By Mario Toneguzzi

The Tremblant Pedestrian Village is presenting a unique opportunity for retailers and restaurateurs to take advantage of a world-class, four-season resort that attracts 2.6 million visitors each year.

Tremblant Pedestrian Village, which is located in the heart of the Laurentian Mountains about a 90-minute drive from Montreal and Ottawa, is working with commercial real estate firm JLL’s leasing team for the resort, seeking to seize the opportunity to lease with world-class concepts to meet pent-up consumer demand and further unlock the village retail potential.

Tremblant is offering companies an excellent opportunity to position their brand at the footstep of an “immense opportunity.”

“I am absolutely thrilled to collaborate on a project of Tremblant’s scale and quality. The prime leasing opportunities, the level of client choice and the performance of its boutiques and restaurants make the Tremblant Pedestrian Village a privileged market,” said Manon Larose, Senior Vice President, Retail and the lead JLL broker on this project.

“There are opportunities for different restaurants, maybe some vegan offerings and some breakfast concepts. There are also some opportunities for new retail components. Boutiques. Well-known banners. Pop-up stores. To complete the entertainment component and add to what’s existing.”

Currently, there are about 75 boutiques, bars and restaurants at Tremblant with a casino, an on-site convention centre and 1,900 on-site accommodation units.

With the recent acquisition of the resort by Alterra Mountain Co. – one of America’s leading ski resort owners and operators – and the commercial portion of the resort by LaSalle Investment – a leading institutional investment management firm – the new ownership sees value in the optimization of the resort merchandising mix. Tremblant’s Pedestrian Village is a proven retail experience that has best-in-class property management and a track record of retail and restaurant success, said Larose.

What’s the appeal for a restaurant or retailer to set up shop in Tremblant?

“The quality of the site, which is exceptional,” explained Larose. “When people are visiting Tremblant, they are relaxing. They love to shop and experience the benefits of the fine dining and try the local activities. The quality of the site and the mood of the clientele that is over there. The exposure to some people who are coming from some worldwide destinations.”

Currently, the tenant mix in the pedestrian village is 46 per cent retail, 29 per cent food and beverage and 25 per cent hotel and accommodation.

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“It is really appealing for tourists, families and locals as well as professionals because there’s a convention centre there. The diversity of activities is incredible – visitors can go skiing, water skiing, cycling, golfing all year long. The destination remains attractive during all four seasons as there are a lot of indoor activity offerings as well. So, in terms of retail, there are even some artificial intelligence components and craft activities. It’s really, really complete in terms of the offering,” said Larose.

Tremblant Pedestrian Village has several opportunities currently for businesses to move into the popular resort.

“I’m always open to different concepts because some people may have ideas I haven’t thought about,” said Larose about leasing the properties. “What I know I want to have is a vegan concept. A sit-down restaurant or a fast-casual vegan concept as a quick service restaurant because we know nowadays people are healthier and healthier, so this is something they are looking for.

“A breakfast offering is also something we do not have over there, so that’s another option. There is also room for two other restaurants. In terms of fashion, it could be well-known banners that you would find in other resorts like Whistler (B.C.) as an example. We are also thinking of having one location that could be a pop-up where you can welcome different retailers and rotate them throughout the year. Incubate some businesses as well. Those are some of the things we are looking for.”

Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary has 37 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, city and breaking news, and business. For 12 years as a business writer, his main beats were commercial and residential real estate, retail, small business and general economic news. He nows works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Email: mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com.

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