Gayle Martin took a chance when she switched her Whyte Avenue storefront for a shipping container at Station Park, and, so far, the owner of The Wish List Gifts says she sees both pros and cons to the move.
"The rent was going up," Martin told Taproot about the decision to find a new space. "I didn't think the value was there for what we were getting. I felt like I wanted to downsize, and I liked the idea behind this development."
In 2004, Martin opened The Wish List next to the Richards Block on Whyte Avenue near 104 Street NW after working in retail on the avenue for more than a decade. Two years in, she said she outgrew the space and moved to a bigger one on the avenue. But last year, when her landlord informed her of a $1,500 monthly rent increase, Martin decided to move The Wish List to Beljan Development's micro-retail project. She's been on the main floor at unit 108 since December.
Developments like Station Park are sometimes called container parks. This is the first in Edmonton but the concept isn't new: Toronto's stackt launched in 2019 and is described as "North America's largest shipping container market." Back in 2011, a container park called Boxpark opened in London, England.
Commercial bays at Station Park range from 157 to 316 square feet, much smaller than traditional bays in Edmonton. That's a key difference, Martin said.
"I think that's where the market is going right now and where lifestyle is going right now — tiny homes, tiny businesses," she said. "Things are downsizing. People don't have as much expendable income right now. When you do a smaller, more curated space, I think you're helping them and you're helping yourself."
Still, Martin said the early days at Station Park were tough. She said she was the first tenant, and the lack of neighbours meant foot traffic was weaker than on nearby Whyte Avenue. "We were the only one here for several months," Martin said. "That was particularly painful … It's financially devastating."
As of August, 75% to 80% of units at Station Park are now leased, Beljan's chief operating officer Dave Hennessey said. Some businesses at Station Park include snack import shop YEG EXOTIC, artist-entrepreneur collective LIGHTHOUSE, and vintage store Faded Selection. Hennessey hopes the park can reach 100% occupancy by the end of the year, and is confident in that thanks, in part, to excitement for EPIC Market. EPIC is the development's food hall and event space. It opened in August.
While Martin said she's frustrated by the foot traffic at Station Park, she believes it will improve. One challenge for that, she noted, is that shops at the development don't share consistent operating hours, with closed storefronts potentially deterring passersby from browsing adjacent shops.
"A lot of people aren't open on Mondays and Tuesdays," Martin said. "I think it really hurts everyone when people aren't open. There's people that need jobs and want to work … I think we have to figure out how we can get everybody on board to have the same hours."
Station Park at Gateway Boulevard and Whyte Avenue features shops in repurposed shipping containers. (Colin Gallant)
The downsizing, curating, and sharing trend has precedence in businesses in Edmonton. Tracy Losey of the currently shuttered parcel + prose told Taproot she is looking at sharing retail space with another business. The Army & Navy building near Station Park may be subdivided for tenants by new owner Leder Investments. When Variant Edition moved, its owners said they planned to put less stock on the floor so the shop felt more curated.
Cherie Klassen, executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association said she sees promise in micro-retail developments like Station Park.
"(One) of the things we've seen changing in retail is that retail spaces are shrinking," Klassen said. "One of the challenges on Whyte Avenue, in a district that's as desirable as ours, is rents tend to be high, which doesn't make them very affordable for some small, local businesses — especially (for) startups. And the spaces are really large."
Hennessey said Whyte Avenue retailers pay no less than $5,000 in monthly rent for storefronts. Meanwhile, Station Park, he said, offers space for $3,000 to $3,500 per month for the most affordable units. Containers at the front of the development and services to allow food to be served come with "a bit of a premium," Hennessey said.
Hennessey has studied other container parks and found they share a defining trait. "Every shipping container park you'll see in North America comes from a confine of impermanence," he said. It's a situation where "you're not able to build a building and amortize it down over a 50-year timeline as you would otherwise," he explained. "You've got time constraints or space constraints, and the shipping container model allows the improvements to be picked up and removed should we need to."
It's possible Beljan will one day need to move Station Park's containers. Beljan is leasing part of the land from the City of Edmonton (and owns the other part). Hennessey declined to give details on the lease, yet said he hopes the project is successful enough to stay for a long time. "But if not, it's all good, and we'll continue to roll and evolve the site on the parts of the property that we own," he said.
Beljan owns a sizeable portfolio of buildings on Whyte Avenue, including the aforementioned Richards Block, The Strathcona, the Dominion Hotel, and the titular Beljan Block. Off the avenue near Station Park, Beljan owns the building that houses MKT Fresh Food and Beer Market. Hennessey teased that Beljan is also working on a residential development south of MKT.
Two of the newest tenants at Station Park are the jewelry store Ella Maceo, which moved from selling online and at markets to a brick-and-mortar location with this opening, and Oak & Aspen Soapery, which also has a location in Ardrossan. Opening soon is DRTY Ice Cream.
Cons aside, Martin said she sees positives about her new space. She said Gateway Boulevard and Whyte Avenue, where the development sits, is the "busiest intersection in the city."
She said she hopes events can further drive business at Station Park. "I want to see night markets there, I want to see a Christmas market there."
Hennessey said events are already in his plans.