Usually a crowd-pleaser

What happened at Stratford Festival last year to cause a $3.4 million deficit as the Canadian theatrical institution heads into 2013? The short answer is that not enough people came. It could be seen in the nearly half-empty Festival Theatre for performances of 42nd Street, usually a crowd pleaser. Was it the absence of Americans, just too cash strapped at home to make it across the border from the many Great Lakes states that traditionally send hundreds of thousands of patrons? Whatever, despite acclaim from theatre critics and audiences the Stratford Festival experienced a 5% drop in attendance. The fall in attendance has not been a secret but the official accounting for the Festival’s 60th season was presented to members Saturday at the theatre’s annual general meeting. The revenue shortfall occurred in spite of donor contributions to operations totalling $13.3 million – the highest in the Festival’s history – and the transfer of $2.3 million from the Endowment Foundation.

Empty units at 1560 Bayview

Who knows just how the owners of 1560 Bayview, at the corner of Belsize Drive, feel about the chronically vacant walk-down basement units?  Those of us who live and work here however dream frequently of a solution that would somehow turn these units into an asset not an eyesore.  In fairness, these lower units suffer from a discredited design concept that tried to maximize space by putting half the “street level” units below ground. It didn’t work and that lesson has been sadly taught  all over the city, most notably Yorkville. At 1560 Bayview,  the owners tried to make the units to the north, where Bayview Photo was once located, more accessible by building a ramp. It has to be said that this was not a success. The ramp, in two long lengths, is more like a barrier to the places of business below. Steps to the lower level are hidden away behind the ramp. There is a clue perhaps to a solution in the upper floors of the building, which are pretty well-leased. Many of the upper units, unlike the lower ones, are smaller and more versatile for service businesses. Does the downstairs space need to be subdivided? Should the emphasis be on service accommodation, rather than retail goods? Can the rents be modified? This is a large property company. It seems reasonable to say that some vacant space is not so serious to the owners of 1560 Baview as it might be to companies with a smaller portfolio. All of this said, we continue to believe that a useful purpose can be found for these empty units. But everyone has to care about the problem to make the solution occur.