Home Depot quits Queen St. W. project

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-- Home Depot quits Queen St. W. project

Posted by dEsidEL on Jan-23-2009 14:28:

Home Depot quits Queen St. W. project

so much for the jayx1 conspiracy theories?

quote:

Home Depot quits Queen St. W. project

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Home Depot Canada is paying an unspecified amount in cash to terminate its lease on a site along Queen Street West in Toronto being developed by RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.

RioCan said Thursday it intends to continue with the Queen and Portland development project, which has caused discomfort among artists and others in the trendy district uneasy about a big-box store.

Canada's largest REIT said it is "reviewing the possibility of repositioning the retail portion of the development to reflect a new retail footprint."

It added that there is no change in plans for the five-storey residential portion of the project, where construction has not yet begun on a one-acre site which now is a parking lot.

Original plans called for 91,000 square feet of retail space on three floors, of which 75,000 square feet was to be occupied by a single retail anchor.

"As a result of this change, we have an opportunity to reposition the retail portion of this project to reflect a more 'traditional' retail model, and are currently in discussions with several potential replacement tenants," stated RioCan CEO Edward Sonshine.

"We are optimistic that we will re-lease this part of the retail component and do not expect construction of the project to be delayed."

RioCan said 55 of the 90 residential condominium units have been sold.

source:
http://www.thestar.com/article/575399

Posted by exstasie on Jan-23-2009 14:41:

yes..unfortunately...

my REIT shares haven't been fairing too well as of late

Posted by rabbitjoker on Jan-23-2009 15:34:

Here comes Walmart.

Posted by smuncky on Jan-23-2009 15:39:

From NRU, Jan. 23, 2009

QUEEN WEST AND PORTLAND

Home Depot pulls out
By Mark Ostler

Home Depot Canada has paid RioCan REIT $11.5 million
to pull out of its lease on RioCan�s yet-to-be-built
retail/condo development, citing economic concerns. The
controversial �downtown big-box� location will likely be
split into two separate stores.

�We are in negotiations with a variety of alternative tenants,�
RioCan CFO Rags Davloor told NRU, adding that
the company is �well down the path in fairly advanced
negotiations.�

About two weeks ago Home Depot began talking with
RioCan about pulling out of the site, Davloor said.
One of the tenants is likely to be a grocery store, said
Davloor, though he did not elaborate on a potential second
tenant. Home Depot was to have leased 75,000-sq.ft. of
space. RioCan is now looking to create two units that will
measure approximately 45-50,000-sq.ft. and 25-30,000-
sq.ft. Davloor said that RioCan hopes to be able to
announce new tenants in three or four months time.
�We re-evaluated the site within the context of the current
economic environment and just determined that it�s not
the right time to open that location,� Home Depot Canada
public relations and external affairs manager Tiziana
Baccega told NRU.

The Queen and Portland Home Depot had been planned
for a 2010 opening. Baccega said that the company will still
be opening stores that have been planned for this year, but
added that the company is focussing its efforts on customer
service and investing in its current network of locations.
However, Home Depot may yet open a downtown store.
�We�ve been looking for a site in [downtown] Toronto for
about 10 years,� Baccega said. �It�s definitely something that,
in the future, we would like to be a part of. Unfortunately,
with regards to how the economy is going right now, it didn�t
make sense for us to be there.�

Due to some of Home Depot�s specific requirements,
especially with regard to loading areas and elevators, RioCan
could save as much as 15 per cent on the cost of the development,
Davloor said.

The site is being developed by RioCan REIT and
Tribute Communities and includes 90-condominium units
sitting atop three floors of retail space. The development has
generated some controversy in the neighbourhood, with
some criticism of the gentrification and corporatization of
the stretch of Queen Street west of Spadina Avenue.

Posted by Jayx1 on Jan-23-2009 17:35:

the condo is still going through... just the tenant is out. And this is being built on a parking lot which is where these things SHOULD be built. Not by tearing down perfectly functioning other parts of the city (or burning them down)

Posted by Aleks_B on Jan-26-2009 18:59:

Haha@ Home Depot bailing out! Never thought that was going to be a good idea. Soon enough there will be not be much home improvement in that area when all the valuable land is turned into condos...

Posted by exstasie on Jan-26-2009 19:04:

quote:
Originally posted by Aleks_B
Haha@ Home Depot bailing out! Never thought that was going to be a good idea. Soon enough there will be not be much home improvement in that area when all the valuable land is turned into condos...

They need to...they are brokez!
They announced they are laying off 7,000 workers today.

Posted by Intangible on Jan-27-2009 15:16:

quote:
Originally posted by exstasie
They need to...they are brokez!
They announced they are laying off 7,000 workers today.

wow I missed this in the news

For me this is sad news. I was really looking forward to this store. I dream of seeing the Home Depot in NYC. The store definitely would have been an interesting store concept/design and they would of had very little competition.

bahhh