A Mall and a Subway Underneath

A Mall and a Subway Underneath



Georgetown Park Mall

Todays blog post is about A Mall and A Subway Underneath.. sounds like fun, eh? Well what inspired this blog post is one of my favorite 80's movies. The Movie with Kevin Costner and Sean Young, called No Way Out. This movie is about power and love and it has some action for guys like me. I think the reason, I liked it so much is because I'm facinated by Washington DC.



And this movie was filmed all around Washington DC. There is one part of the movie that always sticks out in my head though, it's the scene when Kevin Coster is being chased by CIA Assasins in a upscale Mall in Washington DC's fashionable Georgetown District, call the Georgetown Park Mall  Kevin Costners character goes to warn Nina Beeka, that the assasins are out to get her and she needs to flee the country or be killed, after warning her, the hitman come after him, avoiding the initial assuault he flees to the basement levels of the mall and escapes in rather witty fashion by jumping aboard a subway and away from their grasp..

Anyways...long story short...

There was no actual subway underneath the Georgetown Park Mall, it's all a Hollywood Style Rouse, and that pisses me off, cause I'm going to Washington this spring, and I wanted to check that out. However, I have some good news for you guys. ...

Here in Toronto (The Big Smoke, Hogtown, Centre of the Universe) we have many, many, many malls that have a Subway Underneath. The most important of which is the Eaton Centre, which is so huge, this mall has two subway stations underneath. The subway station at the north end of the mall is Dundas Subway, and at the South end of the Mall there is Queen Subway.

In the downtown core we have so many malls with subways underneath, it's no bother to list them all, but I'll give it a try.

Holt Renfrew Centre -  Bay Station Subway and Yonge-Bloor Subway Stations - The Holt Renfrew Centre is one of the most upscale malls in Toronto, one of the most upscale malls in Canada and one of the most upscale malls in North America. It is on one of the World's most expensive Shopping Streets. Bloor Street. (Bloor-Yorkville) The mall will also be the site of a new tower set to become one of the tallest in North America, called the Holt Renfrew Tower

Holt Renfrew Centre and Tower

TD Centre - connected to King Subway and St. Andrews Subway
This is the minimalist mall of Mies Van der Rohoe, in the base of the TD Centre Complex in the Financial District. In fact this mall is the pure heart of the Toronto underground pedestrian network. If this mall wasn't built, there would be no PATH

The Bay - Yonge and Queen - connected to Queen Subway Station. This is the store of the oldest corporation in the western world. The Hudson Bay Company, now owned by an American Billionaire Jerry Zucker, (whom may be dead, I'll have to check on that) This is the flagship location of the Canadian shopping icon.

Cumberland Terrace - Bay Subway and Yonge and Bloor Subway. Another mall in the Bloor Yorkville Strip. This mall is set to be turned into ruble for another earth shattering skyscraper which may even surpass that of the near 1000 feet of the newly proposed Holt Renfrew Tower.

Manulife Centre -  Bay Subway
Unlike the other malls in Yorkville-Bloor area this mall is only connected really to the Bay Subway underneath, although, you can walk a ways through Holt Renfrew and Cumberland Terrace to get to the Yonge Bloor Line. Manulife Centre is home of the very sky high Panorama Restuarant on the 51st floor with views of the entire downtown skyline. (The food is overpriced, the views are fantastic)

Atrium on Bay - Dundas Subway
This is the "Shinjuku" Style Yonge and Dundas Intersection of Toronto it is attached to the Eaton Centere on its southern flank, and is more office complex than mall, although that is chaning with a renovation project which will add 4 levels of shopping to the light filled Atria.

10 Dundas East - Dundas Subway
The Metropolis Mall or the AMC (now defunk) that has all the "Shinjuku-Time Square" Style advertising on it's sides. This is a mall, but barely, although it is huge, and there is plenty of shopping and pleny of stores as well. I can't knock the mall, just because the decided to forego any interior design.

Shops at Aura /Shops at College Park - College Subway
This is actually a combo mall, one that I reported on yesterday and has just opened up, "The Shops of Aura" and the second the old mall of the 1930's with a dasterdly 1980's addition and has morphed into "The Shops at College Park" - It's huge has two massive supermarkets, right next to another massive supermarket down the street, and also contains a provincial courthouse.

Shops at College Park with Aura rising behind

Malls Outside the downtown core that are also connected to the subway line include:

Yonge and Eglinton Centre - Eglinton Subway
In the heart of midtown Toronto Yonge and Eglinton Centre is probably the most famous for the people that live around the mall. The Young professionals that have given the area it's popular nickname. Yonge and Eligible. Mall is also famous for its massive supermarket, Cineplex Movie Theatre and TVO Studios across the way.

Yorkdale Mall - Yorkdale Subway Station
The most highclass, and largest mall in the city of Toronto. This is actually the first mall built in North America when it was constructed in the 1960's. It has expanded and expanded, and continues to expand. Yesterday, they opened the latest wing of the mall, and even more super luxury shopping wonderland, with untold riches in shoppers wallets, and a desire to spend! spend! spend! This mall, is the highest grossing/highest profit margin mall per square foot on earth.

York Mills Centre - York Mills Subway

Sheppard Centre - Sheppard Subway
This mall is at the junction of Yonge and Sheppard subway lines. Nothing special, drab 1970's style, but has been recently updated to modern retro design. If you close your eyes and squint, it's almost like being in Manhattan or Dubai. Honestly!

Empress Walk - - Subway Station - North York Centre
This is one of the most distinctive malls in Toronto. It is a mall built in the shape of a circle that has 4 levels of shopping and escalators connecting one level to the next.

(North York Civic Centre) 5150 Yonge Street - Mall - North York Centre

Xeorx Centre - Finch Subway

Fairview Mall - Don Mills Subway

Scarborough Town Centre - Scarborough Centre Station

Sunlife Centre/Clarica Centre - Islington Station

Bayview Village - Bayview Subway Station. Subway runs directly under the mall, but there is no direct entrance to the mall from the subway, you have to walk through the parking lot, because the mall owners are a bunch of snobs. The factis Toronto's downtown rich, will never shop there anyways, so in the end it makes no difference.

Dufferin Mall - not directly connected to Dufferin Subway. But there is always the rumour floating around that it will one day connect up to the subway.

New malls coming: --- Union Station Mall, underneath Union Station....

And yes, I know I missed a lot of malls connected to subways here in Toronto

New Trends in Condo Buying Emerging in the Toronto Area

 A few new trends to watch out for in the Toronto area when it comes to buying homes as well as buying condos. When it comes to buying homes, the latest tactic is to put a property which had previously been listed on the MLS system, on a bidding site, or list through an auction house to get buyers, sending the price of single detached homes soaring.

 As for condos the latest buying technique is the new trend with regards to micro housing, or micro condo living. And we’re seeing now, specifically designed condos to meet that purpose. Another new trend to look out for is the lack of supply in the purpose built rental housing market in Toronto. Even as new condos come online there remains a shortage of apartments built specific to that purpose, so condo rentals have increased even as vacancy climbs, rentals rates do as well.

 Busy Condo Market Boosts Toronto Home Sales 

With fewer homes in the detached category available in Toronto, new home buyers seem to be opting for new condos, with sales heading forward at a rocket pace last month. Sales of Existing Homes in the Toronto area moved up by a whopping 2.1% in February 2014, and that is compared to the same time period last year. That was mainly due to a 12.5% increase in the sales of condos within the city so stated by the Toronto Real Estate Board. That will contrasts with the sales declines that occurred in townhomes, detached and semi-detached housing during the month, which was mainly due to a constrained supply of those housing types.