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General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours
(01-29-2018, 07:07 PM)panamaniac Wrote:
(01-29-2018, 01:55 PM)nms Wrote: Given the lack of any kind of visible HVAC system, it is likely just a garage to store their fleet of hearses and other cars.

The only crematorium in Waterloo is the one at Parkview Cemetary.  These is one at Kitchener's Williamsburg cemetary.  There is also at least one private crematorium in Kitchener.

Really?  Where is it located?

I stand corrected, a closer look at the private cremation services company website is that the actual cremation takes place at the Holy Cross Crematorium in Paris.
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Couldn't find a thread for 70 King North (old Waterloo post office), but...

There will be a meeting at City Council Monday March 5th for a presentation and questions.

14 and 22 storey towers on a common podium of parking, with 4 floor podium on king, 6 floor podium at Regina, one floor of those is office/amenity, rest are parking, and they don't seem to heed the maxim of the recent Perimeter article, where they said they wouldn't make the Eaton's lofts ground floor into office, because "office deadens the street".

263 units, 335 bedrooms (1 and 2 only). They need the max building height within 30m of King to be upped from 16m to 58m, FSR from 4 to slightly over 12, and density from 250 units/ha to over 570.
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(02-09-2018, 03:51 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: Couldn't find a thread for 70 King North (old Waterloo post office), but...

There will be a meeting at City Council Monday March 5th for a presentation and questions.

14 and 22 storey towers on a common podium of parking, with 4 floor podium on king, 6 floor podium at Regina, one floor of those is office/amenity, rest are parking, and they don't seem to heed the maxim of the recent Perimeter article, where they said they wouldn't make the Eaton's lofts ground floor into office, because "office deadens the street".

263 units, 335 bedrooms (1 and 2 only). They need the max building height within 30m of King to be upped from 16m to 58m, FSR from 4 to slightly over 12, and density from 250 units/ha to over 570.

I've seen it. The towers are slabs. But overall not bad, good intensification.
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(02-09-2018, 03:51 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: 263 units, 335 bedrooms (1 and 2 only). They need the max building height within 30m of King to be upped from 16m to 58m, FSR from 4 to slightly over 12, and density from 250 units/ha to over 570.

80% one-bedroom units. This is surely being skewed by the student population, the proportion of 1BR is significantly higher than in Kitchener.

The deviations are quite large, so the city will have significant leverage over the project. I'm sure they could get ground-floor retail -- but only if they ask for it.
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This is the wrong "Old Post Office" development but it's a cool infill project.  I think it will work great in that empty lot and make good use of such a great historical building.  

Still looking for renderings of the "Last Post Office" development. Tongue Based on people's posts, I hope retail for the ground level is revisited or directed.
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70 King North is the old post office and 37/39/41 King North is the old-old post office, right?
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There was a drilling rig at one of the empty houses along Erb at Westmount last week. Has there been anything announced for those properties?
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(02-09-2018, 05:39 PM)timc Wrote: 70 King North is the old post office and 37/39/41 King North is the old-old post office, right?

For anyone alive this would hold true.  There were even more older post offices in Waterloo.
35 King St N - 1912 to 1964
70 King St N - 1964 to 2014(?)

Flash from the Past: Tracking Waterloo’s mail

Let's track Waterloo's post office sites. Snyder's store was on the east side of King, adjacent to the hotel at King and Erb. In 1870, Daniel constructed a block of buildings behind today's Bank of Montreal and Kumpf moved the post office there. Kumpf built his own red brick block on the northwest corner of King and Erb and soon the post office moved again. That third post office site was short-lived, shuffling slightly west to the building shown here.

This fourth post office location served until 1910, when Waterloo North MP William Lyon Mackenzie King arranged for federal postal authorities to erect a post office Waterloo could take pride in. Chief federal architect David Ewing, famed for his post office towers, designed a red sandstone structure at King and Duke (now Dupont). However, the still-standing building was only a post office from 1912 until 1964 — site number five.

At the corner of King North and Laurel (now Bridgeport Road) a modern, single storey-facility for the rapidly-growing city became site six.
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And now, so I'm told, Waterloo has been reduced to a retail outlet in the Walmart (né Towers, then Zellers) plaza. Canada Post was reportedly priced out of Uptown Waterloo's commercial rent.
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(02-16-2018, 01:34 PM)nms Wrote: And now, so I'm told, Waterloo has been reduced to a retail outlet in the Walmart (né Towers, then Zellers) plaza.  Canada Post was reportedly priced out of Uptown Waterloo's commercial rent.

There will still be six Canada Post outlets (Westmount Place, Ira Needles, Columbia, Waterloo Corporate, Conestoga Mall, Bridgeport).
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You could call it "priced out", but surely there was no need for that large building Uptown. Post offices serve different purposes these days than they used to. And I would rather have smaller, distributed outlets than one monolithic facility.

@tomh009: isn't your list missing some? For instance, there is still an outlet Uptown in the Shoppers Drug Mart. And there is one at King and University in the 7-11.
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(02-16-2018, 06:01 PM)timc Wrote: You could call it "priced out", but surely there was no need for that large building Uptown. Post offices serve different purposes these days than they used to. And I would rather have smaller, distributed outlets than one monolithic facility.

@tomh009: isn't your list missing some? For instance, there is still an outlet Uptown in the Shoppers Drug Mart. And there is one at King and University in the 7-11.

Didn’t they used to sort there on King St.? By contrast I don’t think the current retail outlets have anything to do with sorting and distribution — they’re just collection and delivery points. I think your comment about differing purposes is right on. It somewhat pains me to say it, but the retail outlets in other stores probably is the better model now.

And I say that as somebody who really likes the palatial old post offices.
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[quote='ijmorlan' pid='48983' dateline='1518826085']
Didn’t they used to sort there on King St.? By contrast I don’t think the current retail outlets have anything to do with sorting and distribution — they’re just collection and delivery points.
Quote:They did have a counter there. I remember using it.

[quote]I think your comment about differing purposes is right on. It somewhat pains me to say it, but the retail outlets in other stores probably is the better model now.

I think the city libraries should do that, instead of building branches. Select your books online, and pick them up nearby later that day.
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If libraries were just a place to go to get books, then I would agree. But libraries really do offer a lot more to the community than just book lending.
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The libraries are scaling back on space for books and are becoming tech hubs and providing spaces for community gatherings. Forest Heights library just got a 3D printer, and has various activities going on throughout the week. Central library has so much more than books.
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