41 buildings that are about to be demolished

[the sage]

Thats going to improve the fabric of the city.......

[STLgasm]

This is nothing short of CRIMINAL. What kind of idiots are calling the shots in that town???

[flar]

Originally Posted by russman

Wow, thats awful. That must be close to half of the downtown!

Brantford has quite a large downtown, but this is one of the two main streets (Colborne to be exact, the other major street is Dalhousie running parallel)

Most people don't realize that Brantford was was one of the largest cities in Canada in the late 1800s.

[Soku39]

Unbelievably short sighted. Pretty obviously a mistake.

[Rizzo]

Very depressing but not surprised. I know Brantford is in serious trouble, but typically nothing good comes out of this. Old buildings possess a spirit for a better city when the times comes around. When their gone, so is your downtown forever.

My hometown of Saginaw is a complete joke because they took a similar strategy and leveled most of their downtown (which was incredible at one time) Over the years they filled it with crappy one story concrete block structures spread out on huge suburban lots. It made for an awful place to visit and walk through, and they've effectively killed the downtown for eternity.

I've never in my life understood why people think an abandoned building is worse than an empty lot. Abandoned buildings motivate discussion of a potential future. "Wow that's sad, this should be renovated...." Even if not possible at the moment, at least the idea is always brought up. As for an empty lot....it brings very little discussion, and no private business wants to build new in a dying downtown. At the very least, there is latency to the buildings being there where when the time is right or the planning is good, they'll fill up with businesses.

[johnnypd]

that's heart breaking.

[pj3000]

Is it 2010? Or is it the late 60s/early 70s when destroying your downtown was all the rage?

[vid]

I hope to God that no one running Thunder Bay finds out about this. I know there are city councillors here who would have no problem with a tornado wiping this out. It might not be as architecturally significant as the street in Brantford but it is still an asset, most people just can't see it yet.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Hayward

My hometown of Saginaw is a complete joke because they took a similar strategy and leveled most of their downtown (which was incredible at one time) Over the years they filled it with crappy one story concrete block structures spread out on huge suburban lots. It made for an awful place to visit and walk through, and they've effectively killed the downtown for eternity.

It's a shame that this exact same story has played out in so many cities.

[boden]

I can't believe this. Brantford will go from bad to worse. Must be some payolla going on here.

[Nowhereman1280]

I thought that we figured out that the wanton destruction of blocks of buildings at a time never ends well...

[flar]

Excellent comments, keep 'em rolling
I might send this link to Brantford's city council tomorrow.

[dktshb]

You should send this and let the city council know people as far away as Los Angeles are disgusted and saddened by this ignorant destruction of the city and its identity.

[LMich]

Excuse my French, but: The F%ck?!

This sounds like what's happening across the border, though, the scope, proportionally, is so much larger for a town like Brantford. My god, what a misguided "plan". The quote of the mayor is just maddening, reminds me of a prominent demolition firm here in Michigan who's company motto reads: Demolition Makes Progress.

I could perhaps see picking out the most dilapidated with the least chance of being renovated, like what is so common across North America, but wholesale demolition for absolutely nothing has never improved a city center. Hell, many times, even when something is planned and does replace the demolished properties the city center is not improved. To tear them down with no plans in place for replacement is about as bad as it gets.

[Exodus]

Looks like that town has been taking lessons from Detoit, or destroyit.

[Cementglow]

they'll be realizing in a few years what a colossal mistake they've made.

[someone123]

Nostalgia aside, this still doesn't make much economic sense. Demolishing buildings is expensive. A case could be made for a couple of ugly empty buildings depressing nearby property values, but that's unlikely on a street that's totally empty.

Why not just spend the demolition money to cut back on property taxes downtown?

[Coldrsx]

tragic situation of events that surely will be regretted in coming years.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Brantford gets an F.

Thanks for posting this flar.

[Burgh15]

There is so much potential in those buildings. That is a darn shame!