The Barrel Yards | 25 fl | U/C

[urbd]

I would have thought that neighbourhood amenities like outdoor cafes, performance spaces, high-end retail and services go with those income levels/lifestyle preferences, but Barrel Yards seems devoid of same, unless you include Proof.

So, this is groundless speculation and definitely biased, but my impression of the Barrelyards is that the people who buy there, as a broad and unfair in any number of ways generalization, are the same people who would typically live in suburbs but don't have children (either won't ever or no longer do). I don't think they get out and explore, I think they drive to work and then drive home and maybe they drive out to the Boardwalk to watch a movie or they drive to the St Jacob's market on Saturday mornings, but I don't think they walk to a cafe. Maybe they'll drive downtown to checkout the Starbucks when it opens.

I live very close to Barrelyards and know current and past tenants there. You are half correct, as in yes most of them drive very regularly and moved in from the suburbs, but also they do get out and explore and walk to businesses in Uptown and Waterloo Park often ... that is when they are here - many university professors and other academics live there, which means that they travel a lot and their units are empty for months at a time. This makes it hard to connect with the community. Also a number of units are rented furnished for shorter stays by visiting business people or scholars. Overall, the physical form of the development plus the luxury level and prices of the rentals, it does not surprise me that the whole development will always be a disconnected island in Uptown.