Quote:
Originally Posted by fizzle
I think sometimes the ideas don't look beyond the initial excitement. If it was such a slam dunk to have a grocery store or a big SDM in a space like that, don't you think those companies would be all over it already?
So until that day comes, ANY business that wants to invest should be welcomed with open arms. Who am I to dictate what 'belongs' downtown and what doesn't? I'm not risking my money. I get a bit riled up when so much disdain is out there is all.
The ideas are often very good, but veer pretty closely to gentrification oftentimes. But it's ok, because those people can find cheap housing by the husk of Stelco, right?
Delta Bingo has had a stigma associated with it for YEARS, and for what reason? Because it doesn't make downtown look like Queen West in Toronto? Because it's entertainment for older folks? Poorer folks?
I'm a firm believer in housing first, and the rest will follow. No one will invest dollars into high population density business without high population density. And that population density needs to be inclusive of current residents. City Hall should be incentivizing the hell out of mixed use commercial/residential development, and full day service out of the train station should be priority number one for the city. Heck, there should be more train stations in the city extending east, serving the entire city.
But I've rambled now.
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Fair to say that we all want housing in the core. Not just affordable housing, but luxury housing and family dwellings.
The problem is a chicken/egg one. How are you going to convince people to live downtown without adequate existing facilities? Grocery stores, drug stores, schools, etc.
There are a slew of condo developments in the planning stages, and hopefully these and more come to fruition.
One thing is certain though. A SDM or urban Sobeys is going to draw a lot more interest than a bingo hall.