At Bloor and Bathurst, where landmark discount store Honest Ed’s once stood, there’s an inviting streetscape reminiscent of the buzzing back alleys of Tokyo.
A flower shop, a whimsical gelato cart and a dive bar with a neon sign are among the shops lining a narrow street packed withpeople.
But the scene is not real, not yet anyway.
It’s a rendering — part of an advertisement at a new under-construction housing and commercial sitelooking for “creative businesses” to lease “move-in ready micro retail units.”
That’s the promised future on the corner, currently occupied by recentlyfinishedgrey and white towers, a handful of bigger stores, and a few bright pink “Mirvish Village” signs.
Across Toronto,cherished pubs, restaurants or dry cleaners have been torn down to make way for new developments.But what ends up replacing them in ground floor retail spaces of the towers are often chains, which riskturning Toronto’s distinct neighbourhoods into uniform concrete blocks of Shoppers Drug Marts, Rexalls and fast-food franchises.
These spaces may have long been an afterthought, but there’s a growing acknowledgment of the value smaller establishments provideto the life of a street.
- Manuela Vega
Some developers, such as Mirvish Villages’ Westbank and the Daniels Corp.at Regent Park, are trying to do things differently, despite challenges such as floor plans and financing. It’s also something Toronto’s new chief planner says he wants to work on.
There seems to be a recent shift in thinking, saidDaniel Rotsztain, managing director of urban space organization plazaPOPS, which worksto preserve small establishmentsin suburban plazas targeted for redevelopment, “To say, ‘OK, how do we create the ecosystems that support these in the future, if we’re seeing their eradication in this ‘Shoppers-ification’of our beloved businesses?’”
Making room for community and local businesses space can draw more people to a project, he said, as well as increase buy-in.
Grey and white towers have replaced the old Honest Ed’s store at Bloor and Bathurst streets.
Steve Russell/pc28StarAtMirvish Village, encompassing the original department store site and surrounding area, Westbank has designed a whole new destination.
Although plagued by delays, there’s a planned food hall and live music venue, a daycare, a public park, and the restoration of heritage homes on Markham street for retail. That goes along with 890 residential rentals, a good chunk of them under market rent.
All of that, along with the envisioned “Honest Ed’s Alley,” illustratesan example of how to build the density the cityneeds without losing the neighbourhoods we love.
Why condo developers often go big box
Avi Behar, CEO of the Behar Group of companies anda commercial real estate brokerworking to find retail tenants forMirvish Village, believes condo retail space has long been neglected.Builders didn’t care about it, leading to “mass duplication” of big box stores.
Often the square footage is quite high, and smaller shops can’t afford to take that on, added Rotsztain.
Toronto’s new chief planner, Jason Thorne knows the square footage issue has been a point of frustration. On a walk through Corktown earlier this year, he told the Star he also hears from developers about the hurdles to including small local retail in new developments.
“They need to make the project profitable. They need to achieve certain lease rates. There’s often challenges with financing developments if you don’t have commercial tenants who are going to sign up for a 20- or 30-year lease,” Thorne said.
A City of pc28spokesperson, in an email, said the city’s Official Plan— a guiding document for how pc28can and should grow—emphasizes the importance of retail and commercial use at the base of midrise and highrise buildings, especially in mixed-use areas, along avenues and near transit.
They pointed to a citythathighlights a need for differently sized retail spaces, as well as Toronto’s more hyperlocal secondary plans— such as the, which talks about the need for smaller retail units along with larger stores to “maintain the existing rhythm of the street.”
But while there are elements of that the city can influence, Thorne saidsome areoutside its control. City hall can push for smaller floor plates in retail spaces during the planning process, he said, “but again, you can’t determine exactly who that building owner is ultimately going to lease to.”
Rotsztain said part of the problemis Toronto’s zoning rules, which generally squeezetall towersalong main streets.
So growth continues to happen in Toronto’s busier retail areas, targeting the very established places that “make the city we’re living in,” he said.
Lessons learned in Regent Park
Downtown’s Regent Park, where old public housing blocks have gradually been replaced with new towers and townhouses, has been praised formarquee community spaces such as the Pam McConnell Aquatic Centre and the Daniels Spectrum cultural hub. But one criticism from residents is that retail spaces in the initial phases of the multidecade revitalizationhave been filled by the likes of medical offices, Coun. Chris Moise told the Star last fall.
“They want to see more clothing stores or just small businesses,” Moise said.
The Regent Park redevelopment by Daniels Corp. has been praised for its community spaces, like the Daniels Spectrum cultural hub. Residents and the local councillor, though, would like to see more small businesses and gathering spaces like pubs.
Vince Talotta/pc28StarHeela Omarkhail, an executive with developer Daniels Corp., which led the first three phases,said that’s something they heard from the beginning,but has beenchallenging to do.
New developments include what she calls “first generation” retail spaces handed over to retailers as“raw concrete shells”that require significant start-up costs,which mom-and-pop shops can find tough.
Daniels ran a program to bridge that gap,investing in outfitting commercial space for, a non-profit thataddresses the mental health needs of Black youth and their families. They also created live-work spaces for artists within two Regent Park condos, which were directly informed by community feedback.
IndependentbakeryLe Beau also approached Daniels,which handles its commercial leasing in-house,and has seen success in itsDundas Street East location.
Like Westbank, Daniels has been purposeful about “curating” the space from the beginning, Omarkhail said, with some smaller retail spotsfrom 800 to 1,200 square feet.
City hall has handed the final two phases of therevitalization to developer Tridel, which did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
Moise would like to see the final phases of the redevelopmentinclude gathering spaces such as a local pub, or more of the kinds of small dry cleaners and retail establishments that already line Parliament Street west of Regent Park.
Mirvish Village: an attempt to do it differently
At Mirvish Village,Emilie Lok, Westbank’s head of commercial and retail leasing,said they recognized large floor plans and long leases would be an obstacle.
The spaces in Honest Ed’s Alley, which is trying to harness the entrepreneurial spirit of the original department store, range in size from 150 to 300 square feet, according to the retail brochure.
A look at some of the retail floorplates for Mirvish Village.
Steve Russell/pc28StarAfter opening in 1943 as a small women’s clothing shop,Honest Ed’s,named after founder Ed Mirvish,became a neighbourhood hub. It was a place to find anything and everything, from discounted underwear to salt shakers, and theygave awayfree turkeys to the community at Christmas.
The area was also home to Mirvish Village, a network of studio spaces and second-hand shops inVictorian homes along Markham Street that enjoyed low rent for decades.
AfterMirvish died at the age of 92, the entire site waspurchased by the B.C-based partnership of Westbank and Peterson in 2013.
Westbank’s ambitious plan was met with some trepidation from the community, and resulted in thedisplacementof severalsmall businessesandartists.
Lok said the plans try to incorporate “something for everybody.” Leases for the micro spaces are flexible, anywhere from six months to five years, and require little capital investment.
Public washrooms will be available so that the retailers don’t need to build their own. Some anchor tenants might stay for a while, but other small stores may just try things out, lending a pop-up energy to the alley.
About half of the micro units are leased, added Behar.
“Both the tenants and the project benefit — the businesses have a place to grow and a platform within a larger community, while Mirvish Village residents and visitors enjoy a more diverse variety of products and services,” Lok said.
More ways forward
Thorne said he’s “keen” on seeing what tools the city can use to encourage more community-minded spacesat the base of highrise developments.
The Daniels team has leaned on city programs that offer tax relief for small businesses in the past, Omarkhailsaid, and suggested more targeted programs could only help.
Rotsztain of plazaPOPS argued creating a cultural tax class for small businesses — the kind that becomecommunity gathering spaces, like neighbourhood restaurants or pubs— could save some of what makes pc28special.
A pedestrian walks buy a big-box retail space in a pc28development in midtown.
Steve Russell/pc28StarIn his mind there’s a clear business case for investing in these kinds of spaces. “People attract people” he said, adding that it can also build trust within the community for developments.
Another solution could be looking at the city’s zoning system,to see if those rulescould prioritize local spots.
The city is studying how to get this right onsuburban strip malls targeted for new developments. A theme explored in the is how to make it easier on businesses that are displaced — from shawarma shops to Somali restaurants,Rotsztain said. One idea is that some of these businesses could come back to the redeveloped project.
This is a strategy that Westbank has employed, Lok said. Two former Markham Street tenants are now interested in returning.
Although Lok said the program is delayed due to pandemic-related construction issues,they expect the project, including the micro retail units as well as the retail in restored heritage homes, to open thisfall.
If the old Honest Ed’swas a place where you could find anything, Lok hopes the new neighbourhood can provide some ofthat familiar eccentricity — even without the free turkeys.
Clarification — May 5, 2025
This article has been updated to correctDaniel Rotsztain’s title. In addition, the Mirvish Village site was purchased by a B.C.-based partnership of Westbank and Peterson.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation