03-20-2021, 01:19 AM
(03-19-2021, 08:23 PM)urbd Wrote:(03-19-2021, 01:49 PM)welltoldtales Wrote: Is this project still a potential go? Feels like Uptown Waterloo put a lot on hold for development.
Probably not... developers don't believe in Uptown Waterloo anymore, which is unfortunate. Besides the market realities, the City of Waterloo needs a wake up call to start doing some truly innovative planning and urban design to attract quality development. City hall is stuck in their small town and very conservative mentality in the way things are run, even though Council is the most progressive it has ever been.
Funny thing, the City's motto is "Stability". The City has been working hard to make improvements to the Uptown area (I'm looking at you, King St redesign) and has also likely been overwhelmed by the development surge in the Northdale area which brought its own urban design challenges. Waterloo also isn't blessed like Kitchener at having the following:
1. A piggy bank known as a city-owned utility company that can bankrolled endless experiments in urban reconstruction.
2. No river running through the downtown that creates all sorts of water table and flood control issues. (This was a particular concern for 87 Regina St)
3. A historic commercial/industrial core that is more than half a block deep on either side of King St.