07-14-2015, 09:26 AM
(07-14-2015, 08:28 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote:(07-14-2015, 08:19 AM)MidTowner Wrote: I don't think this can be overstated. I'm not qualified to comment on architecture much beyond "this looks good to me," but when ac3r says that this would be a better fit over on Weber, I agree strongly as that is the type of street that can not (yet) be expected to accommodate mixed-use. For this stretch of King, it is very important to develop the street as a mixed-use corridor, as planned. I would say that focus should be placed on positive interaction with street life everywhere between Victoria and Uptown. Certainly we shouldn't be losing retail even in the short term, as this project evidently would entail.
There is a reality to downtown, that absence of sufficient residents (which seems unbelievable) and without greater transit density and use (also hard to believe), not every storefront we currently have can be filled at this time.
This. There is not currently a shortage of retail space downtown, so building more (not inexpensive) retail may result in low occupancy rates.
If the city wants to ensure that all residential on King Street has a retail component, then it needs to update the zoning so as to disallow pure residential buildings. Don't blame the developer for acquiring a largely-neglected property and proposing to build a mid-density residential building on it when it's explicitly permitted by the current zoning.