The Bulldog has learned that the Source electronics retailer will move from its present location in Sunnybrook Plaza to the large premises next to the CIBC. This space was most recently leased by the gift store Wrap-it-up. According to sources, the move will occur as soon as electrical plugs and finishing can occur at the vacant space. It is said that the plaza’s owners, Rio.Can, have been showing prospective tenants through the present Source location next to the Home Hardware store. It is expected that this smaller space will be more readily leased than the large Wrap-it-up location, which has stood empty for a year. The Source was created out of the break up of Radio Shack interests in the U.S. and Canada. In 2009, The Source was purchased by Bell Canada. The move at Sunnybrook brings to the fore the storefront slug-it-out that is going on between Canada’s three largest wireless and smart phone retailers — Bell, Rogers and Telus. Telus is represented at Sunnybrook by Blacks, now a wholly owned subsidiary of the B.C wireless and phone firm. We may expect to see keen competition between these players at Sunnybrook for the spare cash of consumers in and around South Bayview.
Tag: Sunnybrook Plaza
Sunnybrook Plaza reviewed at mid-winter
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| Sale at Gentry Clothiers |
A review of Sunnybrook Plaza at mid-winter shows it is still carrying vacant properties at the west end. It has been a year since the large space occupied by Wrap-it-up was vacated. Next door, half of what was the Rogers store is still for lease. It is widely believed that the landlord, RioCan, continues to collect rent for the space from the wireless and cable giant. In recent days there has been work done there but the For Lease sign remains. Elsewhere in Sunnybrook, Gentry Clothiers has a sale. Prices are said to be slashed as much as 70% at the long-time men’s wear store at the plaza. It’s been there 23 years already. Further east again you will find a hair removal place sandwiched between the Subway and UPS store. Next door to these are the New York Fries and Uptown Restaurant, both of which seem to rely fairly heavily on the lunch crowd from Leaside High School.
Post office now at the Rexall in Sunnybrook Plaza
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Canada Post has opened a new outlet in the Rexall/Pharma Plus Pharmacy in Sunnybrook Plaza. The new full service outlet has been open about three weeks and will come as welcome news to area residents. We took this news on the fly Sunday morning with a quick call to the pharmacy to confirm the information. It appears the hours are somewhat different from those of the reliable post office which ran for years in the Wrap-it-up shop at Sunnybrook, before that store closed in 2013. Many residents from all over South Bayview will find it much more convenient to visit the Pharma Plus at Sunnybrook especially considering the options. This is true of homeowners who live “across the postal divide” of the Moore Park Ravine. Those between Mt. Pleasant and the ravine have always looked to South Bayview as their preferred shopping area. But for registered mail retrieval Canada Post sends these customers into the paid parking jungle on Alvin Ave. Then its downstairs into the basement of the St. Clair Market and hope for the best. Of course, anyone who doesn’t ride the subway daily gives this location a wide pass. And we do acknowledge he pleasant and hard-working staff at the Post Office in the Shopper’s Drug Mart on Bayview Ave. Here’s the Pharma Plus number for inquiries (416) 485-3043. Hey, you read it in The South Bayview Bulldog.Canada Post returns to the Sunnybrook Plaza
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LRT stations and where they may be located
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The location of Eglinton LRT stations across the top of South Bayview continues to be a work in progress, evidently. Still, the estimable Bree Rody-Mantha has winkled out a few details, and we can add some more. The discussion has been underway among transit wonks for years as to where such stations should be located. In 2011, the Urban Toronto forum thread on this subject contained great detail on the so-called “station box” for the stop at Bayview Ave. It was to sit underground across Bayview on the north side, accessible from the Metro lot and from Sunnybrook Plaza. In the current issues of the Post Magazines, Ms Rody-Mantha has learned that the address of 1787 Bayview is mentioned as the location of the stop. That’s the McDonald’s building overlooking Talbot Park. But it may well be that this is merely a stairway entrance on the south sidewalk which will take riders to the platforms underground with the McDonald’s untouched, At Mount Pleasant, it appears the old bank building (inset) , now a Second Cup, will be the site of the LRT station. It’s nice to think that the 1940s centre of local commerce might survive as a train station but that seems a long shot. At Avenue Rd., the Metrolinx authorities were at some pains, Ms Rody-Mantha reports, to deny that the building now housing Oink Oink would have any role in the placement of the station at that street. Whatever the case, it is clear that Metrolinx is not finished the process of settling on locations and as one retailer on the route told Ms Rody-Mantha “they’ve changed their mind three or four times….” In such matters as this, it seems reasonable. The address of 1155 Eglinton Ave. E is given for the Don Mills Station. That number is well east of the Don Valley Parkway on Google maps but Google become inaccurate when there are no buildings to reference. There is apparently no information from Metrolinx for the stations at Laird Drive and the now on-again stop at Leslie Street. As to Laird, the old TD Bank building on the northwest corner (now a Starbucks) would make a graceful station entrance but once again, The Bulldog may be day dreaming. Previous post
Lucky break for all in Sunnybook Plaza crash
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There was a certain fretfulness among shoppers at Sunnybrook Plaza Saturday morning as they talked about the accident yesterday afternoon that sent a car through the glass front of the Rexall Pharma Plus pharmacy. “This has happened before,” said one woman outside the drugstore with her husband. “Ï wonder what they can do to make it safer?” And that was the sentiment of a number of people in the more than 60 year old strip mall. The plaza is said to be the earliest of such commercial centres in Toronto. It is owned by RioCan, the giant real estate investment trust (REIT). They have a record of responsibility and concern for their properties. In yesterday’s incident, a woman was at the wheel of a Toyota which was apparently in the permit parking spot shown in the photo, inset. For whatever reason, the car shot forward and knocked down a number of people. Only two were taken to hospital and then released. Toronto EMS say their injuries are minor. All in all a lucky break for those concerned. Yesterday’s post.
Car into pharmacy window at Sunnybrook Plaza
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A woman was behind the wheel when a Toyota car jumped the sidewalk at the Sunnybrook Plaza Friday afternoon and smashed into the glass doors of the Rexall Pharma Plus drugstore. Fire and police on the scene said that although there were injuries no one was seriously hurt. An early-tweeted picture (left) from an unknown person shows a woman laying on the pavement with concerned individuals over her. It was said among bystanders that perhaps two people had been taken to Sunnybrook Hospital. Picture centre, the dented vehicle. Right, the car more less where it landed as it crashed into the pharmacy.
Agile RioCan a strong presence in South Bayview
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The dynamic real estate investment trust RioCan is an ever present force in South Bayview. With headquarters at Yonge St and Eglinton Ave., RioCan owns the property at Laird Dr. and Eglinton E. That’s the Leaside Centre. It also owns the Sunnybrook Plaza and will shortly take over at the yet-to-be-built 1860 Bayview Ave., home of a new Whole Foods store. RioCan has been under pressure since early May as the market tanked. Still, there is advice from many informed sources that this diverse and widely-spread firm is a very good hold. This article is from the Globe and Mail. Rio.Can prospects. A measure of RioCan’s agility is its re-making of the out-dated Blue Mountain Mall in Collingwood. RioCan has permission from town council to revitalize the mall by demolishing some of it and using the inside corridors for retail space. It sounds like more of the mall’s doors will be on the outside of the complex. RioCan says it is converting a mall into a plaza. This conjurers up storefronts on the parking lot rather than inside. It seems a smart move as retailers frequently say there is nothing so good for business as having your door on main street.
Big space under renovation at Sunnybrook Plaza
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Tim Hortons checks out Sunnybrook Plaza
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| Vacant stores |
Word has whizzed through the stores at Sunnybrook Plaza that Tim Hortons has taken a look at the little shopping strip at Eglinton Ave. E and Bayview Ave. Sunnybrook has two vacancies. One of them is a smaller space at the east end of the mall still bearing the signage of Mountain Bean Coffee. That tenant was locked out last year because of unpaid rent. And many will know about the large vacant space next to the CIBC branch until recently occupied by Wrap-it-up, the gift shop and Canada Post franchise. There are a number of sources who say Tim’s agents have looked at the former Mountain Bean location and found it unsuitable. One source says the coffee leader is looking at the Wrap-it-up space. It is a better location in the mall and large enough to house a restaurant type operation such as Hortons. Nothing has been announced and behind the scenes there might be issues. Rio.Can, Sunnybrook’s owner, must weigh the balance between food outlets and important specialized retail companies. It’s retail that attracts grown up shoppers with money. Time will tell.
Few independent shops left at Sunnybrook Plaza
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Sunnybrook Plaza is down to three or four independent, one-store operators One of those few, gift card and wrapping paper store Wrap-it-up, is about to close after 30 years at the corner of Bayview and Eglinton. “It was just that the rent was too high,” said a clerk today about her boss’s decision to pack it up. And it’s true that the capacity of a stand-alone business to weather bad conditions is not as great as a chain. But there’s also the viability of each business for its own time. In the past, the sale of cards, paper and little china gifts could sustain a large space like that occupied by Wrap-it-up. Now retailers have ever more specialized fare and are misers when it comes to paying for space. The reliable post office in Wrap-it-up will also leave the plaza. All postal services in South Bayview will be consolidated at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Bayview Ave. As for Sunnybrook itself, this is an end-of-lease departure which so far seems to have no new tenant waiting in the wings. Indeed, the eviction of Mountain Bean Coffee over unpaid rent has left a multi-month vacancy at the other end of the plaza for owners RioCan. The Wrap-it-up location is a prime one however, sitting between two important anchors, CIBC and Pharma-Plus. Sunnybrook’s Uptown on Restaurant Makeover
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The Food Network will air The Uptown episode of Restaurant Makeover tomorrow night, Thirsday, September 27, 2012. The Uptown was for many years the Sunnybrook Restaurant at the east end of the Sunnybrook Plaza. Earlier this year it was re-made according to the tender mercies and wisdom of Restaurant Makeover. Tomorrow’s show will be aired on the Food Network at 9 p.m. Should be fun and of course the restaurant folks are inviting everyone to come over and watch the show.