1: Along Carrick behind the Superstore
2: The CIBC/PPG lots SW of Harbour and Memorial (relocate the CIBC; they've already closed one of the two buildings)
3: Across from Intercity Mall, the three lots presently occupied by Intercity's unused overflow parking, the sewing shop, and the labour centre (the latter has been talking about relocating for some time now)
4: The LRCA's triangle of land (where they wanted to build their new office building) would be a great location for a decent-sized middle-class condo development. Across the river, the roofing store's property and areas around it could be urban infill.
5: Considering the William Street extension, the area along the river could become home to new offices and condominiums
6: The new curved part of Carrick Street, the "Hillyard Lands", could potentially be lined with medium density residential with street-level retail and other services. This would help blend Intercity with Acadamy Heights.
7: The area along North Vickers, near the river, has redevelopment potential. There isn't much industry there, and what is there is fairly quiet.
The biggest obstacles could be present uses, and land contamination. The city should investigate ways to find the clean-up of contaminated sites, and figure out some form of incentive to relocate businesses away from the main corridors in the Intercity area, into other business parks or the harbourfront.
Outside of most of the locations listed above, there are some spaces in the core areas that could host social housing or general residential projects. New social housing should have a better business model. Instead of the DSSAB simply being a little better than a slumlord, there should be some degree of involvement with residents and social workers to help those who are in social housing eventually find better jobs and better places to live. Optimal places for social housing (regarding access to employment, space available for development, and public transit access) would be:
• Algoma Avenue, the former Holsum Bakery site (built to a scale respectful of the area, with streetfront retail spaces)
• Simpson/Finlayson and Simpson/Miles, with the latter being mixed-use to take advantage of the nearby courthouse. Maintain the Fort William Neighbourhood Redevelopment Plan's recommendation of limiting development along Simpson Street to four storeys. This could be more of a social project where the residents have direct access to counsellors to help get on their feet, sort of a half-way house for people who want to improve their life.
• The area around Dawson Court (which is closing in the next year or two). Something with a similar development pattern to the Maple Crest/Academy development (a few highrises surrounded by townhouses) to take advantage of the views and two public transit routes. The LPH building could be converted to social housing but I can foresee another horror story scenario like we saw with Winston Hall, where it becomes a squalid place that eventually gets condemned, sits vacant and vandalized for a few years, then burns down.
• If there are any closed schools left in this city, or should any schools be closed in the future, make use of them. (Except Hillcrest, it's too poorly laid out and too optimally located for social housing to succeed there.)
The Dawson Court area, in general, offers an excellent opportunity for some sort of in-fill. We already have city services to support higher density living areas, such as larger water and sewer mains and two public transit routes, and higher density in the area would allow us to fit more people without sacrificing the green space that currently exists in the area.
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