Retail Supply - Bay Adelaide Centre - Essay Example

?PART A: Bay Adelaide Centre The Bay Adelaide Centre was completed in June 2009. The building is made up of 51 floor offices and it has retail publicplaces, which offers the final north/south connection to the PATH underground pedestrian walkway (Carsw 12). The building features 1,100 stall parking garage and stands on a half acre plaza with entrances on both Richmond and Adelaide Streets. The Bay Adelaide Centre features major accounting and legal firms hence representing ‘the center of business’ as well as the new standard for AAA class office buildings (Figure 1). Most of the pedestrians that patronize the streets around the Bay Aledaide Centre are those people who work in the Discovery District in close proximity to educational centers and hospitals. Examples of educational centers in the neighborhood of the Bay Centre include the University of Toronto and the Ryerson University. More than 65 per cent of residents in this area comprises of the working class in the age bracket of 25-64, which is considerably higher than the City’s average of 57 per cent (Figure 2). Figure 2: Population by Age Walking along the streets, it is notable that the intersection neighboring Yorkville at Bay is a center of expensive shopping, which attracts a large proportion of the upper class income earners who lives in the expensive neighborhoods of the city. The majority of the malls along this street sell expensive clothing and household products. The Bay street is largely used for transportation – it is served by the route 6 Bay bus. Other areas including the streetcar tracks, which extends from College street and Dundas are used for diversions and and short turns (Bow 12). Table 1 below shows how Bay Adelaide Centre neighborhood differs from the rest of the Toronto city. HIGHER LOWER MUCH LOWER % of Children (0-4) % of Children (5-14): % of Youth (15-24): % of Seniors (65+): Dependency Ratio: (20%) Total Population Change Table 1: How this neighborhood compare with the rest of Toronto PART B: Yorkville east of Avenue Road Yorkville is commonly known for its shopping activities. The city of Toronto annexed it from a former village. It is neighbor to Davenport road to the north, Bloor Street to the south, Avenue road to the west, and Yonge Street to the east. Officially, the strip is considered as part of The Annex vicinity. The strip is one of the city’s most fashionable shopping centers. It is surprisingly one the the world’s most expensive streets, with rent per square foot ranging from $300 by 2008. Yorkville’s has very expensive and fashionable restaurants, shopping and boasts of hosting the first five star hotels in Canada. Compared with the rest of Toronto, the percentage of children below four years is lower, youth is the same, seniors is higher, and the total population change is the same (Table 2). HIGHER LOWER MUCH LOWER SAME % of Children (0-4) % of Children (5-14): % of Youth (15-24): % of Seniors (65+): Dependency Ratio: (30.2%) Total Population Change Table 2: How this neighborhood compare with the rest of Toronto The fashionable boutiques include Gucci, Burberry, Hugo boss, Louis vuitton, Ermenegildo and Betsey among many other upscale designer boutiques. Many companies have their flagships located along this street, including Town Shoes, Gucci, Harry Rosen, Lacoste and Channel [4]. Recently, mid-market retailers have flocked Bloor street, including La Senza, Winners and French Connection. Yorkville is notably known for its luxurious shopping streets. The demand along Bloor street is very high, hence making the rent to shoot very very high. The majority of the retailers is independent (80%), who put a lot of efforts to meet these demands. The number of professional services and offices are extremely high, which services leading companies such as Canada Post, Retail Council of Canada, IBM Canada, Showcase television and consultants from different countries. The majority of the pedestrians are working age who also form the largest proportion of the shoppers (Figure 3). Figure 3: Population by age group PART C: DISCUSSION Bay Adelaide Centre Yorkville east of Avenue Road Retail chain 30% 70% Independents 20% 80% Retailing type Planned retailing Unplanned retailing Other types of uses that make up the system -Government agency offices -Private business offices -Transport -Police stations -Touring Parks -Government agency offices - Transport - Environment conservation Demographic compositions of shoppers 50% upper income earners 40% middle income earners 10% low income earners 80% white collar workers 20% blue collar workers 40% upper income earners 50% middle income earners 10% low income earners 50% white collar workers 50% blue collar workers Where the shoppers come from 15% city residents 75% city suburbs residents 10% from the countryside 10% city residents 75% city suburbs residents 15% from the countryside Proportion of shoppers vs. non shoppers Shoppers = 65% Shoppers = 80% When the system is busiest In the morning hours ( from 8 o'clock) and in the evening (From 4 o clock) In the morning hours ( from 8 o'clock) and in the evening (From 4 o clock) Ease of navigating Somewhat difficult Not difficult Is this public or private space Private Both public and private What is the nature and likely household composition of any residential areas nearby Predominantly white collar workers who work in the city Predominantly white collar workers who work in the city (Brook field Office properties 10). The retailing activities in the Bay Adelaide Center are in the epicenter of the city’s Central Business District, while Yorkville east of Avenue Road is somewhat exterior. As such, there are more pedestrians walking along Bay Adelaide Centre than Yorkville, though most of those walking along Bay Adelaide Centre are not potential shoppers but people attending different activities in the city center. As such accessibility of shoppers is higher as Bay Adelaide than Yorkville, though most of the pedestrians that walk along Yorkville are mostly potential buyers. The market at Bay Adelaide is predominantly dealing with fast moving goods such as foods while at Yorkville, slow moving goods are more common (Filey 12). In each of the two retail centers, the highest proportion of those who are served are the residents of the city suburbs, however, Yorkville is likely to serve the industrial areas operating in the city more than Bay Adelaide. It has been observed that Yorkville has very many parks, which implies that this region is better than Bay Adelaide in managing the environment (City of Toronto 12). Works Cited Filey, Mike. Yorkville - the first 'burb". Toronto Sun. 13, 2010. Web 12 Feb. 2013 City of Toronto. By-Law No. 9884. "Appendix 'B'" to the Minutes of Proceedings to the Council of the Corporation for the City of Toronto for the year 1924: Volume Two. Toronto: The Carsw James Bow. "The Dupont and Bay Streetcars (Deceased)". Transit Toronto. 22 September 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. Brook field Office properties. Bay Adelaide Centre. 12 Feb. 2013. Web 12 Feb. 2013 Read More