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+--- Thread: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | Complete (/showthread.php?tid=17)
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - Section ThirtyOne - 10-27-2017
(10-27-2017, 10:39 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: I know that a neighbour across the street from Breithaupt complained to their councillor about the Google Breithaupt renovations, that the new portion was too large and inappropriate, and about 1Vic, that it was too tall and a blight on their skyline, ruining their views. So yes, I expect they will be speaking to council about this.
What views? The Tannery smokestack?
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - Pheidippides - 03-29-2018
I looked, but couldn't see a separate thread for the next phase (43, 47, 53, 55 Wellington St N, 2-12, 26 Moore Ave, and 20 Breitaupt St).
Kitchener staff will be recommending the zoning change for the next phase of this project (page 11).
New renderings on page 120.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - rangersfan - 03-30-2018
When I get a chance I will set up a new thread for this very exciting Downtown project.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - KevinL - 03-30-2018
I think there's some discussion a few months back in the Downtowns thread.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - GtwoK - 03-30-2018
As much as I really like this development (I really, truly do), I worry that it's building *UP* to the Mount Hope / Breithaupt neighbourhood, almost as if they are anticipating mid / high rises taking over the neighbourhood. I really think that that neighbourhood (as well as the unrelated, but equally important heritage district, (around the KPL and CitS) should be "untouchable" so to speak. Not that they are on the docket anytime soon, but I worry that developments increasing in height towards those neighbourhoods promotes expanding into them, rather than leveling down to match the residential houses in them
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - goggolor - 03-31-2018
(03-30-2018, 04:18 PM)GtwoK Wrote: As much as I really like this development (I really, truly do), I worry that it's building *UP* to the Mount Hope / Breithaupt neighbourhood, almost as if they are anticipating mid / high rises taking over the neighbourhood. I really think that that neighbourhood (as well as the unrelated, but equally important heritage district, (around the KPL and CitS) should be "untouchable" so to speak. Not that they are on the docket anytime soon, but I worry that developments increasing in height towards those neighbourhoods promotes expanding into them, rather than leveling down to match the residential houses in them
The City of Kitchener PARTS (Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations) has big plans for the Mount Hope/Breithaupt area, especially the area between King St and Mt Hope Cemetery. But there's plenty of under-utilized space (parking lots, low-density commercial) along King St that can be built up before they have to start knocking down single-family homes. I live in the neighbourhood and I can't wait for some more development to come long... I'd love to have some dining options in Midtown.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - GtwoK - 03-31-2018
Aw, darn, that and the (comparably small) heritage district are pretty much the last places in the city that have the nice mid century homes. Plus the mature trees. Densifying along King makes sense, but it's a shame to take out every bit of history in the region.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - MidTowner - 03-31-2018
Mid century homes as in mid-19th century?
Only a couple of single-family homes which had not been particularly well-maintained were knocked down for this specific phase of Breithaupt Block, and they were at the corner of a reasonably busy intersection (so not particularly desirable as single-family homes- if I recall correctly, one was duplexed).
I don't think there's much risk of Mount Hope being replaced entirely by new development any time soon. As googolor notes, there are lots of vacant and underutiliized parcels (this one is a good example) available.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - tomh009 - 04-01-2018
(03-31-2018, 05:08 PM)GtwoK Wrote: Densifying along King makes sense, but it's a shame to take out every bit of history in the region.
I don't think there is really much risk of every bit of history being taken out in Kitchener -- we have a very large number of properties protected by heritage property or district designations.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | U/C - rangersfan - 04-19-2018
Google opened a community space in their campus on Breithaupt St and are donating $2.1 million dollars to help build technology skills for the areas youth.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/google-stem-community-space-kitchener-1.4622958
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | Complete - jgsz - 06-23-2019
Nice!
Google is preparing for a major expansion of its Canadian engineering headquarters on Breithaupt Street in Kitchener
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | Complete - Spokes - 06-24-2019
Fantastic news. I hope construction starts right away as a result
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | Complete - MidTowner - 06-24-2019
Fingers crossed that this comes soon.
I thought this quote was interesting:
Quote:While it is exciting to have a world-famous company in the area, Google's building is locked tight because of the white-hot competition in the technology sector — there is no interaction with the surrounding streets and neighbours.
This rings true for me, and I do hope that the next phase is not like this. Living in the neighbourhood, I have very few interactions with the employees there (that I know of). My perception is that they don't live in the 'hood- which is a shame- and don't attend events and whatnot in the 'hood.
It will be very important that the new building is mixed use, with a retail or restaurant space used by both employees in the building and others.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | Complete - robdrimmie - 06-24-2019
A cafe or restaurant would have a very hard time attracting Google employees I think, as those sorts of needs are very well satisfied by Google itself. Perhaps something like a good used bookstore or a collectibles store (like J&J's or a comics shop) would be the sort of thing that attracts both communities.
RE: The Breithaupt Block | 16 m | 4 fl | Complete - kps - 06-24-2019
(06-24-2019, 07:31 AM)MidTowner Wrote: It will be very important that the new building is mixed use, with a retail or restaurant space used by both employees in the building and others.
The original plan had retail on the ground floor of the parking garage, but the neighbours killed that. The original plan had an additional storey, but the neighbours killed that. If there's none in the final building, I would call it a case of lying in the bed they made.