Quote:
Originally Posted by Biff
This was the original.
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Actually, that's just one of the iterations. I'm dating myself here considerably but I still remember the '86 or '87 phone book used to have a picture of the fully-developed proposal. In that version, there was a square looking office tower on the east pad.
Then there were various proposals at various times including hotels and condos (I believe) In any case, retail was a bad idea right from the start.
There can be no such thing as a retail destination in the modern economy as far as downtown is concerned. Who can it serve? There simply aren't enough people in the core to support a mall as a place to get things for daily living. Without free and convenient parking, there will never be a means of attracting customers. How could they possibly compete with any suburban mall or power center? Even if they work downtown, it still makes more sense to get whatever you're after at a mall on the way home rather than walking to the mall. People make excuses and dismiss human behavior but I've been saying this same thing for at least 20 years now and every time I hear about the sadder and sadder state of Portage Place, I'm reminded of how right I am. The solution has always been the same: More residential. Get a sizeable standing population and then at least you've got something to work with. The days when going downtown was a good idea for families are long, long gone.
As for the current hopes for development...well, I'd hope that they included some residential on the pads but for 300 million, that would get you a hell of a lot more than just a couple mid-rises (on pre-built pads, no less) and a mall makeover. There must be more going on or planned than just what they've let slip so far.