Quote:
Originally Posted by Chronamut
To be fair, it had more until they decided to try to demolish that stretch - it had some pretty successful restaurants in there..
I guess the question is do you want it to be a business core, a culture core, or a restaurant core, or a fusion of everything?
Hamilton seems to have this thing where it designates a whole street as one function - the textile st - Hess party st - little Portugal, the business st, etc.
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The City of Hamilton's intentions are for the core and for Gore Park to be a fusion of different types of businesses. Gore Park is currently, The Court House, Red Church cafe (step in the right direction), Several Banks.... The other side of King St isn't much better. I like Cheapies, but you got the Pay Day loan stores, convenience stores, Popeyes, a rundown Ginos Pizza.... Gore Park needs more options.
We need places with brand recognition and ideally brands that haven't opened in Hamilton yet. The Court House side of Gore Park also could benefit from a restaurant. It's baffling that a successful restauranteur hasn't taken a chance and opened a restaurant in that area over the last five years. This is the time that businesses should be flocking to Gore Park to open. There's literally so much potential there to make it the centerpiece of our Downtown (which is what the City wants), and it is happening (albeit at a slow pace).
A Boutique hotel wouldn't thrive in present-day Gore Park. The renderings looked beautiful and it would be a very welcome addition to Gore Park, but it wouldn't do well financially. People who stay at boutique hotels want stuff to do at their doorstep. Unless someone checking into that hotel loves spending their day at Scotia Bank, there's literally not a ton for them to do in that immediate area.
Presently, King William St (right on restaurant row), Dundas or Ancaster, are the smartest places to build and operate a boutique hotel. In 5-10 years from now, I think Gore Park would be ideal. However, a business isn't going to build a boutique hotel there now and wait to see big returns several years from now. It's just not smart business.