Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment

[tomh009]

I think there are a lot of opinions here, but if the goal is to make DTK a premier destination to live and play rather than just work and visit, you have to think about the daily experience any development will generate. What does it feel like to be there on the other 300 days of the year of the year.

Right. Earlier people were saying that downtown is not bustling when there isn't an event on--and Kitchener has much more than 34 events a year today. So, an auditorium would generate more "events" but many people would just go to the auditorium and then leave, so less "bustling" than actual downtown events. And a convention centre would likely be even less effective in that sense.

If we're going to spend money to get people downtown, how about subsidizing new retail businesses? Something like a three-year property tax holiday for a new retail business (maybe not including food and drink) that opens up in DTK? Enough of them open, we will start attracting more people to visit downtown, and then we can get into a virtuous spiral.

And it would cost FAR less than an auditorium or convention centre.