community (Vancouver Island Free Daily)
‘They are beautiful, I love them’: New murals in Vancouver’s Punjabi Market give merchants a boost (Global)
First Nation owned gas station officially open in Prince Albert (mbcradio.com)
B.C. grocery chains partner with FoodMesh in food recovery program (Grocery Business)
Whitecourt Workwear and Ladies Boutique strives to have something in store for everybody (Torstar)

Disney Officially Confirms Closure of All Remaining Canadian Stores

By

Craig Patterson

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August 23, 2021

Disney Store Closing Sign at CF Toronto Eaton Centre - Photo by Dustin Fuhs

Disney has confirmed on its website that it will finally shut its remaining three Canadian locations next month after Retail Insider first reported on the the retailer’s full Canadian exit in April of this year. The brand has already shut all of its stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba as well as almost all locations in Ontario. The news comes after a report on August 23 that all but 25 US Disney locations will shutter by September 15.

The remaining three Disney stores to close in Canada are all in the Greater Toronto Area, and they will all close next month. Locations include CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Scarborough Town Centre and an outlet at Vaughan Mills just north of Toronto. According to Disney’s website, the Vaughan Mills store will close on or before September 15 while the two Toronto stores will shut on or before September 22. Liquidation will begin at the end of this month according to a source in the know who spoke with Retail Insider.

Several former Disney cast members have reached out to Retail Insider saying that they are unhappy with Disney’s lack of communication around the store closings. The company has yet to make a formal statement on its Canadian exit which is now confirmed. Prior to store closures, the Disney store website would be updated showing where locations would shutter with few other details provided even internally at store level. The lack of communication could harm the Disney brand in the eyes of consumers as well as its cast members who are in many instances ‘superfans’ of the brand.

Former Disney store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre on August 23, 2021. Photo: Craig Patterson

Disney stores have been closing globally with a significant pull-out in Europe as well as in major US markets. A report on August 23 stated that 57 more Disney locations in the United States will shut by September 15, leaving only 25 stores remaining and their future could be uncertain. Prominent locations, including Disney’s very first store at Glendale Galleria, have already shuttered.

Last month we reported on the Disney locations that were slated to close in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. In Alberta, Disney closed all stores in Edmonton at West Edmonton Mall and Kingsway Mall as well as in Calgary at CF Market Mall and Southcentre. In Manitoba, Disney operated a single store at CF Polo Park in Winnipeg until recently.

In Ontario, five Disney stores closed earlier this month including Toronto area locations (Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Upper Canada Mall), Hamilton (CF Lime Ridge), Ottawa (CF Rideau Centre), and London (CF Masonville Place).

In June we reported that Disney would shut its three stores in British Columbia at CF Pacific Centre, Metropolis at Metrotown and Guildford Town Centre.

Disney store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. Image: Dustin Fuhs

Retail Insider was informed by multiple sources in April of this year that all Disney stores would be shutting in Canada. One source was a major landlord not permitted to speak on the record. Retail Insider made the initial store closing announcement in April partly to give employees time to attempt to secure alternative employment because Disney typically makes such announcements shortly before stores actually shutter.

After our report in April, we were informed that several retailers had been reaching out to Disney employees who are considered to be highly desirable. Since our first article was published, some employees have already secured new jobs and were working at the Disney stores until they closed in order to take advantage of severance moneys.

Disney is said to be re-evaluating its operations amid a challenging time for retail as consumer shopping patterns shift to online channels. On March 3, Disney announced that it was planning on focusing on its e–commerce business while at the same time reducing its brick-and-mortar footprint. Initially, a total of 60 North American locations were announced to close including the Square One (Mississauga) and CrossIron Mills (Calgary area) locations in Canada.

Disney Store Yorkdale. Photo: Dustin Fuhs

Earlier this year, mall landlords in Canada were said to have been working with Disney on an exit strategy which involved Disney paying out the remaining duration for its Canadian leases which in some cases had a duration of several years to bypass any potential litigation.

Some are speculating that Disney might come back to Canada in partnership with Toys R Us, which was recently acquired by Putman Investments.

Disney never launched e-commerce in Canada, nor did it secure warehouse space for product fulfillment in terms of ship-to-store or otherwise. If consumers ordered online from the company’s global website, taxes and duties would be charged. One source noted that several of the Canadian Disney store units, including the CF Toronto Eaton Centre and West Edmonton Mall locations, were among the company’s top-selling stores.

The Walt Disney Company reacquired the Disney Store business from Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. in 2008, with 231 locations being purchased in Canada and the United States. Operating under the Disney Consumer Products division of the company until 2018, the stores were merged under a new division called Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, which was previously under the leadership of Bob Chapek. Mr. Chapek was named the Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company in February 2020 and subsequently named Josh D’Amaro as his successor as the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

Cadillac Fairview Partners with Cannabis Retailer Tokyo Smoke for Multiple Mall Store Locations

By

Mario Toneguzzi

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August 23, 2021

Tokyo Smoke construction hoarding at CF Toronto Eaton Centre - Photo by Dustin Fuhs

Cannabis retailer Tokyo Smoke is moving in the shopping centre retail space.

In an interview with Retail Insider, Dave Bolan, VP, Real Estate, Tokyo Smoke and Ontario Brand License Holder, said the retailer’s enclosed mall strategy forms part of its larger new store development plan.

“Initially, the enclosed mall strategic pillar includes opening nine Tokyo Smoke stores in Ontario by the end of the year. Tokyo Smoke’s next wave of store openings will commence in early October and includes the following Cadillac Fairview properties: CF Eaton Centre, Toronto; CF Fairview Mall, Toronto ; CF Sherway Gardens, Toronto; CF Rideau Centre, Ottawa,” he said. “There were a few key factors that led to our decision to partner with Cadillac Fairview, First, our senior management has a long-standing relationship with CF, specifically through our parent companies’ restaurant business unit. Secondly and more importantly, CF’s robust portfolio in Ontario allows Tokyo Smoke, our award-winning brand with access to millions of shoppers and office population visits yearly, making a long-term in-property partnership an easy and strategic decision for the business.

“Both in-property and street front locations are important to our company, and we have both in our portfolio. Large-scale shopping centre’s present a unique opportunity for the brand to extend its reach to a larger demographic of consumers. Having a strong presence in Cadillac Fairview shopping centres will allow Tokyo Smoke the opportunity to penetrate a diverse mix of legal shoppers and employees, seven days a week. We’re thrilled to be able to play a role in how Canadians continue to learn about cannabis and to provide access to Tokyo Smoke’s carefully curated accessories and products, along with the brand’s best-in-class guest experience, which will be housed in convenient shopping centre locations.”

The Tokyo Smoke retail banner is under the Canopy Growth Corporation banner.

Future Tokyo Smoke location on Rideau Street at the CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa in August of 2021. Photo: Dustin Fuhs

Bolan said the company’s first enclosed Tokyo Smoke store recently opened in the newly redeveloped Devonshire Mall in Windsor, Ontario.

“The location provides guests with the convenience of visiting a wide array of shops and services and now cannabis, all under one premiere location. The store is conveniently located at the Shoppers Drug Mart mall entrance. A key site characteristic of the store at Devonshire is its interior exterior access which is an important feature for suburban centres,” he said, adding that the retailer is seeking partnerships with other shopping centre owners to establish retail stores in their properties.

“We have started executing our multi-year new store growth plan which includes opening in shopping centres (enclosed, strip, power, or regional) with large and small ownership groups. Our focus on opening Tokyo Smoke stores within a multitude of shopping centres is a key strategic growth pillar for the business.”

Bolan said the focus continues to be on Ontario and will remain this way for the foreseeable future.

The first cannabis retailer to open in a major enclosed shopping centre in Canada was Aurora which opened a 11,000 square foot retail space and experience centre in 2019 at West Edmonton Mall.

Aurora at West Edmonton Mall opened in the fall of 2019. Photo: Aurora

Bruce Winder, author of RETAIL Before, During & After COVID-19 and President of Bruce Winder Retail, said the expansion of Tokyo Smoke in Cadillac Fairview malls in Ontario makes sense.

“As cannabis consumption has become mainstream in society and with the natural churn of retailers coming and going the time is right,” he said.

“Not unlike a customer picking up a bottle of wine or spirits while shopping, cannabis as a category has earned its position as a staple in malls. Certainly, malls need fresh tenants too that can draw in weekly traffic to displace bankrupt retailers. As Tokyo Smoke is owned by Canopy Growth, which in turn is owned (in part) by Constellation Brands, this chain offers some stability as well.

“The challenge with all cannabis retailers is differentiation as store counts climb to saturation levels. This move helps Tokyo Smoke do that to some degree as they associate their brand with marquee shopping locations.”

La Vie en Rose Automates for Peak Sales Performance [Case Study]

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Retail Insider

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August 23, 2021

Women’s retailer la Vie en Rose has been expertly designing lingerie, swimwear, and loungewear since 1985. The brand uniquely provides women with a seamless experience, both online and in-store, making shopping for intimate clothing both fun and effortless. Based in Quebec, the company has grown to over 275 retail stores in 18 different countries as well as an e-commerce channel offering a high-quality shopping experience to customers in Canada and the United States.

The Need

La Vie en Rose has a fast-growing e-commerce order fulfillment operation with plans to grow the site internationally. A manual picking process had begun to limit the retailer’s order processing capacity and over time realized that this would affect order accuracy, speed, and efficiency in the fulfillment process. A scalable solution was required to ensure that they could provide the shopping experience expected by their customers and maintain the brand image built over years of passionate customer dedication.

The Solution

To meet the growing demand for e-commerce, la Vie en Rose implemented a scalable and modular Dematic Put Wall system that optimizes order fulfillment for piece picking. The solution serves as an order consolidation and packing method that brings high productivity, order accuracy, speed, and efficiency to the order fulfillment process. Using a divide-and-conquer strategy, the solution combines lines from multiple orders and creates high density, efficient picking throughout the warehouse. The Dematic Put Wall system is used to consolidate and pack the items for each order.

Directed by Dematic software, the system includes Put and Pack workstations with shelving compartments that hold individual customer orders. Each Put Wall can support multiple order compartments that can also be configured into different sizes to support varying order volumes. The strategic focus of the Dematic Put Wall system is on an ultra-efficient order fulfillment process that deconstructs and reconstructs customer orders with a 100% quality check for each item. Order processing is efficient with large volumes for multiple order possibilities and order consolidation is integrated within the packing function. The entire process is paperless and managed in real time. For operational flexibility, each Put Wall can process multi-line orders. The modular design of both the Put Wall hardware and software allows for fast and easy future expansion.

The Results

The Dematic Put Wall system has been a process improvement generating multiple benefits for la Vie en Rose. Over the past two years, online demand for its products has grown by 300%, yet with the Dematic Put Wall system the company has been able to reduce labor costs, cut delivery times by more than half, and increase throughput by 350%. The system has also provided significant flexibility in order fulfillment. For example, la Vie en Rose can scale up quickly for peak seasons, with thousands of customer orders picked during each shift. Scan validation ensures high levels of accuracy within the picking process. In addition to the gains in labor productivity and order processing speeds, the paperless system helps to support environmental sustainability goals. The Dematic software provides real-time visibility into the operation, allowing la Vie en Rose to forecast and make data-driven decisions on when to further automate. The modular design will allow the operation to grow by adding Put Walls and/or Pack Walls as needed.

To learn more about the trends in retail demand and how to future proof your business visit Dematic.com

*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, email craig@retail-insider.com

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web For August 23rd, 2021

By

Retail Insider

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August 22, 2021

Central/Eastern Canada News

Western Canada News

Toys ‘R’ Us sale could bring Disney stores back to B.C. (Business in Vancouver)
Retail Sales Rise in Saskatchewan Compared to a Year Ago (CJWW)
The District at Beltline poised to unveil fine food destination (Calgary Herald)
2 more pedestrian scramble crosswalks being added on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton (Global)
Say ‘Cheese’: Co-op invests in local cheesemaker to move to heart of Vermilion, Alta. (CBC)
Police alarmed by rash of Calgary pharmacy robberies (Calgary Herald)
How an increase in urban Indigenous-owned businesses enriches Sask. economy, shares culture (CTV)

Maison Kitsuné to Open 1st Canadian Store and Café in Vancouver’s Historic Gastown

By

Craig Patterson

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August 22, 2021

Café-Kitsuné-Maison-Kitsuné-SCBD-Jakarta — Image: Maison Kitsuné

Paris-based fashion and music brand Maison Kitsuné will open its first Canadian location in Vancouver’s historic Gastown area this fall. The storefront will also house the company’s new café concept. The Vancouver store signals a milestone for the Gastown area and also shows confidence in brick-and-mortar retail in this country as international retailers continue to target Canada for first-to-market storefronts.

The Vancouver Maison Kitsuné store will open in the 155 Water Street building that has seen a significant renovation. Maison Kitsuné will occupy two combined retail spaces at 157-159 Water Street spanning a total of about 2,400 square feet with about 30 feet of street frontage. The store will include a retail component housing the brand’s unique and edgy fashions as well as a food and beverage concept called Café Kitsuné.

The 155 Water Street building is owned by Low Tide Properties, a real estate holdings company owned by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson. Wilson, who is said to be a fan of the Maison Kitsuné store in Paris, personally approved the tenant for his new development and the deal was concluded during the pandemic. The building also houses a 5,000 square foot retail space that was recently leased by a Canadian fashion retailer.

155 Water Street with the future Maison Kitsuné highlighted in red. Image: Low Tide Properties

Lease plan for 155 Water Street via Low Tide Properties

JLL Canada represented Maison Kitsuné in the Water Street lease deal under the direction of Madeleine Byblow. Mario Negris and Martin Moriarty of Marcus & Millichap negotiated the deal on behalf of the landlord.

Toronto and Montreal are expected to be the next target cities in Canada for Maison Kitsuné locations.

The Maison Kitsuné brand was founded in Paris in 2002 by Gildas Loaëc, Masaya Kuroki and the London-based design company Åbäke. Loaëc and Kuroki, who are both fans of fashion and music, founded the company which focuses in both areas during a trip to Japan. Before co-founding Maison Kitsuné, Loaëc was artistic director for musical group Daft Punk and also managed Thomas Bangalter’s record label Roulé.

Founders Masaya Kuroki (left) and Gildas Loaëc (right), image via Maison Kitsuné

The name Maison Kitsuné is also a hybrid French-Japanese name with “Maison” being the French word for “house”, and “Kitsuné” being the Japanese word for “fox”. The fox has been Maison Kitsuné’s signature logo with a blue-white-red colourway.

In 2019 Maison Kitsuné launched its first restaurant concept in Paris called Café Kitsuné, which has expanded to several locations globally.

Maison Kitsuné’s fashions include ready-to-wear, bags, shoes and accessories for men and women. The brand is known to collaborate with other big brands which has led to increased brand awareness and heightened popularity. Prices are in the contemporary range.

Vancouver is only the third market in North America to get a Maison Kitsuné store. New York City until recently was the only place on the continent with Maison Kitsuné locations, with three stores currently operating. In February of this year, a 700 square foot Los Angeles storefront was Maison Kitsuné’s first for the West Coast.

In Europe, Maison Kitsuné’s focus is on Paris with five storefronts and three cafés. In Asia, Maison Kitsuné has stores in South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

The opening of Maison Kitsuné in Vancouver signals confidence in the city’s historic Gastown area which has been struggling over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The area is highly reliant on foot traffic from tourists including many arriving on cruise ships which have not docked at the port for two years. Gastown is home to various trendy and upscale retailers that have opened over the past several years including Aesop, Bailey Nelson, COS, Herschel and Native Shoes among others.

Arlington Group Developments is Bullish on Calgary’s 17th Avenue as it Completes Latest Retail Project: Interview

By

Mario Toneguzzi

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August 22, 2021

The Fifth- Render — Rendering: The Fifth

Calgary-based Arlington Group is bullish on the city’s 17th Avenue S.W. high street area and its latest project there is The Fifth – destined to be a residential and retail destination just off the downtown core.

Frank Lonardelli, Founder/CEO of Arlington, said the project was started four months after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

The building has 12,500 square feet of main floor retail space and 52 rental apartments above in the five-storey building.

“What’s noteworthy, given all the negativity around retail, what happened was when people saw the sign go up they kind of sat back and said ‘well I’m not sure these guys are going to build the building’. So we didn’t get a whole heck of a lot of traction,” said Lonardelli. “And the second we came out of the ground and we completed the main floor podium at 16 feet with concrete, people just started calling saying ‘holy cow you guys are actually doing this thing’.

“Of the almost 13,000 square feet of retail, we got 46,000 square feet of applicants. We just told everybody we were going to take all the applications in and the closer we get to summer and the completion of the actual structure we’re going to start making decisions of who we’re going to work with.

Rendering of the Scotia Block at 1429 17 Avenue SW, via Arlington Group

The Fifth, Rendering via Arlington Group

Royal Park, located across from Mount Royal Village on 17 Avenue. Rendering: Arlington Group

“It is exactly what we wanted which was individual curated retail. Ideally super local but we were okay with strong regional. No national. We’re super happy with what we received and we’re super happy with what we’ve landed on. I think it’s the perfect mix for this area. There’s a lot of vibrancy towards it. People are really excited.”

The businesses include Bro’s To Go, Nue Cocktail Bar, Cinnaholic, The Mash, Burnin Bird and Amato Gelato with a flagship store.

Lonardelli said Amato Gelato is going to have the largest patio on 17th Avenue with about 50 seats.

Timeline for opening is expected to be around September 1.

“They’re all very much complimentary to what’s happening on the street and we’re super happy about that. This will be the first mixed-use development that has been built in the last 20 years on 17th Avenue,” said Lonardelli.

High Street on 17th, rendering via Arlington Group

The Windsor, rendering via Arlington Group

“If you look at pedestrian traffic in any centre or any section within the centre of Calgary – Beltline or Downtown – there’s more people walking through or driving past this intersection in the urban marketplace than anywhere else in Canada. We were looking for unique curated opportunities but we were also looking for people who wanted to expand their business.

“It also flows into their urban vibe for these businesses. They’re not interested in doing power centres in the suburban market because they’ve already got their concepts in those areas. So as they think about growing their businesses, their businesses are going to be urban centric. It just so happens, we think and they think, the best urban location they’ve got.”

Despite all the negativity surrounding retail throughout COVID, Lonardelli said Arlington has 100 per cent occupancy on all of its retail space along 17th Avenue.

“17th Avenue has always been a place to do curated retail for strong local or regional players,” he said. “A lot of the negativity around 17th had a lot to do with tenants going into leases they never should have gone into and landlords charging prices they should never have gone into and that’s a fatal combination.”

High Street. Photo: Arlington Group Calgary

Lonardelli said Arlington’s 17th Avenue project has 42 separate buildings that it owns with eight different development sites. The first three developments have been started or completed. The National building was the first. Then came The Fifth. The third is the Fishman’s development site. Another site is further west on 17th where the Buon Giorno restaurant is located. The entire 17th Avenue project will be completed with a site on the corner at 14th Street. All the mixed-use developments will include retail as the anchor.

“I think anything in the urban market in a high profile location requires the main floor to be retail anchored for two reasons. Number one it’s the live, work, play concept of rolling in these developments and getting closer to the urbanized landscapes of Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal,” said Lonardelli. “We’re just so far behind everybody.

“Number two is there’s two amenities when you live here. The first amenity is when you go down the elevator shaft and go to the main floor podium you can get your coffee, you can get your ice cream, you can get your cocktail. It’s right there. The second thing is when you walk out your front door you can go four blocks any way and have a hundred different service and retail options. That is what this urban program is all about.

“We’ve always said we’re not building buildings here. We’re building a corridor which it already is but really is the epicentre to all the live, work, play opportunities in the urban market.”

Podcast [Interview]: John Crombie of Cushman & Wakefield Discusses Retail Before, During and After the Pandemic

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Retail Insider

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August 22, 2021

Craig and John G. Crombie, Executive Managing Director of Retail Services Canada at Cushman & Wakefield, discuss a shift in retail over the course of the pandemic as we look to the future after a significant digital transformation.

The Interview Series podcast by Retail Insider Canada is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Also check out our The Weekly podcast where Craig and Lee discuss popular content published on Retail Insider which is part of the The Retail Insider Podcast Network.

Interviewed this episode:

John G. Crombie, Executive Managing Director, Retail Services, Canada | ICD.D at Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield

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Canadian Retail News From Around The Web For August 20th, 2021

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Retail Insider

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August 19, 2021

Central/Eastern Canada News

Consumers say they face sticker-shock in grocery aisles (Toronto Sun)
Paradies Lagardère opens speciality and travel essentials stores as Ottawa International Airport upgrades airside retailing (Moodie Davitt Report)
Drake’s OVO Launches Merch Collaboration with University of Toronto (Exclaim!)
‘We feel we belong here’: Mom brings wooden toy store to downtown Newmarket (Newmarket Today)
Walmart Canada breaks ground on new distribution centre in New Brunswick (Newswire press release)
Sip ‘N’ Smoke: Superette Opens First “Express” Cannabis Retail Concept in Toronto (Design Milk)

Western Canada News

Sister stores expand shopping options in Virden (Empire Advance)
‘Mutual shock and grief’: Osborne Village mourns shopkeeper killed in fire police say was arson (CBC)
Aritzia cancels popular Warehouse Sale over COVID-19 concerns (Daily Hive)
Shopping local: how the City is supporting Calgary rooted companies (Calgary Journal)
Righteous Gelato hires Tracey Myers as VP of sales (Canadian Grocer)

Retail InsiderCanada's Most-Read Online Retail Industry Publication.

Ivanhoé Cambridge to Outsource Canadian Shopping Centre Operations to JLL

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web For August 24th, 2021

Top Stories: National

Central/Eastern Canada News

Western Canada News

Disney Officially Confirms Closure of All Remaining Canadian Stores

Cadillac Fairview Partners with Cannabis Retailer Tokyo Smoke for Multiple Mall Store Locations