Spanier Group In The News 

 From Yorkdale to Fairview Mall to Square One to Sherway Gardens, you don't have to look far in the Greater Toronto Area to find a mall with big redevelopment plans in the works. 

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Experts say mixed-use developments in and around existing malls are taking off in the GTA and are leading a trend as the region faces a housing crunch with demand outpacing supply. 

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Rob Spanier's real estate development advisory firm, the Spanier Group, focuses on large-scale mixed-use developments. 

 The Runway at YZD Design Competition represents a rare and transformative opportunity to help redefine a 2-kilometre Runway as a landmark of community, creativity, and connection. Envisioned as a vibrant public realm, the initiative invites cross-disciplinary teams to propose bold, innovative ideas that showcase the power of thoughtful placemaking. 

Award-winning urban designer, city-building advocate, and author Ken Greenberg will chair the competition jury, alongside other accomplished design, development and placemaking experts - including Rob Spanier.

Can the city make this place something better? Of course. It's a time capsule of Victorian Toronto studded with marble staircases, bronze railings and sculpted grotesques. It overflows with atmosphere. 

The City of Toronto has selected a team led by the Spanier Group and Monumental to guide the future of Old City Hall, a National Historic Site and prominent downtown landmark that recently became vacant after serving as a courthouse for decades. The Spanier Group, working alongside partners CBRE, Turner & Townsend, Bespoke Collective, and Artuitive Group, will lead real estate advisory efforts to develop a long-term strategy for the site. Their work will include market analysis, vision development, and financial modelling aimed at identifying the building’s highest and best uses, in line with a City Council directive issued earlier this year

"While the province’s investment in transit is unprecedented and property next to or near busy transit stations are seen as prime residential development points in Toronto, the economics of building housing along many of those transit nodes remains challenging."

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-- Meghan Wong, Vice President, Spanier Group

“We recognize Alberta’s growing importance in North America’s food supply chain, so developing a facility in the province is a key part of our strategic global expansion. NewCold is committed to building a better food supply chain that is more resilient and efficient. Our new state-of-the-art facility will bring advanced food logistics to Alberta, ultimately helping our customers serve theirs and benefiting consumers.”

-- Bram Hage, NewCold Founder and CEO

Located in a prime downtown location, the former Toronto Coach Terminal presents a unique opportunity for redevelopment. The vision for the properties, outlined in the REOI issued on November 24, 2022 by Colliers and The Spanier Group, is to redevelop both sites into a mixed income mixed-use development.

“The world has moved toward mixed-used over the last 15-20 years. Retail that doesn’t evolve to meet the new ways that people shop will become irrelevant."

"What's happening with the continued demand and the stress for new housing is there's a lot of development going vertically, and it's going up instead of out. And certainly the malls present a really unique opportunity,"

"A significant factor influencing the transformation of Toronto’s malls is immigration. This is driving demand for housing and amenities, further underscoring the need for the redevelopment of these large-scale shopping centers into mixed-use developments."

"This incredibly distinguished panel is developing out existing assets, redeveloping assets that are no longer relevant in certain regards, and then creating new ideas and identities for these communities."

Colliers International and the Spanier Group, retained by CreateTO, are leading the marketing of the property, one of eight City-owned sites to be unlocked in support of city-building initiatives through the City’s ModernTO program.

"It comes down to having a very keen understanding of trends and of people and of your customer."

"If we can make these places platforms for learning, Lakeview can be a case study for how these sustainable communities can be achieved."

"We’re all consumers by nature. We like to buy things and we need to buy things to live. But what retail has done -- the retail that I love, which is the best-in-class, independent, non-nationals, the specialty retail -- it can actually act as a truly vibrant part of your life."

"When you look at opportunities for these mixed-use and innovative communities, Mississauga has the opportunity to shine. It's a growing city, and from an incoming hub perspective, Lakeview will bring it all together."

"I think Toronto’s in a position of ongoing and continued Renaissance, which is what great cities of the world do."

"My belief on mixed-use development and true placemaking is that people are going to vote with their feet … And that could be, for some people, third generation children wanting to live next to their parents or grandparents."

"I have a fundamental belief that a smaller retail footprint with large and more generous outdoor spaces that complement indoor space and drive sales is the way to go."

The future of amenitization is understanding your end user. People are going to demand quality … and vote with their feet."

"By leveraging innovative and forward-thinking placemaking and master planning, we’ve been able to create an environment that not only provides an incredibly vibrant district to engage with residents and visitors, but one that promotes those interactions"

"Our strategy embraces ongoing changes to the retail landscape and is employing approaches to embed the right conditions for success for future businesses in the Lakeview Village community."

"Explosive growth in the GTA has been contained within an ecological greenbelt."

"Experiences are found everywhere. What’s required is a steadfast commitment to place-making."

"The key essentials for successful ground floor activation in mixed-use developments are a good location, existing demand and potential future demand, and understanding end users"