I am so impressed by The Well. I walked through it this afternoon after a meeting at BDP Quadrangle's office, and I think that once it's fully open and stabilized, it's going to become an instant icon and destination in the city of Toronto. So much so that when people visit Toronto, they're going to come to The Well to take a photo under its glass canopy. Just watch.

Right now, only a portion of it is accessible to the public and it's because there's a BMO bank branch on the lower level that is open and operating. It's all by itself right now, though, so if you bank with BMO, maybe pop by and say hello.

Now, if you're a naysayer, I would imagine you're probably thinking at least two things. You're thinking of the office space that Shopify left behind. And you're thinking that open-air malls maybe aren't well suited towards the Toronto climate. When our group walked through it today, Matt Young (of Republic Developments) immediately said that it felt like something from California.

I don't really get this climate argument though. Mainly for two reasons: (1) because winter clothes exist and (2) because we have lots of other open-air malls throughout the city that are doing just fine. Except we don't call them open-air malls, we just call them streets. And the way they work is that people walk outside, and then go into various retail establishments.

On the office piece, well, you all know how I feel about office.

Congratulations to everyone involved in The Well. It is an accomplishment that you should all be very proud of, and our city is better for it. I look forward to seeing it continue to take shape.

It’s December. You’re in Toronto. The high for today is 5 degrees celsius. But the overnight low is expected to reach -11. Would you rather shop inside a warm mall or outside along a hip urban Main Street?

This is a question that has come up a number of times in retail real estate meetings here in Toronto and the general consensus is often that people in our climate don’t want open air malls and Main Streets. They prefer enclosed malls.

However, this is not to say that we don’t have open air malls and that we don’t have a thriving downtown, because we do.

What I am saying though is that when the pension funds sit around contemplating what retail investments to make, they’re still largely thinking enclosed shopping centers. That’s why it seems like every major mall in Toronto is going through an expansion.

But still, I wonder what the actual consumer preference is. Is it really our climate? Or have we just become accustomed to driving to the mall? Here’s a similar blog post talking about the Finnish obsession with shopping centers and malls.

Generally speaking, I don’t love malls. There’s no urban authenticity. I find it much more enjoyable shopping at one-off and independent stores. But is this just a snobby architect, planning thing? I’d love to continue the conversation on twitter.

I am so impressed by The Well. I walked through it this afternoon after a meeting at BDP Quadrangle's office, and I think that once it's fully open and stabilized, it's going to become an instant icon and destination in the city of Toronto. So much so that when people visit Toronto, they're going to come to The Well to take a photo under its glass canopy. Just watch.

Right now, only a portion of it is accessible to the public and it's because there's a BMO bank branch on the lower level that is open and operating. It's all by itself right now, though, so if you bank with BMO, maybe pop by and say hello.

Now, if you're a naysayer, I would imagine you're probably thinking at least two things. You're thinking of the office space that Shopify left behind. And you're thinking that open-air malls maybe aren't well suited towards the Toronto climate. When our group walked through it today, Matt Young (of Republic Developments) immediately said that it felt like something from California.

I don't really get this climate argument though. Mainly for two reasons: (1) because winter clothes exist and (2) because we have lots of other open-air malls throughout the city that are doing just fine. Except we don't call them open-air malls, we just call them streets. And the way they work is that people walk outside, and then go into various retail establishments.

On the office piece, well, you all know how I feel about office.

Congratulations to everyone involved in The Well. It is an accomplishment that you should all be very proud of, and our city is better for it. I look forward to seeing it continue to take shape.

It’s December. You’re in Toronto. The high for today is 5 degrees celsius. But the overnight low is expected to reach -11. Would you rather shop inside a warm mall or outside along a hip urban Main Street?

This is a question that has come up a number of times in retail real estate meetings here in Toronto and the general consensus is often that people in our climate don’t want open air malls and Main Streets. They prefer enclosed malls.

However, this is not to say that we don’t have open air malls and that we don’t have a thriving downtown, because we do.

What I am saying though is that when the pension funds sit around contemplating what retail investments to make, they’re still largely thinking enclosed shopping centers. That’s why it seems like every major mall in Toronto is going through an expansion.

But still, I wonder what the actual consumer preference is. Is it really our climate? Or have we just become accustomed to driving to the mall? Here’s a similar blog post talking about the Finnish obsession with shopping centers and malls.

Generally speaking, I don’t love malls. There’s no urban authenticity. I find it much more enjoyable shopping at one-off and independent stores. But is this just a snobby architect, planning thing? I’d love to continue the conversation on twitter.