I walked through the East entrance of the Atrium today (corner of yonge + edward streets) and noticed that most of the shops across from the Pickle Barrel are now closed and posted with signs saying "LEASED"...what is happening to this part of the mall? I notice that this part of the building looks older than rest (the brown floor tiles especially)...I would imagine they would renovate it and house something spactacular to coincide with Metropolis across the street...does anyone know? I remember reading years ago that the Dundas Square project would make the Atrium a more significant commerical centre, I think this has already happened. There is construction taking place along Dundas Street near the new Spring Rolls restaurant...can't wait to find out what's opening there.

^I would immagine that the management of the mall has leased that space to a tenant and that the area is being renovated to better suit the tenants needs.

It's high time they fluffed up that skanky building. Now all they have to do is get rid of the Pickle Barrel...worst restaurant in downtown.






KGB

Now all they have to do is get rid of the Pickle Barrel...worst restaurant in downtown.
KGB

How true. The food is so synthetic it hurts.

I don't think the Atrium on Bay could ever be a vibrant and exciting mall. Most people go to the Eaton Centre across the street.

I refuse to go to Pickle Barrel anymore...too many bad experiences.

I would say there are worse restaurants than the Pickle Barrel. It's nothing special, but I didn't think it was THAT bad.

The new unit next to Spring Rolls is an Ontario Travel Information Centre (previously located in the Eaton Centre). It is scheduled to open mid-November. Nice to get it out to street-level with a storefront. Eventually it will move to Union Station, but that's ages away...

^ If that's true they should just leave the one on Dundas and open another at Union. Surely there's enough demand for two downtown stores.

Atrium should erect a media tower right on the south/east corner roof of their building. It has direct frontage to Dundas Square and a nice wrap-around video/billboard thing would look really good.

Don't they already have one?

"Atrium should erect a media tower right on the south/east corner roof of their building. It has direct frontage to Dundas Square and a nice wrap-around video/billboard thing would look really good."

LG Tower with a dancing Labatt's beer can

I'm aware of the LG sign. I was talking about the roof of the Atrium (directly to the left of the LG sign in this pic). A nice huge wrap-around ticker or video wall would be really neat. It has prime expsure to the square.

http://www.geocities.com/torontocanadawebsite/metropolis.JPG

RE: LG sign. If anyone has noticed there are a series of square metal supports that goes up the side of the LG sign. I think they should be illuminated and based on the weather patterns, the squares light up going down or up. Same idea as the weather beacon atop the Canadalife building.

Get the weather network to support it. Splash their logo somewhere while your at it.

It looks like the Atrium on Bay MAY end up (and is) suffering the way a lot of downtown malls in cities have suffered, like the Midtown Plaza in Downtown Rochester, NY, the Galleria London in London, ON, Eaton Centre in Downtown Hamilton, that Guelph Mall in downtown Guelph, and others as well. But those malls suffered mainly because of suburban development, and lack of interest in downtown, and clogging of traffic and stuff like that, and this is TORONTO we're talking about, so ANYTHING can happen. The Atrium on Bay's suffering has come from Yonge Street and having the Eaton Centre closeby. Most of these malls have now become mixed use retail-shopping-office complexes or Sports/Entertainment centres like in the case of Guelph.

What might end up happening is that the Atrium on Bay could decrease the amount of retail in the mall, and become a mixed use/retail/office complex. But with Metropolis in the picture and equation, that may not be the case, but it is certainly a nice looking building and it would be a shame to see it go to waste, but that's only an assumption from me, and that may be the only way to go for downtown malls that suffer the same fate that I guess the AOB is suffering. On the inside, the mall isn't really spectacular, it looks kind of old and could use some beautification, not to mention more retail.

BTW, the Pickle Barrel was not too bad, although the last time I ate there was 7 years ago, so a lot might have changed.

"and become a mixed use/retail/office complex"

Isn't it already?

"I'm aware of the LG sign. I was talking about the roof of the Atrium"

a little high of a platform under the current dundas Square scheme - perhaps in the future

It looks like the Atrium on Bay MAY end up (and is) suffering the way a lot of downtown malls in cities have suffered, like the Midtown Plaza in Downtown Rochester, NY, the Galleria London in London, ON, Eaton Centre in Downtown Hamilton, that Guelph Mall in downtown Guelph, and others as well. But those malls suffered mainly because of suburban development, and lack of interest in downtown, and clogging of traffic and stuff like that, and this is TORONTO we're talking about, so ANYTHING can happen. The Atrium on Bay's suffering has come from Yonge Street and having the Eaton Centre closeby. Most of these malls have now become mixed use retail-shopping-office complexes or Sports/Entertainment centres like in the case of Guelph.

What might end up happening is that the Atrium on Bay could decrease the amount of retail in the mall, and become a mixed use/retail/office complex. But with Metropolis in the picture and equation, that may not be the case, but it is certainly a nice looking building and it would be a shame to see it go to waste, but that's only an assumption from me, and that may be the only way to go for downtown malls that suffer the same fate that I guess the AOB is suffering. On the inside, the mall isn't really spectacular, it looks kind of old and could use some beautification, not to mention more retail.

BTW, the Pickle Barrel was not too bad, although the last time I ate there was 7 years ago, so a lot might have changed.

The problem with A On B is that not many people know that it is there. Most only have a vague idea that it even exists.

""and become a mixed use/retail/office complex"

Isn't it already?



Uh yea....Atrium on Bay is not a mall...it's an office building with ground floor and lower level retail attached to PATH.

This is a ONE MILLION square foot building we are talking about here.

But it was a real cheapo 1981 building...the interiors sucked as much as the exterior....it was in DIRE need of a reno...it had attracted real shitty tennants...and the new renos will bring some better ones...they managed to snag LCBO when they were forced to move out of TEC.






KGB