There's not a whole lot to keep people in Galt - not nearly as many jobs, so not nearly as many people staying behind after work. Much of the residential is a significant hike away, so you have to work to get downtown without driving. The theatre is on the other side of the river, and it's dark for another two weeks (and to be perfectly honest, I struggle to find anything I'd want to see in this season). Galt is about where Kitchener was 10-15 years ago, and Preston and Hespeler are even farther back.
That makes some sense, looking at the office space inventory reveals the Kitchener core area has almost 8 times as much as the Cambridge core. I was a bit surprised to see the Dunfield quiet, but LA Franks was bustling at least! It wasn't the best weather but Galt still seems like it should be a destination for the people of Cambridge to go to on a Friday or Saturday. I do think its moving in the right direction though, and there is a ton of great bones and potential!
As pure available office space, there is more in Kitchener. But regardless of available space, there are still a lot more companies and people working in downtown Kitchener, which is good for the restaurant business. LRT, and more people living downtown will help the restaurants even more in the future.
Galt has a lot of potential, but it's still early in the game for Cambridge.
Not easy to get more office space in there either - or residential really. All the potential adaptive reuse sites were torn down for the flood walls. The bus terminal site might be up for grabs if they change the bus routes once light rail makes it south. There's probably more potential in Preston and Hespeler - rebuild a couple stripmalls, build on the old gas station sites, turn the industrial district on the north side of the Speed River in Hespeler into commercial and residential. Galt is pretty much finished unless you want to start taking out heritage buildings or a frequently-used grocery store.
(09-25-2016, 10:55 PM)DHLawrence Wrote: [ -> ]Not easy to get more office space in there either - or residential really. All the potential adaptive reuse sites were torn down for the flood walls. The bus terminal site might be up for grabs if they change the bus routes once light rail makes it south. There's probably more potential in Preston and Hespeler - rebuild a couple stripmalls, build on the old gas station sites, turn the industrial district on the north side of the Speed River in Hespeler into commercial and residential. Galt is pretty much finished unless you want to start taking out heritage buildings or a frequently-used grocery store.
Say what? I see plenty of parking lots that can be redeveloped:
https://goo.gl/maps/wPwwviVdHdx
Not all of them can, though. One of the Dickson lots is used by Canada Post; another is used on market days by the farmer's market. The one parallel to Beverly Street is behind homes and has topography working against it, so its development potential is limited. Same with the land opposite along Shade Street; with the creek there, they may not even allow development because of flood issues. One is next to the armoury; I can see them using the part at Wellington and Main, but not the rest. I can't see the one behind city hall being redeveloped any time soon.
That leaves maybe three - the Wellington/Main corner, the one on Water just south of Main where the Capitol Theatre used to be, and one on Dickson across from the post office. And not everybody who will work there is going to be living locally or taking transit in; they're going to be driving from the south end or from the Franklin Boulevard area. Some parking will have to remain to serve them, and with the creek underground there it's going to be hard to dig.
Failte Irish pub on King in Waterloo has closed.
Any word as to why? Unpaid rent like Firkin? (bad times for F-named bars)
(09-26-2016, 09:50 AM)Elmira Guy Wrote: [ -> ]Failte Irish pub on King in Waterloo has closed.
:O
What!
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
No, no idea why. A friend in the biz told me Friday he heard they were going to close and apparently they have.
I haven't been in a while as I tend to go there much more often in the winter, so I have no idea how busy it's been of late. It always seemed to draw very well on weekends so not sure what the issue was. They have the same owners as Molly Bloom's.
The Flying Dog on Marsland Dr has also closed, according to the Record.
Yes. I posted a link to a story about their (Flying Dog) impending closure on the previous page.
The sign on Failte said closed Sunday. There was nothing indicating a full closure. I hope not, that would be terrible.
Firkin's
Failte
Flying Dog
I think I see the pattern!
(09-26-2016, 11:54 AM)tomh009 Wrote: [ -> ]Firkin's
Failte
Flying Dog
I think I see the pattern!
When the trend is over, trendy establishments encounter problems.