Westbank Announces Plans for Honest Ed's Site

Mixed-use development to rise at corner of Bloor and Bathurst.

Bloor Street Looking South

Westbank, a Vancouver-based property developer, purchased the 1.8-hectare Honest Ed's/Mirvish Village site in 2013. This week they announced their plans at a neighbourhood open house

The unique proposal omits traditional condos for a mixed use development that includes 1000 rental units (many of them family sized) and a mixture of retail and commercial space, with a marketplace dubbed "Mirvish Village Market." The retail component will be largely small scale and echo the storefronts that line Bloor Street.

Bathurst Street Storefronts

For the residential component, Westbank is proposing three towers of between 21-29 storeys in height, the largest at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst. The entire development will be around a million square feet and proposes significant densification in a largely low-to-mid rise neighbourhood.

Westbank says their development plans will be informed by the German phrase “Gesamtkunstwerk,” a word adopted by the Bauhaus movement to describe the incorporation of the arts into design. At the Mirvish site, Westbank has promised a conversation with neighbourhood residents with a speaker series. Another open house is planned for the fall ahead of pre-application meetings with the City.

[Click here for the Westbank site.]

Holt Renfrew Men Suiting Up for October Opening

Holt Renfrew targets men with new Bloor Street store.

Holt Renfrew Men

Today Holt Renfrew announced that their Holt Renfrew Men store at 100 Bloor Street West will officially open October 1st. At 16,500 square-feet, Holt Renfrew Men will provide a dedicated space to men's luxury brands.

"Holt Renfrew is proud to enhance its unique position as Canada's specialty luxury retailer," said Holt Renfrew President Mark Derbyshire. "As part of our substantive growth and customer experience strategy, we are pleased to present Holt Renfrew Men: a personalized retail experience tailored to the modern man."

Showcased will be menswear, shoes, and accessory collections from brands such as Bottega Veneta, Canali, Zenga, Gucci, and Paul Smith. Holt Renfrew has also partnered with local menswear purveyor Walter Beauchamp Tailors to offer bespoke suiting.

Holt Renfrew Men Interior

With the opening of Holt Renfrew Men comes new masculine branding. The HR logo is rendered in a solid cube and the signature magenta is replaced here with warm grey.

Holt Renfrew Men Branding

The store was designed by Janson Goldstein, a New York based firm that recently worked on Holt Renfrew's renovated Yorkdale store. As at Yorkdale, Holt Renfrew Men will include dedicated shopping suites and personal shoppers. Alterations, a valet service, shoe shining, and monogramming round out the store's offerings.

Holt Renfrew Men

Holt Renfrew Men is part of a multi-year $300 million company wide investment to expand the chain's retail square footage by 40%. Also planned is a new store at Mississauga's Square One, extensive renovations at the Bloor Street flagship, and an e-commerce website scheduled to launch next year.

The opening comes as retailers Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue prepare to enter the Toronto market. Holt Renfrew Men will aim to solidify the retailer's menswear business and will no doubt ensure competition for the Harry Rosen flagship just steps away.

[Press release and images via Holt Renfrew]

Holt Renfrew Announces Store Enhancements and Closures

Moves are part of a multi-year strategic refocusing on flagship doors.

Holt Renfrew Bloor Street

Holt Renfrew has confirmed details about plans to refine their operations.

"We are focused on Holt Renfrew's unique position as Canada's specialty luxury retailer," said Holt Renfrew President Mark Derbyshire. "As part of our dynamic growth strategy, we are announcing further updates in our plans to expand our flagship store network."

The Holt Renfrew Bloor Street flagship will be completely renovated and expanded and complemented with a new Holt Renfrew Men store at 100 Bloor Street. Modeled on Holt Renfrew Yorkdale's recently renovated menswear department, and set to open this fall, Holt Renfrew Men will be a standalone store with a focus on suiting.

Holt Renfrew Men 100 Bloor Street West

Last year Holt Renfrew announced the opening of a new 120,000 square foot store at Mississauga's Square One Shopping Centre. With the announcement came news that Holts was working to increase their total retail square footage by 40%, growing from 800,000 to over 1.2 million square feet. The move follows plans from Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue to open stores in Canada.

The Bloor Street flagship (along with stores in Vancouver and Calgary) will have a new Apartment private shopping suite. This new concept was recently unveiled at the Yorkdale location.

Holt Renfrew Yorkdale's Apartment

Holt Renfrew also confirmed it was developing an omni-channel e-commerce platform that is set to be unveiled in 2015. Models for this platform could be the websites of sister brands Selfridges and Brown Thomas. Both retailers maintain comprehensive e-commerce websites and carry a range of luxury labels.

Websites of Selfridges and Brown Thomas

Included in today's announcement was the planned closure of two small Holt Renfrew locations in Ottawa and Quebec City. Both locations were approximately 35,000 square feet and are slated to close in early 2015. Two small format Holt Renfrew doors remain at Toronto's Sherway Gardens and in Edmonton. Despite the closures, the company expects overall employment levels to grow through 2017 due to its expansion plans.

[Images and press release via Holt Renfrew]