Toronto Eaton Centre (Ongoing Renewal) | ?m | ?s | Cadillac Fairview | Zeidler

christiesplits said:
Great observation. Eaton Centre does need more seating. Yorkdale and Square One could too, but they still have noticeably more than Eaton Centre, particularly benches in the corridors.

I suspect CF's rationale is concern about loitering and security.
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I too would like more (any!) seating but mall owners do not really want people sitting. You go to mall to shop and ONLY shop!!
 
DSCToronto said:
I too would like more (any!) seating but mall owners do not really want people sitting. You go to mall to shop and ONLY shop!!
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Perhaps in the past, but nowadays malls are going for just having the traffic. See; brand promotional giveaways, social media-oriented pop ups and a greater focus on food. All things the Eaton Centre has been pushing the last few years.

Rightly so, more traffic and more total time spent will boost store sales.

Though I think The Well kicks their asses in courting attention and getting people to make the trip (not sure about their influence on sales though).
 
p5connex said:
Very big error in judgement by CF. This land-grab turned what was once a great meeting space, into a terribly congested and overall disappointing and commercialized entrance to the EC! Shame really.
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Wishful thinking I know but this could be corrected by a smarter CF leadership in the future. The majority of the "greenhouse" was not only not demolished, but expanded. The top tier remained, the middle tier was expanded and the lower tier was demolished and replaced with the media tower and the H&M box.

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The other major modifications were that the floor was closed which removed the terraced open space and the stairs/escalator were reversed to face the subway instead of the mall.

If H&M were ever to move (former Hudson's Bay?) and the H&M box were removed and rebuilt as a lower greenhouse tier, the media tower could remain and the floor could be reopened with a smaller main level store rising from the lower level to create a continuous 2 level store within the atrium. This is how it should have done to begin with but instead H&M was allowed to erect a blank wall that killed the Eaton Centre's Dundas presence and ruined its grand arrival space.
 
DSCToronto said:
I too would like more (any!) seating but mall owners do not really want people sitting. You go to mall to shop and ONLY shop!!
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I think the store salesperson, my wife and I, would prefer I wait outside on the guys and old people bench. Now if they had a bar inside the store everybody would be happy. Wife, husband, sales clerk, bartender and store owner. I could just stay home.

Macy’s in New York used to have this on the mezzanine level but not on our last visit. It was a much shorter and cheaper shopping trip.
 
mburrrrr said:
I think the store salesperson, my wife and I, would prefer I wait outside on the guys and old people bench. Now if they had a bar inside the store everybody would be happy. Wife, husband, sales clerk, bartender and store owner. I could just stay home.

Macy’s in New York used to have this on the mezzanine level but not on our last visit. It was a much shorter and cheaper shopping trip.
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Nordstrom had one prior to closing. It was actually a nice spot.
 
JasonParis said:
I think the H&M could use a restaurant on top too, facing the square. I do prefer the idea of it moving to the Simpson's Building though.
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If it were set further back, opening a larger escalator well and shorter in the atrium, it could absolutely support a restaurant on its roof.

I went by last night and realized that not all is lost. It’s just how imposing it is currently, but the “greenhouse” is still very much there, just beyond the wall. It feels less grandiose because you can’t see it and the opening to the tiers below are hidden by a much smaller escalator well.

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