The Hudson’s Bay location at Yonge and Bloor may become self-storage

The former Hudson’s Bay location in Yorkville may become a self-storage centre after its owners, Brookfield Properties and Larco Investments, were unable to attract another retailer to take over the gigantic space. The two companies submitted a re-zoning application for the site, 2 Bloor Street East, on April 24.

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The Bay closed this downtown location in 2022 after its business collapsed. In documents submitted to the city, Brookfield and Larco say that they explored other options for the space but had no luck, stating that today’s “soft office market is primarily driven by the flight to quality,” including newer builds with more amenities and high-tech features. They argue that completely redeveloping the site was not feasible given its location directly above the subway. And thanks to the building’s famous brutalist façade, it also suffered from a lack of natural light. It’s not known whether the property’s owners considered converting it into housing.

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Now, Brookfield and Larco have decided to try to convert more than 20,000 square metres at one of Toronto’s busiest intersections into self-storage, claiming that this was the most viable option given market demand. The ownership group has also proposed to “modernize and reactivate” the ground-floor retail along Bloor and to re-clad the dreary concrete exterior with a sleek (but plain) new finish.

These days, leasing for large-scale retail across the real estate sector has been extremely challenging for property owners and managers given the supremacy of e-commerce, the volatile economy and rising costs.