Quote:
Within weeks, they had bought a two-storey brick house with a basement apartment for $89,000.
"It would have cost $400,000 in Toronto," said Jarvis. "Now, I'm two blocks away from work and a 15-minute walk to the harbourfront, and as an artist, I've never done better."
That was five years ago. Since then, at least a dozen more Toronto artists have moved to Hamilton – including Thea Faulds, who also organizes the Zombie Walk, and Michael Sage, a portrait artist who moved into a studio above a store.
Some have bought homes or galleries, other have rented studios and living space, and all are contributing to the burgeoning art community located on roughly four blocks of James St. N., a seedy part of downtown now witnessing an evolution.
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Cheeky thoughts:
1. Twelve (or so) people moving somewhere over five years is a news event
2. Low overhead/uncompetitive market is catnip to recession-weary TO
3. "Slum made good" (paraphrasing) is a backhanded compliment
4. Locke S and James N will soon have to fight over the "Little Toronto" nickname
Hybrid Mode