Midtown Lofts | ?m | 6 fl | Complete

[modernizt]

The commercial space in The Red didn't quite take off... this shows that demand at the edge of a commercial area is weak. Increase density first, create the spaces later, otherwise we end up with boarded up commercial space, like so much of downtown kitchener.

You can't just "add commercial spaces later"; it's a huge hassle and the spaces are not conducive to be used for anything else in the interim (i.e. residential units).

If demand for street-facing retail isn't there in the present, that's fine; dentists' offices, law offices, design firms, and other offices can use the commercial space until the demand for retail units is there. That's the far better solution.

We're not going to have an epidemic of boarded-up retail spaces at the bottom of these new residential buildings; at worst, there will just be a lot of offices (dentists, etc.) taking up the space until more walkable neighbourhoods form around these buildings.