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RioCan‘s Senior Vice President of Planning and Development, Jordan Robins, has so-far encountered strong opposition from Toronto residents concerning the installation of a three-storey shopping centre at Bathurst and Nassau. In an attempt to breakdown local misconceptions about the proposed Kensington Market Walmart, Robins announced publicly the socio-economic influences the shopping centre could have, both positive and negative. According to many of RioCan’s case studies, the Kensington Market Walmart will not disrupt the neighbourhood and should be embraced rather than rejected.
At this point-in-time, residents have not been persuaded by RioCan’s statistics, as over 80,000 signatures have been collected online to prevent the development. As the building lease is only conditional, residents have been avidly attending community council meetings, fervently pleading to stop RioCan’s plans. In order for the project to proceed, Robins needs to assuage the many concerns causing this animosity, since the project requires city council approval, having already been declined by the Ontario Municipal Board in 2012.
According to Robins, the Kensington Market Walmart would not impact the people and businesses of the area. In fact, the company’s study suggests that having a discount shopping alternative may even be beneficial for those unable to afford the markets. The area is believed to be underdeveloped at this moment in time, so having an additional shopping centre may assist fellow retailers by boosting pedestrian traffic. Merchandise variety is a key perk to implementing the Kensington Market Walmart, and the structure itself stands to become an elegant design, capable of modernizing the markets.
Even with these positives in mind, however, many wish to see the project’s plans fall-through. If you wish to express your own opinions on the matter, please attend the public consultation tonight, July 9th, from 7pm to 9pm, at the Toronto Council Chambers, 100 Queen Street West.
“The company’s studies . . .” The company’s studies are going to say whatever the company wants them to say. How about some objective studies? Here in the East End, we stopped one of these local economy killers from going in on Eastern Avenue a couple of years ago. All the information we had, from many sources, said more big box stores in the area would destroy independent businesses, increase traffic congestion, bring nothing but low-wage, no benefit jobs and destroy the streetscape. As well, Wal-Mart should be shunned for their anti-union positions, exploitative employment practices, the lies they tell about how affordable everything is at their stores and the spirit of big brother paranoia they bring to bear on the activity of shopping. (Those “greeters” are there for one reason: to make you feel that you are being watched.) Queen Street East is flourishing today and becoming ever more vibrant and attractive as a place to live, work and shop. It’s a real, growing community with a lot of life and wonderful amenities and attributes. That’s the result of dozens of independent business people moving in with a real stake in neighbourhood. Everyone shudders to think what would have happened if the Wal-Mart had gone in on Eastern. Come to Riverside and/or Leslieville and ask local merchants and residents what they think.
John,
There is a wal-mart in Gerrard Square and a Home Depot too… The low prices are something that consumers demand and they will travel if they have to get them….
I’m pro-small business and think that the allure small businesses have will always be there for me… The personal attention and attention to detail with their products… But this comes at a higher price…
I think the missing link is that if there is a wal-mart there, the local business would have to become more competitive… You can’t compete with Wal-Mart on efficiency but you can compete with them on quality…
At the end of the day, if people switch to wal-mart, it would be because they wanted to save money and if they remain with local business then it means that quality prevails… Wal-Mart was experimenting with bus shelter ads recently around the market and I would love to see if that even had an impact on sales in Kennsington.
I don’t have any measure to see if quality at the local businesses is better or not but fresh from the farm and farmers market still survive because people want that product… There is demand for it and it will remain… The problem is that people that are looking to save money will disappear into the shopping center as well…