Wanted: commerce at Commerce Place

It can be a lonely walk through the main floor of Commerce Place,an office and retail complex on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton.

Several storefronts are papered over and there are big signs in the windows, advertising leasing opportunities.

One store Oil & Vinegar is in the process of closing down after only a year and a half in the building.

Sam Abouhassan, who has a custom clothier business, is one of the few remaining main floor tenants.

He's watched a lot of businesses come and go in the years his business has been a Commerce Place fixture.

But lately,it's getting worse.

"There's a glut of too many buildings downtown and the owners are trying to get people into them with the best deal they can do to move brand names from one building to another building," hesaid.

Offering an example, Abouhassan points to the recent departure of accounting firm KPMG, which moved its offices from the main floor ofCommerce Place to Enbridge Centre.

"Everybody likes to have something brand new, even the tenants, who've got beautiful offices in this building," he said. "They walk into a brand-new office with even more up-to-date technology in it and all the other stuff."

'There are a lot of vacancies'

Brett Roy owns Sweet Lollapalooza chocolates in Commerce Place.

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He's noticed a drop in the number of people walking through the area since KPMG moved.

He said in the eightyears his business has been in the building,he's never seen the main floor so empty.

"First there was the swimwear store, and then there was The Boardroom across from it, now it's KPMG and the Oil & Vinegar store is closing," he said. "Before that, there used to be the jeweler that moved out.

"There are a lot of vacancies."

Roy said his business is a destination shop a store people travel at lengths to go to meaning he hasn't had the same problems that others may have experienced.

Ian O'Donnell, executive director of the Downtown Business Association, said the departure of KPMG on the main floor is providing Commerce Place with an opportunity to rethink its retail strategy.

"It'll be interesting to see if they keep that space as office or whether they turn it into additional retail," he said.

He said the whole downtown is going through a transition and that can be tough on certain retailers.

"With Commerce, I think it's just one of those cyclical pieces where it's just in transition," he said. "We'll see retail come back [at Commerce] because it's such a prominent location."

It could get worse

Abouhassansaid the downturn in the economy is a big reason why retail stores are having trouble surviving in Commerce Place.

"There's not many people looking for retail space right now," he said. "It's a shame. I would love to see more retail spaces opening. I still like to have other businesses come into the building."

He doesn't think the building of Rogers Place and the office towers associated with it are the main reason for the current state of retail vacancies in the building but warns it could get worse.

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"I think it will be another two years before the full effect [of the arena] will really take place," he said.

Like Roy at Sweet Lollapalooza, Abouhassan isn'tworried about his business, buthe'd like to have a few more retail neighbours.

"My shop is a destination store,"he said. "That's why I survived downtown for 39 years."

CBC tried to reach Commerce Place for commentbut calls were not returned.

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