They kind of flubbed the opening holiday programming here tbh.

The decorations feel weird and ill proportioned to where they are located, and the style doesn't really jive with the more classical elements of the architecture. The large wooden column hugging trees near front / Spadina are especially ugly.

I understand the mall is not done and the retail / market hasn’t all opened, but the goal for this season should have been to get as many torontonians from across the entire city to at least walk through the complex as I am not sure many people outside of the core really know what The Well is about or that it contains this central retail spine.

The choice to do a cocktail yurt with a DJ is totally the opposite vibe I had hoped they would go for and feels extremely commercial real estate / worst of king west dude bro.

I am imagining photos with Santa, hot chocolate, a variety of musical acts or a movie night in the main space showing holiday films with treats. It should have been family friendly and as free as possible, taking aim directly at the distillery district (realistically, visitors could have hit up both in one day by hopping on the king car from distillery loop)

Hopefully when the skating rink opens it will draw a few more visitors.
 
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DavidCapizzano said:
They kind of flubbed the opening holiday programming here tbh.

The decorations feel weird and ill proportioned to where they are located, and the style doesn't really jive with the more classical elements of the architecture. The large wooden column hugging trees near front / Spadina are especially ugly.

I understand the mall is not done and the retail / market hasn’t all opened but the goal for this season should have been to get as many torontonians from across the entire city to at least walk through the complex as I am not sure many people outside of the core really know what The Well is about or that it contains this central retail spine.

The choice to do a cocktail yurt with a DJ is totally the opposite vibe I had hoped they would go for and feels extremely commercial real estate / worst of king west dude bro.

I am imagining photos with Santa, hot chocolate, a variety of musical acts or a movie night in the main space showing holiday films with treats. It should have been family friendly and as free as possible, taking aim directly at the distillery district (realistically, visitors could have hit up both in one day by hopping on the king car from distillery loop)

Hopefully when the skating rink opens it will draw a few more visitors.
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100% agree. Lackluster, directionless opening, ribbon cutting, and first holiday season.

Then again, it's RioCan. Sorry to say it, but this company has never understood the value of experience, design and quality, and are not set up to manage and operate a new kind of beast like The Well.

Think about what else they own and manage. A few examples in Toronto:
- the northwest (Yonge Eglinton Centre) and northeast (ePlace) corners of Yonge & Eglinton. Blech. Both covered in garbage, pigeon poop, and labyrinthine hallways and stairs that obviously prioritized cost or efficiency in construction over the customer experience.
- Leaside Centre (Eglinton & Laird) - Canadian Tire, etc. - blech
- Lawrence Allen Centre - blech
- Yonge Sheppard Centre - a little better, misses the mark overall, managed poorly, always seems dark, dirty, and confusing

Allied (Hugh Clark) really drove the development quality at The Well. It wasn't RioCan. In their other joint ventures (King Portland Centre, 602-606 King West) I think the RioCan responsibility is basically limited to retail leasing within an Allied building. But there's so much retail at The Well and they just are not equipped to manage a Class A property of this quality. I am worried that their operational habits (especially in a borderline recessionary environment) are going to run it into the ground. Would be delighted to be proven wrong.
 
Kenojuak said:
100% agree. Lackluster, directionless opening, ribbon cutting, and first holiday season.

Then again, it's RioCan. Sorry to say it, but this company has never understood the value of experience, design and quality, and are not set up to manage and operate a new kind of beast like The Well.

Think about what else they own and manage. A few examples in Toronto:
- the northwest (Yonge Eglinton Centre) and northeast (ePlace) corners of Yonge & Eglinton. Blech. Both covered in garbage, pigeon poop, and labyrinthine hallways and stairs that obviously prioritized cost or efficiency in construction over the customer experience.
- Leaside Centre (Eglinton & Laird) - Canadian Tire, etc. - blech
- Lawrence Allen Centre - blech
- Yonge Sheppard Centre - a little better, misses the mark overall, managed poorly, always seems dark, dirty, and confusing

Allied (Hugh Clark) really drove the development quality at The Well. It wasn't RioCan. In their other joint ventures (King Portland Centre, 602-606 King West) I think the RioCan responsibility is basically limited to retail leasing within an Allied building. But there's so much retail at The Well and they just are not equipped to manage a Class A property of this quality. I am worried that their operational habits (especially in a borderline recessionary environment) are going to run it into the ground. Would be delighted to be proven wrong.
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And with Hugh gone, it's all just Andrew and Jonathan...Goooooooooooooooooooooood luck, folks!
 
I took a walk through The Well yesterday evening and was a bit let down, compared to my earlier pre-opening walks. While it is supposedly "open" all the retailers, save Shoppers, had closed at 6:00 p.m. giving it "ghost town" vibes. Barely a month out from Christmas this seemed odd. Also, the decorations felt cheap and assembled without much thought. Hopefully, it is just opening pains and they figure this out next year.
 
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Taken 21 November. Mandy’s and tables out on lower level. It was fairly busy here today about noon.
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I know I'll visit when all the construction dust has settled, where it's all devoid of intrusive yellow sticky tape, candy corn cones and hodgepodge scaffolding. Where I can appreciate what has been built and the atmosphere is generates without being reminded it's still a work in progress...

...I get the soft opening business, but I'd rather be there when it's all been said and done.
 
JasonParis said:
I took a walk through The Well yesterday evening and was a bit let down, compared to my earlier pre-opening walks. While it is supposedly "open" all the retailers, save Shoppers, had closed at 6:00 p.m. giving it "ghost town" vibes. Barely a month out from Christmas this seemed odd. Also, the decorations felt cheap and assembled without much thought. Hopefully, it is just opening pains and they figure this out next year.
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Really?? A brand new retail destination in the heart of downtown and the shops close at 6?? I'm gobsmacked.
 
JasonParis said:
I took a walk through The Well yesterday evening and was a bit let down, compared to my earlier pre-opening walks. While it is supposedly "open" all the retailers, save Shoppers, had closed at 6:00 p.m. giving it "ghost town" vibes. Barely a month out from Christmas this seemed odd. Also, the decorations felt cheap and assembled without much thought. Hopefully, it is just opening pains and they figure this out next year.
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Just what we needed, the PATH (Above Ground Version)
 
JasonParis said:
The lease agreement should require all stores to be open until 9:00 p.m. if they hope to make it a destination.
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lets hold off on judement until the market is open. currently unless you like the architecture or design, there really isnt a reason to be there.
Most of the main attractions like arcadia earth arent even open
 
Out of the big stores that are open, Shoppers, Indigo, Structube, I think they're all open after 6PM
Sweat and Tonic is a wellness center so it should probably be open late
The Arcadia Earth thing as well
They're really a bit behind for the Retail stores this Xmas
 
generalcanada said:
lets hold off on judement until the market is open. currently unless you like the architecture or design, there really isnt a reason to be there.
Most of the main attractions like arcadia earth arent even open
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I don't think that's necessary - first impressions for a project like this are so so so so so important, especially to the average person who isn't into architecture / design.

I am very sympathetic to the fact that the mall is still actively under construction, and a visit to the site will clearly show there is still a good deal of work to do - I expect construction to continue in some way until at least the spring.

I'm just pointing out the fact that it feels like they rushed a ribbon cutting that they weren't really ready for and that they didn't program adequately - maybe they have more planned for the month of December which I look forward to seeing

This space won't really come alive for a few years as it will take time for the mall to find its groove, and that is fine. But in the mean time, fill it with as much interesting programming as you can so that there is a reason for people to check out the space aside from retail / entertainment offerings.
 
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