Quote:
Originally Posted by catcher_of_cats
I can't recall which year it happened but things 'looked' worse BEFORE the urban braille sidewalks went in. You need to go all the way back before 1995 to maybe 1992. The 1990 recession coupled with the main commercial tenants leaving, especially the ones who abandoned the Eaton center and the businesses that died in the international village created a heck of a lot of vacancies.
By the later 1990s, the downtown was already on the upswing though it was a slow slog.
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I'd put the lowest point at around 2000, but things did take a dive in the early 1990s with the recession and especially spiralled downward when the Lister Block emptied out completely in '95. There were signs of life (conversion of the Pigott and Sun Life buildings into condos, other much smaller changes) but the core was not a good place to be.
I don't think things really started to gather momentum until James St. was converted to 2-way (2002?). Then we began seeing more and more new restaurants and retail.