The CEO of Morguard real estate, owner of the East York Town Centre, says it will be a slow job to find tenants for all the spaces left vacant by the decision of Target Corporation to pull out of Canada. Rai Sahi, also echoed the view expressed by many that there is no single chain of stores likely to take over multiple locations the way Target did when Zeller’s was going downhill three years ago. “This is a surprise to everybody,” Sahi told the Minneapolis StarTribune, hometown newspaper to Target’s headquarters city. “When (Target) came in, we were very happy because we were worried about Zeller’s space at the time,” said Mr. Sahi. He is also chairman of Morguard. It has 15 store leases with Target, one of which is the Town Centre. “We knew they had some trouble, but the last thing that anyone expected was that Target was going to pull out that fast.” What will happen now? Sahi says he thinks that retailers in Canada will take pieces of the space, with Wal-Mart Canada at the top of that list.” Sahi said there is already a competition brewing between some major retailers in Canada for his company’s most desirable Target locations. Those who might wish to see a Wal-Mart move into the Town Centre have to reckon with the choices available to Wal-Mart. The Thorncliffe site might not seem as attractive as a location in the new SmartCentre property on the north side of Wicksteed Ave and close to the LRT. So much property is in transition, including the Leaside Centre at Laird Drive and Eglinton, owned by Rio.Can, it is very difficult to guess where large firms like Canadian Tire might finally settle.
