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  #61  
Old Posted Mar 23, 2015, 1:57 PM
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Originally Posted by manny_santos View Post
That'll be not a bad place to live - you've got Lake Ontario nearby, the Centre 70 Arena and Royal Kingston Curling Club (my Sunday hangout a few times this winter), and not too far from the shopping around Bath and Gardiners.
Ya, it's a pretty good area. Could even attract some student housing directly along Front, as it's only a 10 minute bus ride to main campus from there.

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If the population around there increases though, I think it would be wise to extend Gardiners Road south onto Days Road to eliminate the jog at Bath Road.
Sort of like what they did with Elliot Avenue & Counter? That would help if the area gets clogged. It's also on the books to extend Centennial Drive south to Front. That would help, too.

That SW quadrant that is developable does have the 501/502 express on its southern & western edges. It's a big enough area that a good chunk of it will be outside the local catchment of those express stops (necessitating a local bus route through it--probably a #1 or #15 extension). The plan for the area should have higher density concentrated near the express stops to maximize potential for transit use from the community.

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Pretty unfortunate that the city is predicted to start losing population in only 20 years, but such is the reality for mid-size Canadian cities that don't attract immigrants. As long as Kingston has Queen's, RMC and SLC, and the military base, the city should do alright compared to cities like, say, Belleville and Brockville.
Ya, the institutions will keep the city going, like they have for most of the past century. But I don't see the local economy ever getting dynamic enough to attract immigrants in large numbers.
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  #62  
Old Posted May 28, 2015, 3:46 PM
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This one's a BIGGIE. 18 story tower at Princess & Montreal, site of the old former theatre.

http://www.thewhig.com/2015/05/27/bu...former-theatre
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  #63  
Old Posted May 28, 2015, 7:27 PM
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Originally Posted by 1overcosc View Post
This one's a BIGGIE. 18 story tower at Princess & Montreal, site of the old former theatre.

http://www.thewhig.com/2015/05/27/bu...former-theatre
Hope they can fill it. Im good with these plans though for sure. Would bring alot more people into the core to liven it up a bit more.
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  #64  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2015, 8:21 PM
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Hope they can fill it. Im good with these plans though for sure. Would bring alot more people into the core to liven it up a bit more.
I'm actually on the fence with this one. All the plans and studies to date have identified the downtown heritage core as a preservation zone with no high rise development (generally, a 6 story height limit), with high rises being permitted along its fringes (in the sea of vacant lots around the K-Rock Centre, around Princess & Division intersection, and along the waterfront).

This location is within the heritage core, albeit still in a relatively fringe location within it; west of about Bagot, the heritage area doesn't really go much beyond a block north of Princess.

This one works well within this context as the building is massed mostly to the north along Queen Street, and its mostly glass so it will fit well (glass is actually the best material for new additions to old things) so the bulk of its massing is away from the core and it's relatively hidden within it.

I'm all for this if approval comes along with zoning stipulations about how high rises in the heritage core must take special care to blend.
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  #65  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2015, 8:41 PM
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For context, this building stretches from Princess Street to Queen Street in the N/S direction located in between Sydenham Street and Montreal Street.

Renderings:
Princess streetscape view


Queen streetscape view


Princess entrance with old theatre becoming pedestrian entrance


Queen elevation


4 levels of parking, one underground and three above grade in the back along Queen. First three levels will be taken up by the preserved theatre along the Princess side and by a parking podium on the Queen side.

I'm concerned this will have a negative effect on Queen Street (think of what development has done to Besserer Street in Ottawa for example)... but I don't see how large scale underground parking can be made economical given Kingston's low land values.

That said, parking is quite restricted. Only 132 spaces for 223 units consisting of one and two bedrooms. That makes sense given that it's likely a large number of units will be bought by investors and rented out to university students, and given its highly walkable downtown location (walk score 98), and being less than 300 metres away from the Downtown Transfer Point which is the main transit hub for the entire city.

For comparison, The Edge, which is a U/C apartment project up the street, has 498 bedrooms worth of units and only 144 parking spaces, and it's in a less walkable location (albeit still a decently walkable one).

Public reaction is mostly positive with local business owners enthusiastic about the addition of hundreds of potential customers. NIMBYism against development is pretty minimal in this city (to be fair, probably largely a function of how little there is!) with a pair of 10 story condos a few blocks west passed through city council with almost no opposition. Most people's reactions are similar to mine; cautious approval with some concerns about precedents.
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  #66  
Old Posted Jan 4, 2016, 3:06 AM
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Wow. There's suddenly a height race in this city.

There's 3 towers--two 20-story residentials, one 6-story office--now proposed at Queen & King by Homestead. They would be built on the site of two parking lots. One of the 20 story residentials would be built in the parking lot behind the LCBO (NW corner of Queen & King), while the second 20-story residential and the 6-story commerical would be built on the opposite corner behind the Milestones restaurant (SE corner of Queen & King).

To replace the lost public parking, a public parking garage will be built on the site of the first tower. The garage will be built by Homestead and then sold to the City.

Both towers are planned to be rentals, so there's no need to sell units before building. Homestead is opening to break ground this summer.

The project is starting to get some serious NIMBY heat and I expect this one to face some challenges at City Hall. However the mayor supports the project and even the local councillor who is typically one of the more anti-development councillors isn't entirely opposed although he's got concerns.

Whereas the 18-story The Capitol proposal got me a little concerned about heritage issues, for this one, BUILD BABY BUILD, as far as I'm concerned. This is in a parking lot at the fringe of downtown.

http://www.thewhig.com/2016/01/01/do...gh-is-too-high
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  #67  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2016, 3:50 PM
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Interesting. Im glad they are putting in some new rentals, I consider rentals to be vitally important to any city, but Kingston especially. The only thing that could be cause for concern, is esthetics. But I am also in for these developments.
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  #68  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2016, 9:40 PM
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Question

I'm not sure where to post this. We are a military family and we intended to move to Ottawa but have been offered a posting to Kingston that will be better for my husbands career. Before we go look for a house (which we have 7-10 days to view, pick and put an offer in and it be accepted!) I want to try and narrow it down to a neighbourhood or two according to our needs, for the sake of time. Should I be asking this here, or is there a better subforum I can post my question in?
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  #69  
Old Posted Nov 30, 2016, 1:11 AM
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Go with McBurney Park. Affordable, close to downtown, close to the military base, good transit, pretty streets.
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  #70  
Old Posted Dec 7, 2016, 8:17 PM
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Originally Posted by 1overcosc View Post
Go with McBurney Park. Affordable, close to downtown, close to the military base, good transit, pretty streets.
Thank, I have contacted the neighbourhood assocation, hopefully they can help me as well. I am interested in this area as it seems to have a bit of an edge... and I'm assuming more diversity than the Cat Woods areas I was formerly looking at, and more affordable than closer to Queens which we were also considering (and wondering how the heck we could afford it).

My husband will be working at the revamped DND building at Cat Woods and Gardiner, so this neighbourhood still seems reasonable, although he likes to bike to work and I'm a bit concerned about him biking along Princess... should I be, does anyone have input on my concern?

Thanks again 1overcosc, I'm very interested in this neighbourhood and glad you pointed it out to me.
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  #71  
Old Posted Dec 8, 2016, 3:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Addy View Post
Thank, I have contacted the neighbourhood assocation, hopefully they can help me as well. I am interested in this area as it seems to have a bit of an edge... and I'm assuming more diversity than the Cat Woods areas I was formerly looking at, and more affordable than closer to Queens which we were also considering (and wondering how the heck we could afford it).

My husband will be working at the revamped DND building at Cat Woods and Gardiner, so this neighbourhood still seems reasonable, although he likes to bike to work and I'm a bit concerned about him biking along Princess... should I be, does anyone have input on my concern?

Thanks again 1overcosc, I'm very interested in this neighbourhood and glad you pointed it out to me.
Are you sure you got that intersection right? That's a very isolated area of the city, there's not much there.

Princess isn't the best bet for biking; I think the K&P Trail connects to that area though I'm not sure.
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  #72  
Old Posted Dec 8, 2016, 4:23 AM
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It's the old Tim Hortons distribution centre... Not sure if this is the same unit, but according to this article there might be a move back to the base one day.
https://cmea-agmc.ca/engineers-are-here

Princess would not be fun to bike on west of the Kingston Centre, but you can get to the downtown neighbourhoods from Cat Woods via Centennial Drive, Bath, Queen Mary, and Johnson/Brock. 95% bike lanes, about 10km.
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  #73  
Old Posted Jan 10, 2017, 3:01 PM
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http://www.ckwstv.com/2017/01/09/no-...rth-end-plaza/

Seems Walmart pulled out of the north end plaza. Does anyone here know the intersection the plaza is going in? I'm assuming Montreal at something.
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  #74  
Old Posted Jan 11, 2017, 12:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Addy View Post
http://www.ckwstv.com/2017/01/09/no-...rth-end-plaza/

Seems Walmart pulled out of the north end plaza. Does anyone here know the intersection the plaza is going in? I'm assuming Montreal at something.
First Canada Ave just east of Division, behind the Arbys/Starbucks
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  #75  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2017, 11:59 PM
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Target to be replaced with small several stores. Possibly Chapters? Isn't there one on Princess already?

http://www.ckwstv.com/2017/01/16/old...everal-stores/
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  #76  
Old Posted Jan 19, 2017, 12:50 AM
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Target to be replaced with small several stores. Possibly Chapters? Isn't there one on Princess already?

http://www.ckwstv.com/2017/01/16/old...everal-stores/
Oh lord, CKWS. I don't know how they manage to consistently pick such dumb people for their interviews...

The Chapters on Princess is very nearby the Cat Centre. The person complaining about "having to catch a bus half-way downtown" to get to Chapters from the Cat Centre has very little understanding of where "halfway to downtown is". Or the other person wanting a grocer to not have to go "all the way to Loblaws".. ignoring the fact that Loblaws is maybe a 5 minute walk away from the mall
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  #77  
Old Posted Jan 19, 2017, 1:30 AM
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I was wondering about that... the comments almost seem made up they are so odd.

Last edited by Addy; Jan 19, 2017 at 1:31 AM. Reason: Typo
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  #78  
Old Posted Jan 19, 2017, 9:30 PM
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I was wondering about that... the comments almost seem made up they are so odd.
That's quite common for CKWS news stories. Either their reporters are taking people's comments out of context or they're choosing really dumb people for interviews. Probably both.
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  #79  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2017, 3:32 AM
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Originally Posted by 1overcosc View Post
That's quite common for CKWS news stories. Either their reporters are taking people's comments out of context or they're choosing really dumb people for interviews. Probably both.
In the years I lived in Kingston I found locals liked to complain about mundane things like that, though it could be just local media giving them more of a platform than people get in larger cities. The worst one was always downtown parking.

CKWS sometimes has had very, very slow news days. I remember one night the #2 story was about a customer at Food Basics on Bath Road who forgot their credit card at home and the customer behind them in line paid. They dedicated a reporter to that and spent over 2 minutes on it. That kind of stuff never makes news even in mid-size markets like London or Kitchener.
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  #80  
Old Posted Feb 3, 2017, 11:05 PM
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It's what happens in a tiny city where not much goes on, lol.
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