PATH businesses look forward to big bank back to work mandates

CBC

a day ago

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As several large employers in Toronto's financial district look to bring their employees back to the office for four days a week, small businesses in the sprawling tunnel network that sits beneath them look forward to a bump in business.
The PATH — Toronto's underground pedestrian walkway network — spans 30 kilometres and has more than 1,200 businesses, according to the City of Toronto's website. During the pandemic, those businesses suffered as foot traffic dropped dramatically and never fully returned with the adoption of hybrid working models.
While businesses in the PATH say things have been picking up as the pandemic moves farther into the past, the heavy foot traffic has been limited to days like Tuesday and Wednesday, which are popular in-office days for many.
Jerry Li, owner of an INS convenience store under First Canadian Place, said businesses like him have no option to go remote.
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"I'm a client based business, I need clients here. I can't do online purchases or transactions," he said. "For small businesses and especially for me, [more foot traffic] would greatly benefit my business."
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At Modern Golf in the PATH, where players can buy new gear and swing on simulators, president Paul Fisher said foot traffic has been on a positive trajectory.
"So from [2023] when we opened the store to '24, we've noticed about a 100 per cent increase in what it feels like in foot traffic and that's compounded, from '24 to '25, it's the same impact," he said.
TD Bank asked its employees to be in the office four days a week starting in the fall on July 23. Other big banks, including Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank have also mandated at least four days in office starting in September.
Though it's not over the PATH, Rogers Communications is the latest large employer to say it will be bringing employees back to the office for the majority of the week. The telecom company says it will require its corporate employees to be in the office four days a week starting in October, then five days a week in February.
Laura Miller, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Toronto who is working on a book about the PATH, said just because employees are going back to the office that doesn't mean things will be like they were before the pandemic.
"People have gotten used to online shopping for everyday items, clothing and groceries, things that you might've picked up at lunchtime."
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Giles Gherson, CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, said an influx of workers downtown doesn't just benefit small businesses, but also the city as a whole. Because if commercial office towers maintain a vacancy rate that's higher than pre-pandemic levels, the value of their property will decrease as it's re-assessed.
"Then the property tax revenue from those buildings declines. And that could be a significant hit for a city that's already got a very large financial pressure, which affects city services," he said.
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But Gherson said the transition to bringing office workers back four to five days a week may encounter some bumps, as employees have become accustomed to the hybrid model.
A sentiment that's backed up in data, according to a study released by Angus Reid in late July. It found among people who've worked remotely, three quarters of them would prefer to spend most of their time at home.
Jon Roe, a research associate with Angus Reid, anticipates a lot of resistance from employees, but said they may not have the leverage to do much about it.
"Compared to the last couple years, the job market is a little bit more favourable to the employers now," he said.
While the unemployment rate dropped slightly this month, in May it was at the highest point in nine years outside of the pandemic. When fewer people were looking for jobs in previous years, employees had more power to dictate terms, he said.