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Originally Posted by oldcoote
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.
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Here's the thing- I don't think they're mutually exclusive. You're right in that it's hard to know what should come first. If you just slot a bunch of stores that exist everywhere else in the city downtown, nothing will happen. Why do the Smiths who live on Hamilton mountain come downtown to visit Walmart? Heck, why do the Jones who live downtown walk to Walmart when it's far easier to just bundle up into the car and drive to a big box version where they can load everything in and have a driveway to driveway experience.
I look at different neighborhoods in Toronto as great examples. The St. Lawrence Market neighborhood is obviously anchored by the market, but also has a huge amount of residential space side by side, and oftentimes right on top of existing commercial applications. The Danforth is really similar to, but with housing instead of condos.
The 95 King East project is EXACTLY the type of thing the core needs. With commercial space instead of artsy space on the bottom level. Don't get me wrong, there is room for the artsy stuff too! Imagine someone taking, let's say the corner of King and James, opposite of the Jackson Square entrance, and building a 20 story residential tower there. Modern, clean, commercial space underneath (that grocery store you're talking about). Instant 400-500 new residents downtown. Easy to market (crazy proximity to GO for commuters), in a ridiculously pretty neighborhood. Think big.
Going back to the original purpose of my rant. I don't think a bingo hall is out of place in scenarios like this. It's a business like any other. It gets magnified when it's surrounded by dollar stores and more dollar stores, but realistically it doesn't hurt anything by existing, even on the main drag. It drives traffic to the core, it brings people in who would otherwise not visit, and it gives local business a reason to exist outside of existing residents. I don't want a King Street that looks like Yorkville any more than I want a King Street that looks like..umm King Street. The beauty of the city is that it's not Toronto, and those two opposite ends of the spectrum can actually co-exist.