The office cyclicality is interesting to see. But of course, the point of this chart is the dramatic rise in data center construction. As of August 2025, it's about 2x retail construction and it's on track to overtake both offices and warehouses.
Will this happen and is this pace of construction sustainable? I frankly don't know. But AI and the need for more compute are obviously here to stay.
I'm reminded of something that venture capitalist Fred Wilson once wrote on his blog. His argument was that when it comes to speculative frenzies, or just new stuff in general, it's common to be directionally correct, but be off in terms of the order of magnitude.
I wouldn't be surprised if this proves to be true for AI-driven investments.
Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about the future of the mall on this blog. It’s a topic that I’m very interested in.
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published an article talking about the trend of converting retail/shopping facilities to logistic centers.
Here’s an excerpt:
“In Mesquite, Texas, FedEx Corp. next month will open a 340,000 square-foot distribution facility on what once was the site of the former Big Town Mall. Located along U.S. Highway 80 in Texas, the mall declined after newer malls were built nearby. It was demolished in 2006 and the land was later rezoned for industrial use.”
It turns – and we’ve talked about this – that good retail locations are also good distribution locations. They are usually located close to humans and infrastructure.
Here’s another example from the article:
In North Randall, Ohio, Amazon.com Inc. is considering the site of the former Randall Park Mall as a fulfillment center, according to Port of Cleveland, a local government agency focused on spurring job creation and economic growth in Cuyahoga County. Amazon didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
For a short time when it opened in 1976, Randall Park Mall was the largest shopping center in the world and had been “a thriving heartbeat” for the local economy, according to Mr. Davis. But the mall closed in 2009 as stores struggled with fewer shoppers.
Assuming this trend continues and people continue to buy things online, one has to wonder about the placemaking that should or needs to happen in these areas.
The office cyclicality is interesting to see. But of course, the point of this chart is the dramatic rise in data center construction. As of August 2025, it's about 2x retail construction and it's on track to overtake both offices and warehouses.
Will this happen and is this pace of construction sustainable? I frankly don't know. But AI and the need for more compute are obviously here to stay.
I'm reminded of something that venture capitalist Fred Wilson once wrote on his blog. His argument was that when it comes to speculative frenzies, or just new stuff in general, it's common to be directionally correct, but be off in terms of the order of magnitude.
I wouldn't be surprised if this proves to be true for AI-driven investments.
Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about the future of the mall on this blog. It’s a topic that I’m very interested in.
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published an article talking about the trend of converting retail/shopping facilities to logistic centers.
Here’s an excerpt:
“In Mesquite, Texas, FedEx Corp. next month will open a 340,000 square-foot distribution facility on what once was the site of the former Big Town Mall. Located along U.S. Highway 80 in Texas, the mall declined after newer malls were built nearby. It was demolished in 2006 and the land was later rezoned for industrial use.”
It turns – and we’ve talked about this – that good retail locations are also good distribution locations. They are usually located close to humans and infrastructure.
Here’s another example from the article:
In North Randall, Ohio, Amazon.com Inc. is considering the site of the former Randall Park Mall as a fulfillment center, according to Port of Cleveland, a local government agency focused on spurring job creation and economic growth in Cuyahoga County. Amazon didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
For a short time when it opened in 1976, Randall Park Mall was the largest shopping center in the world and had been “a thriving heartbeat” for the local economy, according to Mr. Davis. But the mall closed in 2009 as stores struggled with fewer shoppers.
Assuming this trend continues and people continue to buy things online, one has to wonder about the placemaking that should or needs to happen in these areas.
I spent this evening driving around Toronto with an architect friend of mine looking for laneway houses. (Late summer sunsets have a wonderful way of extending the day.)
I think most people would be surprised by how many of them are hidden away behind our streets. I think of laneways as a forgotten third layer behind our major avenues and smaller streets.
One of my favorite laneway houses, pictured above, is Armstrong Avenue by Taylor_Smyth Architects. It’s a bit unusual in that it’s exceptionally large for a laneway house (2,200 square feet). But that’s because the building was originally built as a dairy (1912).
What’s interesting about the house is that from the outside it looks rather nondescript. Okay, it looks raw and rundown. Here is a closer photo:
But then inside, it looks like this. Modern. Clean. Polished. And light-filled.
I’m not suggesting that this should or could become a repeatable model for laneway housing in Toronto. Again, it’s a unique circumstance. But I think contrast is an extraordinary poetic device. And in this case, it speaks to both the past and the future of this city.
I spent this evening driving around Toronto with an architect friend of mine looking for laneway houses. (Late summer sunsets have a wonderful way of extending the day.)
I think most people would be surprised by how many of them are hidden away behind our streets. I think of laneways as a forgotten third layer behind our major avenues and smaller streets.
One of my favorite laneway houses, pictured above, is Armstrong Avenue by Taylor_Smyth Architects. It’s a bit unusual in that it’s exceptionally large for a laneway house (2,200 square feet). But that’s because the building was originally built as a dairy (1912).
What’s interesting about the house is that from the outside it looks rather nondescript. Okay, it looks raw and rundown. Here is a closer photo:
But then inside, it looks like this. Modern. Clean. Polished. And light-filled.
I’m not suggesting that this should or could become a repeatable model for laneway housing in Toronto. Again, it’s a unique circumstance. But I think contrast is an extraordinary poetic device. And in this case, it speaks to both the past and the future of this city.
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