A redevelopment is at play at the northwest corner of Bloor and Yonge Streets in downtown Toronto. The Talbots store that has occupied a space facing Bloor Street since 1991 has already closed and the 20-year-old Swarovski store at the corner is also confirmed to be closing.
It’s part of a bigger development by Kingsett Capital to redevelop the Cumberland Terrace complex that will include updates the existing office tower at the Yonge & Bloor corner as well as the demolition of the remainder of the complex for a new project called Cumberland Square.
Talbots opened its Bloor Street store in September of 1991 as the retailer entered the Canadian market with plans for 15-20 stores. The Bloor Street store was the first of three that opened that month — broker Jane Baldwin led the expansion at the time and she’s still working with brands with Lennard Commercial Realty. Talbots continues to operate 11 stores in Canada in the Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, and Halifax markets.
Swarovski’s Bloor Street store opened in November of 2002 as a flagship ‘gallery’ concept and the store has seen at least one major renovation. Tom Burns negotiated the deal on behalf of the retailer when he was at brokerage JJ Barnicke — Burns is now COO of Allied Properties REIT. Hammerson Canada owned 2 Bloor at the time. Manon Parisien of Aurora Realty Consultants currently represents Swarovski as broker in Canada.
A single tenant is expected to occupy the updated 2 Bloor West podium with more details to follow. A listing by JLL shows the potential for a large retail tenant that include demising options.
Next week Retail Insider will go in-depth and report on major changes to the stretch of Bloor Street between Yonge and Avenue Road that will be seen over the next several years.
