Toronto The Well | 174.03m | 46s | RioCan Living | a—A

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artyboy123 said:
I can't the roasting with an honest review of The Well 😭😭😭
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Maybe honest for someone who spends their life living in the Florida Panhandle...

...as this person clearly has never been around our summers. But you know about some folks down south...that they think Canada is all Iqaluit. /sigh
 
Obviously outdoor malls in Canada aren't as ideal as they'd be in The Bahamas. But what is the alternative? Only having indoor spots to hang out? Being resigned to dark and dingy spots just because it's cold? If there's anyone on Earth who knows how to brave the winter it's Canadians. And sure, the mall may not be bustling with action when it's -20 outside, but walking around outdoors when it's around 0º really isn't that bad.
 
picard102 said:
Spot on review.
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Were you commenting on what was in print here only, or did you watch the video?

ProjectEnd said:
It absolutely was not.
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I certainly can't endorse the whole thing as spot on, if only for the 'Tik Tok girlie" reference which was just juvenile; as was the general tone.

I think the take that it's only 1/2 open is a fair one, that part is accurate enough, the food hall is arguably the signature retail feature, as well as many of the restos, and those are mostly unopened as yet.

Certainly there has to be some fairness in that observation, and the hype is not supported by the currently open retailers.

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The 'outdoor' mall in Canada/Not Florida business was really rather silly. As many have noted above, main street retail throughout the old City is linked by outdoor sidewalks. They generally don't have any form of roof/canopy either, which clearly exists at 'The Well'.

If you're arriving in winter gear, and going to a few different places, or strolling through, it's not like this is Yorkdale, it's less than a 5 minute walk from one end to other. Hardly a big deal.

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The absence of seating in any form (including patio) at Prince Street is a fair observation. I've grabbed a slice there, and there really is nowhere convenient to eat it on the Front Street side at all; Wellington offers some nice options, but you'd need to know that and walk a minute or two out of the way.

Prince's owners know this is a problem and are working on some solution in terms of outdoor seating.

I do think it would have made sense to at least have some 'standing table' eating space inside; not so much due to winter specifically as just to meet the needs of customers any time of year. I do think the failure to include that was an odd mistake.
 
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ProjectEnd said:
It absolutely was not.
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Thanks for sharing.

Northern Light said:
Were you commenting on what was in print here only, or did you watch the video?
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The video. I concur with the assessment that having an outdoor mall isn't ideal, especially when like the video points out, through lack of indoor seating, you're forced to eat outdoors in the cold.
 
I figure that once the food hall is open, people would bring food from Prince St Pizza there to eat. I can see enjoying a coffee or tea outdoors when it is cold, but digging into a pizza maybe not.

I think the units are far too wide at the Well. It makes for rather low density of shops.
 
ward10 said:
sterday - despite the streetcar's slow trundle, stepping off with the nice pavers and architecture in the background is a lovely, novel type of Toronto urbanity.

Rekindled my desire for an extension of the Well's concept to the other side of Spadina:
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I like this idea. Many of these outdoor concepts in the UK are split up and still work well, like the Bull Ring in Birmingham and Cabot Centre in Bristol.
 
dougtoronto said:
Obviously outdoor malls in Canada aren't as ideal as they'd be in The Bahamas. But what is the alternative? Only having indoor spots to hang out? Being resigned to dark and dingy spots just because it's cold? If there's anyone on Earth who knows how to brave the winter its Canadians. And sure, the mall may not be bustling with action when its -20 outside, but walking around outdoors when its around 0º really isn't that bad.
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Yeah, that video is ridiculous. He keeps referring to the idea of an outdoor mall in "Canada" as a bad idea, yet Toronto is further south than I think it's 27 of the 50 states? Because Toronto happens to be in a country with Nunavut or Edmonton, lumps the city in to make the idea of an 'outdoor mall' as a ridiculous one, when it really isn't. Toronto winters are mild.
 
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