(11-07-2015, 03:33 PM)Andy Wrote:(11-07-2015, 11:15 AM)tomh009 Wrote: I think Church St, for example (the next one over from Charles) is quite nice. I may have some feedback from my wife soon as we're moving next door to Cedar Hill in a week!
My comments are mainly around the LRT stop (Cedar/Charles), which at the moment is pretty barren. I really want to see someone develop the empty lots between king/charles. I think just having more people around will help shake the perception of that area. I imagine the further away from this corner, the nicer/safer it gets. I really like the neighbourhood location, and I'm sure it's a lot better towards Church. Especially around the lofts. Victoria Park is nice and close too. That's why I picked this stop in particular to only go up in value and "gentrify".
We bought our house on Cedar St S in 2008 and have been more than happy with the changes that have happened in the last 8 years. We bought our house knowing the reputation of the area. Our house was at one time a duplex. We converted it back to a single family dwelling. Are we part of the gentrification problem? I don't think so. I don't believe the house as a duplex was at all appropriate for renters. A sketchy side entrance, only one exit for the upper unit? It was unsafe for tenants as it was. We are the first in line of 4 young families who have purchased affordable homes on this street in the last 8 years. I can attest for us, and our neighbours who just moved in, that we can make it here on a combined income of less than 6 figures, in this particular neighbourhood.
As more of us move in, the demographics and dynamics of the neighbourhood naturally change. In 8 years, we've went from NO children on our end of the street to 11 little ones. As a result, you see a lot of us at Sandhills Park. And because of that, many of the folks who were using the park as their a) shoot up alley b) residence c) place to engage is sexual activity and d) resultant garbage dump has pretty much ended. I'm 100% okay with that side-effect. But no worries, they now stay in the abandoned lots on Benton/Courtland, so they haven't gone too far.
But as much as we think things change, they do stay the same. We still have to chase the prostitutes back over the hill and remind their Johns that crossing Courtland is an unwritten no-no. We still have the odd break-in, but strangely, all of the "Kindercrap" we now have - strollers, trikes and plastic slides, tend to always stay where we left them. For the most part, the unwritten "code" of Cedar Hill remains unchanged. We've accepted parts, they've accepted parts, and we all just sort of go about our business.
