(Eaton) Lofts at 276

[plam]

I grew up living in a (northern) European city; we had a car, but I have no recollection of ever going grocery shopping by car back then.  My mother would carry the groceries back in a bag or two -- given the family of five, what it really meant was going shopping more frequently than once a week.  And in France people will go to a store daily, to buy bread at the minimum -- otherwise it simply wouldn't be fresh!

More frequent, less-mega shopping, picking things up after work, prepared foods, freshly-baked bread, these are minor lifestyle adjustments that allow downtown grocers to not only survive but thrive.

I'm sure some people grocery shop by car here in Zurich, but many people don't. I have no idea where one would even go to do that.

Bread (and croissants etc) are generally so much better in grocery stores and even depanneurs in Switzerland than in Canada! I was driving from KW to Hamilton two weeks ago, was hungry for a snack, but realized that there would be zero acceptable food items on the road. Sigh. Some grocery store bread can be acceptable.

EDIT: oh, I realized where you'd drive to shop now. Lidl, 4km from here (15 minutes by tram or car, 50m away from a tram stop). They keep on distributing flyers, and then I'm like "I have no idea where Lidl actually is". Not sure where you'd park to go to Lidl.

https://www.google.ch/maps/place/Lidl+Sc...9b5c?hl=en

[Spokes]

Lets shift this one back to the Eaton's building. We can migrate to the Grocery Store thread if need be.

[ac3r]

I know that there's a 'Downtown Grocery Store' thread where it might be better to ask this question, but...is downtown Kitchener there yet? A grocery store chain taking a gamble on a smaller format (that's going against the longtime trend in their industry) in a condo on Dundas Street West is a bit different than taking a similar gamble in downtown Kitchener. I hope that we do before long see a grocery store in downtown proper, but I fear it might be a considerable wait.

I'm sure others will argue against me, but I don't think they're there yet.  They're going to want to see a critical mass living within a walking distance, and it's just not there yet.

I think downtown is big enough for a small sized grocery store. There is already two Asian markets which provide a fair amount of groceries (although with a focus on Asian cuisine) and uptown has the Valumart or whatever it is in the mall, and it's got even less residential units around it (granted the universities are there, but aren't exactly close). I could see a small, regular chain one opening up, most likely a Loblaws run one in the downtown within 2-3 years.

[KevinL]

I think a Valumart is the best fit as it is, if they put a strong focus on ready-meals and grocery staples.

[panamaniac]

Some welcome signs of lift at the "now legally settled Eaton Lofts".  They did a bit of clean up on the main floor yesterday and today air conditioning equipment on the roof is being changed out (the crane is working from the lane out back).

[Spokes]

It'd be nice to see them jump on this and move quickly. I can't imagine there would be a ton of work to do on the main floor to get it ready for leasing.

[Viewfromthe42]

The main floor work indeed looked preparatory for actual work to bring it to a usable state.

[panamaniac]

The main floor work indeed looked preparatory for actual work to bring it to a usable state.

I am so looking forward to that streetfront corner being brought back to an acceptable condition.  I wonder if the Bolero Caffe and neighbouring storefront on the Water St side will be incorporated into the larger main floor space, or if we will see them retained as separate commercial spaces?

[panamaniac]

There's a piece in today's Record with more information on Perimeter's thinking for the first floor - looks like multiple tenants could be the way they are leaning.  With the mention of a grocery store as a potential tenant - Perimeter and the American Hotel Block guy need to get together and decide who gets the grocery store and who gets the Downtown LCBO!  

[tmccnnll]

There's a piece in today's Record with more information on Perimeter's thinking for the first floor - looks like multiple tenants could be the way they are leaning.  With the mention of a grocery store as a potential tenant - Perimeter and the American Hotel Block guy need to get together and decide who gets the grocery store and who gets the Downtown LCBO!  

Here's the Record article you mentioned.

[tmccnnll]

Here are some pictures taken last week showing the current state of the ground floor of the Eaton's Building:

[tomh009]

Today's Record has a story about Eaton's Lofts, mostly focused on the condo owners, who have surely had a challenging ownership period. However, things are now looking up for them, too:
http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6688...do-owners/

[kidgibnick]

Half a year since the last update.. does anyone know what's going on here? I went by here around Christmas and didn't see a grocery store, nor any progress on the condos above. I think everyone would like to see this building finally upgraded, as it's been pretty embarrassment for the last decade.

[Viewfromthe42]

I believe all the rework for the condo owners is finished, but certainly does not seem to be any movement on commercialization of the ground floor, grocery or otherwise.

[KevinL]

Might the LCBO go in here after all?