Toronto’s Mink Mile ranked Canada’s priciest retail turf

Toronto’s famed Mink Mile, home to some of the world’s most luxurious retail brands, is the most expensive place to rent space in Canada, according to a new study.

But even making it to the top spot in Canada only places the country’s largest city at 21st in the world when it comes to rental rates, says the study from Cushman & Wakefield, released Wednesday.

It found the average rent on Toronto’s Bloor Street strip was $325 a square foot per year, a long way from US$3,500 per square foot to rent space on New York’s fabled Fifth Avenue, which is the most expensive retail spot in the world.

Toronto, actually slipped a spot. It was ranked 20th in 2014. For the purposes of the study, only the top district from each country is included in the worldwide rankings.

“In Canada, prime high street rents were unchanged over the year; however, as vacancy rates gradually tighten across most markets, a return to growth is anticipated in the medium term,” Cushman & Wakefield said in the report, which cited zero per cent rental growth in the Canadian markets it surveyed.

Vancouver’s Robson Street finished second in the Canadian rankings, with an average rent of $210 per square foot per year. Montreal’s Sainte-Catherine Street West was third in Canada, with average rents of $180 per square foot per year.

Toronto’s Queen Street West was fourth, at $110 per square foot per year. Calgary’s 17th Avenue Southwest was $50 per square foot per year. Edmonton was the cheapest place in the country, with rents on Whyte Avenue only $43 per square foot per year on average.