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(05-26-2016, 07:36 PM)plam Wrote: I'm often disappointed with MEC for their store placements. In this case MEC will be a semi-hostile 20 minute walk from the LRT station, I think. It is still far better than the Adventure Guide placement. I tried to bike to The Boardwalk once and it was a terrible experience. I was bummed out a few years ago when Adventure Guide announced their move from their central location to the Boardwalk. If I remember correctly Adventure Guide moved because the rent was increased substantially at their old location.
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(05-26-2016, 08:57 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: If I remember correctly Adventure Guide moved because the rent was increased substantially at their old location.
Well, the old building is empty, so the landlord there isn't any further ahead...
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(05-26-2016, 09:11 PM)Drake Wrote: (05-26-2016, 08:57 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: If I remember correctly Adventure Guide moved because the rent was increased substantially at their old location.
Well, the old building is empty, so the landlord there isn't any further ahead...
Perhaps another landlord who overestimated what the market would bear for the property. I don't know about Waterloo, but seems almost the norm in Downtown Kitchener.
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MEC chooses their new locatons based on their customer base. You must be a member (buy a $5 share) in order to shop in their stores or order items online, and that means providing your address details. I'm sure their shipping database has told them how much demand for their products comes from our area.
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Ottawa's MEC isn't really downtown, but it's not exactly the suburbs either. On the whole, though, they seem to favour suburban locations.
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(05-26-2016, 07:36 PM)plam Wrote: In this case MEC will be a semi-hostile 20 minute walk from the LRT station, I think. Still much less hostile, at least to me, than having to drive to downtown Toronto.
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This location will be a lot more accessible than a few others. See Why MEC's Burlington Location is an Awful Choice.
[url=http://mecinhamilton.neenerneet.net/burlingtonbad.html][/url]
There have been other criticisms of the Burlington location than this. I've heard a number of times that the proposed downtown Hamilton location was in play, but who knows. It doesn't seem their style to locate in an urban area, but I think that their Burlington store at least pays lip service to people arriving some way other than a car.
It's not a short walk from LRT, but the perception of a walk is highly dependent on the quality of the surroundings. We should be requiring more density, buildings fronting the sidewalk (I feel it's insane that this should not be the case everywhere), and a focus on pleasant connections on foot.
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The Burlington location is the same reason why stores like Ikea and Lee Valley built Burlington locations - to have a broader catchment than just Hamilton, to include Oakville and Milton and the surrounding area.
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(05-26-2016, 09:50 PM)jamincan Wrote: Ottawa's MEC isn't really downtown, but it's not exactly the suburbs either. On the whole, though, they seem to favour suburban locations.
I would agree, although the Ottawa Location may not be downtown, but Westboro is quite the urban neighborhood.
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The Halifax location is downtown. Small, but one of the nicer locations.
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(05-27-2016, 08:43 AM)Spokes Wrote: (05-26-2016, 09:50 PM)jamincan Wrote: Ottawa's MEC isn't really downtown, but it's not exactly the suburbs either. On the whole, though, they seem to favour suburban locations.
I would agree, although the Ottawa Location may not be downtown, but Westboro is quite the urban neighborhood.
And MEC gave Westboro a significant boost.
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Would I be crazy to think the old Stantec location in Market Square could have worked for MEC?
I'm happy to get one though. No more trips to London, Burlington or TO.
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(05-27-2016, 03:39 PM)Chris Wrote: Would I be crazy to think the old Stantec location in Market Square could have worked for MEC?
That place is unsalvageable. The faster it comes down, the better the city will be for it.
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(05-27-2016, 10:30 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: (05-27-2016, 03:39 PM)Chris Wrote: Would I be crazy to think the old Stantec location in Market Square could have worked for MEC?
That place is unsalvageable. The faster it comes down, the better the city will be for it.
Not at all. That building could be pretty easily expanded, renovated and reclad. I look at it and see 8 Queen St N, redux.
Although given the appearance of the parking garage, I really have no confidence in the owners to do anything helpful with the place.
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(05-28-2016, 10:21 AM)panamaniac Wrote: Not at all. That building could be pretty easily expanded, renovated and reclad. I look at it and see 8 Queen St N, redux.
Although given the appearance of the parking garage, I really have no confidence in the owners to do anything helpful with the place.
Expansion simply means more of an ugly building. It's the wrong size, doesn't interact with the street, it occupies the entire block without having a public space, it has very few windows and if all of this wasn't enough it's in bad state of disrepair.
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