Manulife Place Renovations | 145.99m | 36s | AIMCo | MdeAS

What do you think of this project?

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    22
archited said:
^^^^ Wrong 'O! There is a powerful correlation between Retail and Entertainment -- WEM is an excellent example of that -- and we are already seeing the development of additional entertainment venues in and around the ICE district. To be certain there will be starts and subsequent failures, but the trend line will underscore new development in the Retail realm. I understand that you can't see that considering your pronounced negative view on all things "Edmonton"... time will tell who is right (ahem... ME) and who is wrong (psst... YOU).
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Sure, but density and alternatives are equally important.

Reality is a bitch.
 
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IanO said:
Sure, but density and alternatives are equally important.

Reality is a bitch.
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Yes, but people are not going to be enticed to live downtown by empty store fronts and struggling malls either. All these things need to work together.

More density is arguably better, but there is no magic number of people or threshold where our problems will be solved. I doubt downtown Red Deer has a large population, but yet they seem to have quite a few retail stores there.
 
One of Edmonton's fatal, almost universally agreed upon flaws, continues to be complacency and a lack of awareness compared to other cities, marketplaces, jurisdictions.

I'm not sure it ever really looks in the mirror or wants to accept constructive criticism.

*awaits the classic - 'why don't you do what you just wrote'

Manulife Place's fall from grace and the overall state of the Downtown (pre and post COVID) is a good example of this.
 
Need I remind you that all downtowns from a retail perspective are getting hammered. That said, your obvious distain for Edmonton continually shows through.
 
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Actually, tough love and well aware of that, but very few if any cities (especially in Canada) have such dismal offerings in the cores.

But hey, others have issues too SO IT'S OK!
 
NO IT'S NOT... but you might try framing a little constructive criticism instead of your continual blitzkrieg.
 
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David A said:
To take it even closer to home, I happened to be looking at downtown Red Deer on street view yesterday. I think there is more retail on Gaetz Ave downtown there than on Jasper Ave.

I think what they (and other places) have downtown are small unique stores that serve the local market. We keep on forgetting that people also actually live downtown and nearby. These people are not being well served by being forced to drive to often distant malls or power centres for almost everything.
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However most people don't live downtown and probably don't want to be forced to drive downtown for such amenities. Traffic and parking are always more difficult downtown than other parts of the city.

In the past it was necessary to have downtowns to serve an entire city with unique experiences and retail. That may no longer be the case.
 
How many people here have actually been downtown lately and ventured beyond the Ice District? There are a LOT of empty podiums, specifically in places that just before the pandemic were bustling.

Being the realist that I am, Simons is a pipe dream for downtown Edmonton if they are struggling in Calgary that has at least double the downtown population of Edmonton, if not more. I think Henry Singer will do well in Ice District. More exposure will do them well. A ton of people don't even know they have a store in Manulife. Hit up a hockey game and drop a bunch of cash on a new pair of jeans or buy a suit if that is what you're after. Simons would have to be closer to ID to effectively catch those crowds. People don't venture very far for offerings if they aren't unique. Simons isn't unique to Edmonton.

Yes, Calgary downtown has some other options, Harry Rosen, BB, etc that compete with some of Simons offerings. However, so does Edmonton with HS, the Helm, and a few other shops.
 
archited said:
^^^^ Wrong 'O! There is a powerful correlation between Retail and Entertainment -- WEM is an excellent example of that -- and we are already seeing the development of additional entertainment venues in and around the ICE district. To be certain there will be starts and subsequent failures, but the trend line will underscore new development in the Retail realm. I understand that you can't see that considering your pronounced negative view on all things "Edmonton"... time will tell who is right (ahem... ME) and who is wrong (psst... YOU).
Click to expand...
I get your point generally, but WEM was/is an exception and shouldn't be compared to ID. WEM was a brand-new conception and ahead of its time hence why it became so famously worldwide and has established itself as a destination - even today. I will agree that the I-District will become successful down the road; the only question is when? If there is only a specific demographic living downtown, it will be a failure. If ID is a community central entertainment hub, we need a COMMUNITY, so where and when is that community coming about?
 
westcoastjos said:
How many people here have actually been downtown lately and ventured beyond the Ice District? There are a LOT of empty podiums, specifically in places that just before the pandemic were bustling.

Being the realist that I am, Simons is a pipe dream for downtown Edmonton if they are struggling in Calgary that has at least double the downtown population of Edmonton, if not more. I think Henry Singer will do well in Ice District. More exposure will do them well. A ton of people don't even know they have a store in Manulife. Hit up a hockey game and drop a bunch of cash on a new pair of jeans or buy a suit if that is what you're after. Simons would have to be closer to ID to effectively catch those crowds. People don't venture very far for offerings if they aren't unique. Simons isn't unique to Edmonton.

Yes, Calgary downtown has some other options, Harry Rosen, BB, etc that compete with some of Simons offerings. However, so does Edmonton with HS, the Helm, and a few other shops.
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Just major menswear options in YYCDT:

The Bay
Simons
Holt
HR
Club Monaco
H&M
Gap
Tip Top
Banana Republic
Brookes Brothers
Browns
 
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IanO said:
Just major menswear options in YYCDT:

The Bay
Simons
Holt
HR
Club Monaco
H&M
Gap
Tip Top
Banana Republic
Brookes Brothers
Browns
Click to expand...
We used to have four of these, maybe more? Did we ever have Tip Top downtown or Le Chateau perhaps? Gap, Bay, Club Monaco, and Holt that I recall.
 
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