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Church-Wellesley Village

It would be great to see Crate and Barrel or Restoration Hardware open on Church St. I think it would raise the bar and signal a change for this tired, shabby, run down street. Considering The Village was fabricated by the BIA, perhaps it's time they fabricate a new direction. The " Gay " aspect of the Village belongs in a museum now. The world has moved on. And I would welcome a change. Which is inevitable.
 
Wall of Sound said:
It would be great to see Crate and Barrel or Restoration Hardware open on Church St. I think it would raise the bar and signal a change for this tired, shabby, run down street. Considering The Village was fabricated by the BIA, perhaps it's time they fabricate a new direction. The " Gay " aspect of the Village belongs in a museum now. The world has moved on. And I would welcome a change. Which is inevitable.
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This makes no sense. Why would either of those stores want to be the only store like that on a street? C&B is more likely to open in a high-end shopping district. If they were to open nearby, they'd open on Yonge.

Without turning this into a chain store vs. local independent argument, the type of chain store likely to open in the village would need to be more niche with a smaller footprint and less turnover required to survive.
 
mgl said:
This makes no sense. Why would either of those stores want to be the only store like that on a street? C&B is more likely to open in a high-end shopping district. If they were to open nearby, they'd open on Yonge.

Without turning this into a chain store vs. local independent argument, the type of chain store likely to open in the village would need to be more niche with a smaller footprint and less turnover required to survive.
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Hope C+B or Restoration Hardware would attract more high end stores. With Cabbagetown to the East and Rosedale to the north, there would certainly be enough potential shoppers. I love Cumbraes, Pusitari's and Smith but it would be nice to see those awful dated sex shops like Stag and Priape leave the hood. Additionally, someone should take a wrecking ball to the north east and north west corner of C + W. The buildings look like they are about to collapse at any minute.

The beer store is a nightmare. I finally went in one day and was shocked. It's a dump. It's incredible. How a company like the beer store, which is flush with cash can operate a slum outfit like that, boggles the mind.
 
C&B and Restoration Hardware are very unlikely to open on Church as both like large spaces and there really aren't any - unless one knocks something down or builds on the parking lots. I have been going to the Village for over 25 years but it really does look more and more forlorn. Part of the problem is that the standard Toronto architecture (walk up entrances) and the layout of the street (narrow sidewalks) do not create many street level entrances and places for patios. If one wants lots of pedestrian traffic at all hours one needs lots of varied street-level retail and patios.
 
Wall of Sound said:
I think it would raise the bar and signal a change for this tired, shabby, run down street. Considering The Village was fabricated by the BIA, perhaps it's time they fabricate a new direction. The " Gay " aspect of the Village belongs in a museum now. The world has moved on. And I would welcome a change. Which is inevitable.
Click to expand...

A few pages back people were complaining that 'the gay' is leaving the village, now we don't need 'gay' in the Village? What is tired, shabby and run down in this area? And the Church Street BIA does not fabricate the neighbourhood, the businesses themselves do.

DSC said:
I have been going to the Village for over 25 years but it really does look more and more forlorn. Part of the problem is that the standard Toronto architecture (walk up entrances) and the layout of the street (narrow sidewalks) do not create many street level entrances and places for patios. If one wants lots of pedestrian traffic at all hours one needs lots of varied street-level retail and patios.
Click to expand...

Again, what's forlorn about the street? Much of the architecture is good, save for one small 60's strip mall and a crumbling building on the N/E corner of Wellesley & Church. If you've been coming to the area for 25 years you'd see that the street is busy from morning until very late at night, pretty successful I'd say. There are at least two dozen walk down/walk up retail areas between the three blocks, at least 8 patios for 9 businesses, plus there are several more a block or two north of the key area. That's pretty good for such a small area (3 blocks).
 
>but it would be nice to see those awful dated sex shops like Stag and Priape leave the hood

What is dated about them? Neither store is rundown, or do you mean that you're just opposed to the selling of sex toys? It wouldn't be much of a gay village without a couple of stores selling sex toys. Maybe you should find a new hood.
 
LOL at people complaining about sex shops and wanting Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware to open up in the Village. If any of these were to open up, they would do so in a more upscale location - or at least, a more high traffic location. Cabbagetown itself would not sustain any of these places - nor would the condos and small singles/towns that exist here and there between Yonge and Jarvis - because the furniture offered is just too big for the living space constraints of downtown. Ever wonder why Crate and Barrel at Yorkdale has free local delivery to the 905?

And as for Priape .. to whoever complaining about what they have to offer, obviously you're just upset you can't rock the assless underwear.
 
I scoff at the idea of getting rid of Stag Shop and Priape. Both are definitely not rundown at all, I mean, Stag Shop just moved into a new place. You can't call that "rundown" at all. Even Priape itself is iconic.

And a Crate + Barrel would fail miserably. The area just doesn't have the market for a high end furniture store.
 
A CB2, though, could do well. Urban format furniture stores could do well with all the mega condo development south of Carlton on Church.


Anyone know if the Barn is going to turn into something? They pained it blue the other day.
 
mgl said:
>but it would be nice to see those awful dated sex shops like Stag and Priape leave the hood

What is dated about them? Neither store is rundown, or do you mean that you're just opposed to the selling of sex toys? It wouldn't be much of a gay village without a couple of stores selling sex toys. Maybe you should find a new hood.
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The Gay Village is a dream state, a left over, a spurious hallucination, a museum piece from long ago. Like Little Italy and Greek Town, the demographic has changed. What remains, is simply a theme park, an homage, for another place and time.

As much as some readers and the BIA wish to continue with the concept, the concept has faded into the distance. All things must pass.
 
The whole thing is shabby and tired. Especially the 70's buildings which house Gingers, Rexall, Steamworks, David's Tea, Stag etc. What a terrible eyesore. These monsters could only have been the approval work of the OMB. It's time to rethink and redesign Church Street before it sinks any lower.
 
Mystic Point said:
The Gay Village is a dream state, a left over, a spurious hallucination, a museum piece from long ago. Like Little Italy and Greek Town, the demographic has changed. What remains, is simply a theme park, an homage, for another place and time.

As much as some readers and the BIA wish to continue with the concept, the concept has faded into the distance. All things must pass.
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You realize that Little Italy has a lot of Italian "themed" businesses, right?

And that your "re-think" of Church St. amounts to it conforming to the aesthetic and compostion of other streets in Toronto that demand similar rent? How is that interesting or novel?
 
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Mystic Point said:
The whole thing is shabby and tired. Especially the 70's buildings which house Gingers, Rexall, Steamworks, David's Tea, Stag etc. What a terrible eyesore. These monsters could only have been the approval work of the OMB. It's time to rethink and redesign Church Street before it sinks any lower.
Click to expand...


those are 2 different buildings - 1 commercial and 1 mixed commercial-residential IIRC.
i dont really see your reason for disgust ... so are you suggesting anything from the 70's be torn down?
 
The whole notion of the village being a "leftover" is quite honestly one of the funniest things I've ever heard. A leftover of what? Changing demographics - and for many that means aging in place - are to be expected. I live right south of the village and lived off of Jarvis and the majority of both neighbourhoods were part of the LGBT community.

Community events still bring people together - both good and bad - and that as its core is the village.
 
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