Why have these four prime real-estate locations—the former homes of beloved Toronto restaurants, bars and shops—been lying vacant for so long?
It’s always sad to see a beloved Toronto restaurant, bar or shop close its doors; even more so when their former space lies vacant for years, unable to attract a new tenant willing to take on the raised rents. We took a look at what four such locations are going for on the open market, and what future plans may be in store for them.
Location: 256 Queen St. W., pictured above (#QNW).
Formerly: Pages Books & Magazines.
Vacant since: August 2009.
Size: 3,800 sq. ft.
Price: $100 per sq. ft. per year.
Length of lease required: 5-10 years.
Renovations required? Landlord has cleaned the building, and stripped it down to its bare walls. But the space still needs a lot of work in terms of flooring and ceiling treatment.
Why has it been vacant for so long? “Pages closed during the height of recession,” says CBRE’s Chris Wanzel, realtor for the property. ”Youth brands in the Queen West area have all suffered. Commercial prices on Queen between Spadina and University are just too expensive. All bookstores have taken a hit, because of popularity of eReaders.”
Location: 328 Queen St. W. (#QNW)
Formerly: Le Select Bistro (which relocated to 432 Wellington in 2006), Buffalo Jeans.
Vacant since: Spring 2010. (Its storefront is currently being used for a Bell street-level advertising campaign.)
Size: 3,800 sq. ft.
Price: $100 per sq. ft. per year.
Length of lease required: 5-10 years.
Renovations required? About three years ago, the landlord invested over $1 million into the property, so it is up to date, in move-in condition, with no renovation required.
Why has it been vacant for so long? According to CBRE’s Wanzel, who’s also handling this property, it’s a combination of post-recession market conditions and realtors taking an active interest in attracting unique tenants to this location. However, Wanzel says, a big deal is currently in the works for this space.
UPDATE: Anyone who’s been on the Queen West strip lately will have noticed that 328 Queen has turned into an Xbox 360 store. Who knew Xbox had entire stores?
Location: 1302 Queen St. W. (#PRK)
Formerly: Club OV’s on the ground floor; second and third floors are currently operating as a hotel.
Vacant since: 2004.
Size: 20,000 sq. ft.; includes 10,000 sq. ft back lot.
Price: The asking sale price for building was $3.9 million; it sold in May for an undisclosed amount to the owners of 99 Sudbury.
Renovations required? Listed as an historic property, the building is being sold as-is, but the ground floor and basement have been completely gutted.
Why has it been vacant for so long? According to realtor Ming Zee, the asking price from former owner Al Carbone, was too high.
Location: 549 College St. (#COL)
Formerly: Conjoined music venues/watering holes Barcode and Ted’s Wrecking Yard.
Vacant since: 2001 (though there have been a few aborted attempts to revive the space in the interim, most notably the Inn on College boutique-hotel concept that halted in 2005).
Size: 4,000 sq. ft.
Renovations required? Entire building has been gutted—including the removal of the second floor that once housed Ted’s.
Why has it been vacant for so long? The building’s part-owner, Michael Dobrijevic, speculates that, because of the size and prime location of the space, anyone looking to make an investment out of it would “find it hard to make the economics work.” However, the space has been leased recently for an undisclosed amount and is currently being turned into an LCBO location that will open in December. (Construction began in the spring.)
