Mink Mile is an upscale shopping district in the neighbourhood of Yorkville in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along Bloor Street between Yonge Street and Avenue Road.
Mink Mile is an upscale shopping district in the neighbourhood of Yorkville in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along Bloor Street between Yonge Street and Avenue Road.
In the 21st century, mid-market retailers have begun to locate along the Mink Mile. In 2005, Winners and La Senza opened stores, later followed by Club Monaco, J. Crew, Banana Republic, French Connection, Puma, Aldo, Aritzia, American Apparel, Roots Canada Ltd, Guess, Nike, Zara, Roots, Lululemon, Sephora, Gap, and H&M. Discount retailer, Labels 4 Less, opened their own store in 2008, to the disappointment of many of its neighbours but was replaced shortly by Hugo Boss. [1]
Begun in 2008, the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area and the City of Toronto updated the streetscape from Church Street to Avenue Road, creating an enhanced pedestrian experience with widened sidewalks, mature trees, flower gardens, modern lighting, and public art. [2] The project was completed in 2013.
Mink Mile has been recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping streets in North America, being compared to New York's Fifth Avenue, Chicago's Magnificent Mile, and Los Angeles' Rodeo Drive. [3] Demand remained high on the Mink Mile, according to real estate firm, Cushman and Wakefield. In 2005, retail space rents were $110 per square foot. The 2010 Cushman and Wakefield report indicate rents of $198 per square foot, while the Q407 Toronto Retail Report in 2010 [4] mentions deals reaching $300 per square foot, making the Mink Mile the third most expensive retail street in North America. This has led to higher rents on nearby Cumberland St. and Yorkville Ave., with several new developments asking $125 per square foot. Expensive Indian fashion boutique INDIVA, which moved to a smaller boutique on Yorkville Ave., claims that the monthly rent at their previous location was $85,000. [5]
Many independent retailers struggle to meet these demands, and many in past years have closed or relocated to other streets. However, it is estimated that some retailers pull in more than $2000 per square foot in sales. [6] In 2008, the stretch of Bloor was named the seventh most expensive shopping street in the world by Fortune Magazine, claiming tenants can make $1,500 to $4,500 per square foot in sales. [7] In 2012, Mink Mile commands an average rent of $310 per square foot, making it the most expensive place in Canada to lease retail space [8] and the third most expensive retail space in North America.
Several international luxury retailers have shops in the area including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Cartier, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, MCM, Versace, Brunello Cucinelli, Christian Louboutin, Tiffany & Co., Coach, Saint Laurent, and a 50,000 square foot Harry Rosen flagship. Holt Renfrew also has its flagship department store on 50 Bloor Street and a Men's store at 100 Bloor Street.
There are also other midrange and upscale stores, such as Max Mara, Moncler, Brooks Brothers, Roots Canada, Sephora, H&M, and Aritzia.
Eataly, a large format Italian marketplace, also operates a substantial flagship store on the street. Occupying a 50,000 Sq FT location in the newly renovated Manulife Centre.
Hudson's Bay, also known as The Bay, is a Canadian luxury goods department store chain. It is the flagship brand of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), the oldest and longest-surviving company in North America as well as one of the oldest and largest continuously operating companies in the world.
Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Street in that role in the 1970s.
Robson Street is a major southeast-northwest thoroughfare in downtown and West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its core commercial blocks from Burrard Street to Jervis were also known as Robsonstrasse. Its name honours John Robson, a major figure in British Columbia's entry into the Canadian Confederation, and Premier of the province from 1889 to 1892. Robson Street starts at BC Place Stadium near the north shore of False Creek, then runs northwest past Vancouver Library Square, Robson Square and the Vancouver Art Gallery, coming to an end at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park.
Yorkville is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road to the west, and it is part of The Annex neighbourhood. Established as a separate community in 1830, it was annexed into Toronto in 1883. Yorkville comprises residential areas, office space, and retail shopping.
Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton & Co. store in Quebec City, Lower Canada operated as a fur shop. The company serviced the greater North American and European markets with its mail order catalog beginning in the late 1800s, and was appointed Furriers in Ordinary to several members of the British royal family from 1886 to 1921.
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same right-of-way. The street, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) long, contains a significant cross-sample of Toronto's ethnic communities. It is also home to Toronto's famous shopping street, the Mink Mile.
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products with nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, and includes beauty products such as cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions and haircare.
Scarborough Town Centre (STC) is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre district, it is adjacent to Scarborough Centre station, the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal and the CTV Toronto studios (9 Channel Nine Court). Opened in 1973, the mall is the fourth largest shopping mall in Canada and third in Toronto by retail space.
Sherway Gardens is a large retail shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The mall is located 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of Downtown Toronto, near the interchange of Highway 427 with the Queen Elizabeth Way and Gardiner Expressway.
The Manulife Centre is located on the southeast corner of Bay and Bloor streets, along the Mink Mile and adjacent to the southern edge of the Yorkville district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of a 51-storey 800-suite luxury residential tower at 44 Charles Street and a shorter tower at 55 Bloor Street West, connected by a retail complex on the main floor and basement.
2 Bloor East is an office and retail complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, formerly known as the Hudson's Bay Centre. It is located in Downtown Toronto at the intersection of Yonge Street and Bloor Street at the east end of the Mink Mile. Brookfield Properties owns and operates the centre. The centre is composed of a 35-storey office tower and a retail concourse. From its opening in 1974 until 2022 it had a Hudson's Bay department store as its anchor store.
Two Bloor West, is an office building at the intersection of Yonge Street and Bloor Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as Toronto's CIBC building, but that name can also refer to Commerce Court.
Yorkville Village is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Yorkville neighbourhood, along Avenue Road, north of Bloor Street. Prior to its redevelopment which concluded on January 25, 2016, it was known as Hazelton Lanes.
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
Harry Rosen Inc. is a Canadian retail chain of 17 luxury men's clothing stores. A privately owned company, Harry Rosen accounted for 40 percent of the Canadian market in high-end menswear in 2008.
Aritzia LP is a Canadian women's fashion brand founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Brian Hill in 1984. Aritzia sells a variety of lifestyle apparel through various upscale retail stores across Canada and the United States and online. Aritzia describes itself as "everyday luxury," a luxury brand at attainable prices.
The Core, which consists of TD Square, the Holt Renfrew building, the Simons building, the Stephen Avenue Place shops, Scotia Centre, and the former Calgary Eaton Centre, is the dominant shopping complex located in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It spans three city blocks and contains approximately 160 retailers on four levels. The property also contains six major office towers (TD Canada Trust Tower, Home Oil Tower, Dome Tower, and the historic Lancaster Building. It is the hub of downtown Calgary's +15 skywalk system, and as such is the busiest shopping centre in the city by pedestrian count, with around 250,000 visitors passing through each week. The centre's architectural focal point is a vast suspended glass skylight which spans the length of the complex. As of October 29, 2010, The Core offers free evening and weekend parking at its underground lots.
Sam Mizrahi is an Iranian-born Canadian real estate developer who is active in Toronto. Mizrahi is currently the president of a number of corporations, including Mizrahi Developments, Mizrahi Inc. and Mizrahi Enterprises Inc. He is best known for being the developer of The One skyscraper at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor streets in Toronto. In 2015, Toronto Life named him the 45th most influential person in Toronto.
The One is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If completed, it will be the tallest building in Canada. At 328.4 metres and 91 storeys, it will be taller than First Canadian Place, which has been Canada's tallest building since 1975. It will also be Canada's first supertall skyscraper, as defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Construction of the building is estimated to be completed by March 2025.
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