COMMENT: Montreal's Dix-30 a template for retail in Ottawa

Here's an e-mail from a reader about a Shops at Don Mills type development in Montreal called Dix-30. I've never been but the pictures look nice. He also says a development in Gatineau appears to be going in the same direction on a much smaller scale. Because there are gaps in the Ottawa shopping experience Gatineau could really capitalize on its proximity to Ottawa by providing a completely different shopping experience like an open air mall. One can only dream.

Here's the e-mail from Jimmy J:

Hey Kevin,

I could not agree with you more. I moved here from suburbs of Montreal, and wished there were more places like Dix-30 in Ottawa. I find the big box centres, from Innes Rd to Kanata Centrum to Strandherd Place, have failed and lost out on a chance to set themselves as community environments within Ottawa.

Thought I would pass this along, though it is small scale, it looks like the Plateau Grives in Gatineau is starting to follow the same trend as Dix-30 and The Shops at Don Mills. Here is a premilimnary layout plan for the new centre:

http://www.firstcapitalrealty.ca/images/Sitemaps/lay201.pdf

Hope they go through with it!

Jimmy J.

Greater Cadillac-Fairview presence good for Ottawa

Earlier this week the Ottawa Business Journal reported that Cadillac-Fairview has taken over full management of the Rideau Centre after taking over full ownership last year. This is huge for retail in Ottawa.

When I first moved to Ottawa from Toronto I was very disappointed with the shopping mall experience. I was used to malls like Square One, Yorkdale and the Eaton Centre. What I even found disappointing was the state of the Rideau Centre especially after finding out Cadillac-Fairview were the owners (part-owners at the time). I even e-mailed Cadillac-Fairview to express my disappointment. I'd grown up shopping at their malls- Eaton Centre, Pickering Town Centre, Fairview Mall, Sherway Gardens, Markville Shopping Centre- and I knew what they were capable of. In my opinion Cadillac-Fairview is partly responsible for the great shopping experience in Toronto.

I've already spoken to Ottawans who aren't very optimistic about the future of the Rideau Centre even with Cadillac-Fairview taking over. My response is they only do things well. I've never seen them do a bad job on anything.

Now that the mall expansion is a slam dunk what other influence will Cadillac-Fairview have on the capital?

What I'm really waiting for is for CF to bring their Shops at Don Mills concept -the open air mall- to Ottawa. I discovered the Shops at Don Mills a few months before moving to Ottawa and was stunned at the experience.

Imagine the brands you know and love arranged in the form of pedestrian friendly boutiques. At the centre of the development is a public square surrounding by shops. Outside of the shops you find offices and condos. Aside from the regular mall brands you find European retailers and a Whole Foods-type food store.

The Shops at Don Mills is everything the Trainyards could have been but unfortunately isn't. Last month CF and Armadale Properties filed an application with the City of Markham to bring a similar development to the Buttonville Airport site.

I'll be thankful for the Rideau Centre expansion but soon after I'm hoping CF brings the open air mall concept to Ottawa. We sure have the money to support it.

Kevin
reinventingottawa.blogspot.com

How a hotel and an American retailer can help Sparks Street

Here's a link to my latest blog post for Open File Ottawa about the future of Sparks Street. Enjoy!

http://ottawa.openfile.ca/blog/news/2011/how-hotel-and-american-retailer-can-help-sparks-street

Kevin Bourne

reinventingottawa.blogspot.com

Ottawa a major shopping destination?

This past weekend my wife and I walked the full-length of the Wellington West and Westboro villages to discover its many shops. My wife was in heaven and has found her new favourite part of the city. She walked away with a Guess blazer from AMH Style, a pretty high-end consignment store.

Although the boutique shopping experience in Ottawa is pretty good, we lack the big brands that would give our city a well-rounded shopping experience. Looking down the road, with projects like the Lansdowne Park redevelopment, Ottawa may in fact become a shoppping destination. But there are reasons to be optimistic today. The Rideau Centre is putting the final touches on Forever 21 which looks pretty awesome. Also, as a result of a transaction with Cadillac Fairview, Fossil just opened a location at the Rideau Centre which thinkretail.ca is calling a flagship location for the Texas-based retailer. They also reported that at 2000 sq. ft. and with over 30 ft. of frontage it's the biggest full-priced Fossil store in Canada. Fossil is also looking at opening more stores in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Halifax and Moncton.

IKEA is also putting the final touches on their new Ottawa store which will also be the biggest in Canada and one of the biggest in North America. The store will also be equipped with an 80-square meter digital sign.

While Ottawa has a long way to go in becoming a major shopping destination, Fossil and IKEA could be pointing towards a trend of Ottawa becoming a hub for flagship stores of major retailers, regionally and nationally. Now that Cadillac-Fairview, owners of the Eaton Centres in Toronto and Montreal, are the sole owner of the Rideau Centre and are planning a well-needed expansion to the mall, we may see Ottawa attracting more flagship stores in the future.

Kevin Bourne
reinventingottawa.blogspot.com