Quote:KITCHENER — For the first time in 25 years, there are signs a tree-shaded property on Margaret Avenue could be redeveloped in the near future.

The ACTIVA Group, one of the area's biggest developers, has signs on 30-40 Margaret Ave. alerting passersby that it is planning a six-storey, apartment-style condominium on 1.2 hectares of land along the east side of the street, between Queen and Victoria streets.

"It is two buildings, two-six storey buildings, with approximately 200 units between the two of them," Jennifer Voss, ACTIVA's planning manager, said.

Most of the parking will be underground, and sales are scheduled to begin next spring. Construction will not begin until enough units are pre-sold.

"We are really excited about it," Voss said. "The location is great. The design we have come up with is going to be a real jewel in the neighbourhood."

The property is in the Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District. It is the city's oldest neighbourhood. Two mansions built by the Kaufman family used to sit on the property. The same family built and ran the Kaufman boot factory at King and Francis streets that is now home to trendy condos.

The historic mansions were demolished in 1988 over the loud protests of heritage preservationists. At time, the owners said the buildings had to come down to make way for redevelopment of the land, which then sat empty for a generation.

The ACTIVA Group was not involved in any way with the controversial demolition. It bought the property last year. ACTIVA became interested after changes to the city's official plan in 2008-2009 allowed for a six-storey condominium with architectural features containing 210 units.

Robert Shipley, a professor of urban planning specializing in historic preservation, said the Margaret Avenue property should serve as a cautionary tale for city councillors who allow historic buildings to be demolished on promises of redevelopment.

Shipley said there are old and recent examples around from around southern Ontario where the same scenario played out.

"I think it's a good rule not to demolish anything until there is a commitment to replace it with something at least as good," Shipley said.

"I think councils need to be reminded they are being asked to buy a pig-in-a-poke," Shipley said.

It has been a 14-year-long wait for the redevelopment of the property next to City Hall in downtown Kitchener, where Andrin Homes is slated to build condominiums.

A big chunk of Colborne Street in downtown Brampton sits empty after the largest collection of pre-Confederation buildings in Canada were bought and razed by that municipality, to make way for a student fitness centre that never materialized.

In London in the early 1990s, the historic Talbot Block was demolished to make way for a private-sector development that never happened. Instead, the City of London eventually built the John Labatt Centre on the site.

"The lesson should be to councils — this is a bad idea," Shipley said. "This manoeuvre has a very bad track record."

Videographers are working in the area of Margaret Avenue preparing a promotional video of the neighbourhood for ACTIVA's marketing campaign. The area is characterized by tree-shaded streets lined with handsome, brick homes. Centre in the Square, the main library branch, Hibner Park and the Registry Theatre are all there. It is only a few minutes' walk to the future transit hub at King and Victoria streets.

Coun. Daniel Glenn-Graham, who represents the area of the city where Margaret Street is located, said neighbours are satisfied that it looks like it will be a good development for the neighbourhood.

"Because the devil's in the details, we are waiting to see the timing of it," Glenn-Graham said.

"Some of the people living behind it are anxious and the rest of the neighbourhood just wants to make sure we are getting a good, quality development," Glenn-Graham said. "I think it will be high quality."

(04-20-2019, 04:48 PM)jgsz Wrote: Yes it’s new.  The previous sign got graffiti.  Most of the development signs in the neighbourhood were ruined by graffiti during the winter.