In the rapidly evolving landscape of Toronto’s downtown core, The Well is establishing itself as a case study in mixed-use development strategy, with its latest tenant announcement providing insight into how urban retail spaces are adapting to changing consumer preferences and market conditions.
Premium fitness brand Sweat and Tonic’s forthcoming REFORMD concept, set to open in a new location across the hall in spring 2025, will occupy 6,000 square feet at the Front and Spadina development, featuring 30 Mega Pro Megaformer machines in what’s billed as the world’s highest-capacity Lagree method studio. The announcement follows less than a year after the brand’s plans for a Yorkville location and represents a strategic expansion of The Well’s wellness and lifestyle offerings.
“We have the privilege of welcoming over 3,000 guests in attendance per day,” says David Ingram, Founder of Sweat and Tonic, highlighting the development’s growing role as a wellness destination. “With the demand we’ve seen since opening at The Well, there was an opportunity to further elevate our offerings.”
“The Well was always envisioned as a dynamic mix of urban experiences and interconnected public spaces designed to attract visitors from near and far,” Josh Katz, Assistant Vice President of Leasing at RioCan, told 6ixRetail in an interview. “About 50% of our leasable area is dedicated to food, fitness, and experiences, featuring first-to-market and experiential concepts like Arcadia Earth, The National, and REFORMD.”
The emphasis on experience-driven tenants reflects a deliberate leasing strategy by RioCan and Allied Properties REIT, the development’s joint venture partners. As e-commerce continues to capture market share from traditional brick-and-mortar retail, shopping centres are increasingly turning to tenants that offer services, experiences, and food concepts that can’t be replicated online.
The Well’s 320,000-square-foot retail component demonstrates this approach, balancing established retail anchors with experiential concepts. The tenant roster includes an adidas Originals store, award-winning Canadian retailer Gotstyle, and tattoo brand Steel N Ink, alongside dining destinations like Montreal-based Mandy’s Gourmet Salads, French bistro L’Avenue, and Crumbl Cookies’ first downtown Toronto location.
Entertainment venue The National opened in late 2024, adding six bowling lanes, arcade games, and upscale dining to the development’s experiential offerings. “It’s meant to be about good times and good vibes. It’s somewhere where you go to hang out with friends, grab a beer, or go on a date night,” District General Manager Dane Walker said at the venue’s opening.
The Well’s Wellington Market has emerged as a particularly strong performer in the tenant mix. The 70,000-square-foot European-inspired food hall now attracts between 40,000 and 60,000 visitors weekly according to RioCan’s internal metrics, serving as a key anchor that drives foot traffic throughout the development.
“The community is anchored by food offerings along Wellington Street and the diverse merchants in Wellington Market, which provide everything from essential items to unique finds, showcasing the best of Toronto’s food scene,” Katz explained. The market houses over 50 merchants and is fully licensed for a 2,000-person capacity, allowing patrons to “sip while they shop.”
The market includes the 5,000-square-foot Wellington Event Venue, which hosts community engagement activities, culinary workshops, and corporate meetings. This programming component adds another layer to The Well’s experiential strategy, creating additional touchpoints for customer engagement.
“By focusing on unique, experience-driven tenants and activations—like culinary workshops and events at the Wellington Event Venue, which hosts everything from conferences to sports games—we’ve created a space where both locals and tourists can connect, making it a place people want to return to again and again,” Katz noted.
The Well has steadily built a wellness-focused tenant cluster that includes lululemon, Azur Fit and a future BlackToe Running storefront. Health One medical services adds another dimension to this wellness ecosystem, which will be enhanced by REFORMD’s arrival next year.
“The Well’s unique offerings continue to attract world-class wellness and experience-focused brands, creating exciting opportunities for expansion to meet the needs of the community,” Katz said when asked about future leasing direction.
These tenants often blur the line between retail and programming, creating multiple engagement opportunities with consumers. “A great example of this ‘choreographed mix of urban experiences’ is BlackToe Running,” Katz explained. “Not only is it a top-tier retailer of running equipment and accessories, but it also operates exceptional running clubs, bringing hundreds of people into the development each week to meet and start their runs.”
The integration of retail with community activities creates regular foot traffic patterns that benefit surrounding tenants, demonstrating how The Well’s leasing strategy extends beyond traditional considerations of tenant mix to encompass broader activation of the development.
The 7.67-acre development combines 1.2 million square feet of office space with 1,700 residential units across seven buildings, creating a built-in customer base of approximately 11,000 residents and office workers. This vertical integration has become increasingly common in urban developments as traditional retail models face pressure.
“The retail spaces serve as key amenities for office and residential occupants, driving steady foot traffic,” Katz stated. This symbiotic relationship between components creates natural customer flow, with office workers patronizing food and beverage outlets during the workday, while residential tenants utilize services and retailers during evenings and weekends.
The development now attracts approximately 22,000 daily visitors and is projected to generate nearly $1 billion annually in economic activity. For Toronto’s western downtown core, which has faced challenges with office vacancy rates and retail turnover following the pandemic, The Well represents a significant investment in urban vitality.
While The Well was conceived before the pandemic accelerated changes in retail and office usage patterns, its tenant mix appears well-positioned for current market conditions. The development secured major office tenants like the Toronto Star and Warner Music, while its retail spaces are now over 90% leased.
“Over time, we have certainly fine-tuned our approach to meet market demands,” Katz acknowledged when asked how downtown Toronto’s evolving retail landscape has influenced leasing strategy. “However, we have never deviated from our commitment to creating a unique mix of tenants and meaningful experiences that draw people from down the street and across the globe to eat, shop, work, live, and play in Toronto.”
The development’s flexibility is evident in how it has accommodated shifts in retail strategy. Arcadia Earth’s 17,000-square-foot environmental exhibition, which opened in 2023 as the brand’s first Canadian location, represents the kind of immersive, Instagram-friendly experience that has gained traction with consumers in recent years.
“An example of this is the launch of Wellington Market, which brings together the city’s best and finest food operators under one roof,” Katz said. “While other food markets have emerged across the city, we’ve remained committed to our vision and ensure that the Wellington Market remains complemented by a diverse mix of restaurants and retail offerings that elevate the overall experience and anchor The Well as the go-to destination.”
The Well’s physical design supports its experiential leasing strategy. The development features a dramatic sculptural glass canopy suspended above the retail colonnade, covering sixty percent of the main East-West connection. This architectural element provides a year-round shield against weather while enabling an outdoor experience.
Claude Cormier, the development’s landscape architect, described The Well as “choreographed city-building” and “a collection of small moves that add up to something transformational while celebrating the public domain.” This philosophy is reflected in the development’s approach to public spaces, which include the Wellington Park Promenade and Draper Park.
The physical environment creates a setting for programming that activates the space throughout the year. The Well has hosted numerous events since opening, creating additional engagement opportunities beyond traditional shopping and dining.
Looking ahead, RioCan indicates that The Well will continue targeting tenants that complement its wellness and lifestyle focus, suggesting that the property’s emerging identity will be further refined as remaining spaces are leased.
“We also embrace the spirit of healthy competition, confident that the broader market can flourish collectively, enhancing the vitality of the entire landscape,” Katz said, indicating that The Well sees itself as part of a broader ecosystem of downtown Toronto retail rather than an isolated destination.
The development’s performance will be closely watched by real estate observers as it completes its tenant roster and initial leases begin to mature. As a significant investment in urban mixed-use development—representing 3.2 million square feet across seven distinct buildings—The Well provides valuable insights into the viability of experience-focused retail strategies in major metropolitan markets.
For downtown Toronto, which continues to navigate post-pandemic recovery in its commercial core, The Well represents a vote of confidence in the future of urban retail, suggesting that with the right tenant mix and activation strategy, physical retail spaces can thrive even as consumer behaviours and preferences evolve.
Dustin Fuhs is the Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication. He has over 20 years of experience in the retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality industries, including with The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Dustin was named as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025.