We have received word that Oxford Properties’ proposed new Downtown Toronto shopping centre is already being eyed by retailers such as Nordstrom, La Maison Simons, Target and Walmart. A new 1million square foot shopping centre is being proposed by Oxford (along with convention/office/residential/hotel space and possibly a casino) which may rival The Toronto Eaton Centre for patrons and possibly exceed its size. The mall would be located on a mult-use, 11 acre site beside the Rogers Centre and the CN Tower.
Nordstrom, Simons, Walmart and Target are actively seeking downtown Toronto space and have expressed frustations at lack of retail availability. The Toronto Eaton Centre is space-limited, and Sears doesn’t seem willing to give-in to Cadillac Fairview’s offer to buy-out its lease for a new flagship Nordstrom store (or for Simons, also eying a chunk of Sears’ space). We reported earlier that Nordstrom is seeking 225-270,000 square feet, while Simons wants 100,000+ square feet in Downtown Toronto.
The Toronto Eaton Centre’s non-anchor square footage is 582,000 square feet (Sears, Canadian Tire and Best Buy add another 1.035million square feet). The proposed Oxford Place would be around 1 million square feet, making it possibly ‘grander’ than Toronto’s Eaton Centre’s non-anchor retail portion. More importantly Oxford Place could become home to substantial anchor-tenants, ranging from lower-end big box retailers to large luxury retailers, depending on what the landlord deems marketable.
Oxford is in the preliminary planning stages of its new project, and we’ve been told that it is being pressured to bring forward its planning application to Toronto City Hall ‘asap’ by potential tenants desperately seeking large downtown retail spaces. We will keep you updated on what might become a very exciting Canadian retail development.
Oxford Properties website: www.oxfordproperties.com
Toronto Eaton Centre website: www.torontoeatoncentre.com
La Maison Simons website: www.simons.ca
