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+--- Thread: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours (/showthread.php?tid=7)
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - tomh009 - 06-14-2016
Quote:"I don't want to see a larger building in our community," Josh Curtis told council Monday night.
Does this count as NIMBY?
Less than 500m from an LRT station, one space per unit should be plenty. And visitor parking can be done on the street or in the parkade, the same as for individual houses, most of which have no visitor parking available.
But, no, Mr Curtis prefers to have an unoccupied derelict house in the neighbourhood instead. Surely better than a modernized building where "units will be rented to anyone who can pay for them!"
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - MidTowner - 06-14-2016
I think that probably counts as NIMBY. The test is whether he thinks there should be larger buildings anywhere- larger buildings which make more efficient use of resources, and keep his and other residents’ taxes low, along with other benefits- but just not in his “tight-knit” neighbourhood.
The comment about the units being rented to “anyone who can pay for them” was especially unfortunate. We’re in a city, and for each of us that means maybe interacting with people who aren’t like us. The residents here get the benefit of being within walking distance to Uptown- it’s not right for them to try to deny that benefit to other people, even if they’re not the “young professionals” they might prefer as neighbours.
One spot per unit is in fact unnecessary here. With good indoor bike storage, and a transit stop a five minute stroll away, this is the type of location that might attract people who don’t feel the need for a car. As it stands, those people will be subsidizing the parking of those who do. But, anyway, that happens routinely, and it’s a positive thing for less parking, even it might be more than necessary.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Viewfromthe42 - 06-14-2016
Also a bit funny to comment on height given what's on the opposite side of Erb St right around there. I think the "rent to anyone" comment might be related to thinking about the residents of 34 Laurel St.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - tomh009 - 06-14-2016
Sure wouldn't want that kind of people in the neighbourhood. Not in my back yard!
I wonder whether they have neighbourhood patrols screening potential homebuyers, too -- surely they wouldn't want to sell existing houses to just "anyone who can pay for them!"
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Viewfromthe42 - 06-14-2016
There are neighbourhood newsletters that go out and warn residents about upcoming development processes, in order to stir up these kinds of responses.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Pheidippides - 06-24-2016
Former "Denim Bar", "Bart and Maria Tailors", and "Skirt" store (44 King in Waterloo?) was sand blasted this week. I think there was an application for a bar of some sort here?
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Watdot - 06-24-2016
The new bar is said to be "McCabes". Same owner as the downtown Kitchener one.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - rangersfan - 06-26-2016
Noticed today that at the intersection of Dunbar and Erb there are 4 houses in a row that were all sold by the same realtor. Not sure if there is a potential land assembly in progress for a larger project or if a landowner had an opportunity to sell the 4 properties during a hot market and took it.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Pheidippides - 07-07-2016
I can’t help but think that this was a bit of a wasted opportunity to re-orient this plaza away from a traditional auto-centric model. Many of the tenants of the plaza cater to active users (Runner’s Choice, Courts Plus, moksha yoga, physiotherapy, etc.) and yet the whole back side of the building is still left with a its boring and blank back to the now increasingly busy trail where many of these active users arrive from…not to mention from which the rebranded plaza has stolen its name! The space behind the plaza has never really been heavily used and is essentially dead and wasted; why not take this opportunity to reanimate it and make better use of it?
I think had Runner’s Choice located in the old Diapers N’More Location on the southwest end they could have punched some windows and a door through the back side and had exposure to the trail (and potential customers) for their training groups and I could easily imagine a café-pub with a patio along the backside as well, which would be in the sun most of the data and largely sheltered from the prevailing winds, and would also be a great place for all those “active” plaza customers to catch a pre/post workout bagel and coffee, or a post-workout beverage, or for active trail users to get something on their commute in/out (or even a walk-up/bike-through window just off the trail).
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - tomh009 - 07-08-2016
Yes ... unfortunate, but I'm not sure there was an actual opportunity there. This is definitely a light reno, with no structural changes. I would bet that the walls don't conform to the current building code (been there, done that, with a commercial building of similar age), and punching holes in them for windows would add substantial extra costs for reinforcing the walls.
Apart from that, I don't find this reno particularly attractive.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Markster - 07-08-2016
(07-08-2016, 09:20 AM)tomh009 Wrote: Yes ... unfortunate, but I'm not sure there was an actual opportunity there. This is definitely a light reno, with no structural changes. I would bet that the walls don't conform to the current building code (been there, done that, with a commercial building of similar age), and punching holes in them for windows would add substantial extra costs for reinforcing the walls.
For what it's worth, the main floor windows on the side semi-facing the trail are new, and were punched out.
The plaza will look a little better once the stores get signage up, but yeah, it's relatively uninspiring.
I find this plaza to be a bit of an exemplar of Waterloo culture. An upper-middle-class fitness store, close to Uptown, lots of parking, kinda bland and uninspired...
Also, ha, The Running Room: lots of parking so you can easily drive there for going on your run.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Pheidippides - 07-08-2016
If we are thinking of the same "windows" facing the laurel trail and not the spurline trail I am pretty sure those are fake.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - Memph - 07-09-2016
(06-26-2016, 04:40 PM)rangersfan Wrote: Noticed today that at the intersection of Dunbar and Erb there are 4 houses in a row that were all sold by the same realtor. Not sure if there is a potential land assembly in progress for a larger project or if a landowner had an opportunity to sell the 4 properties during a hot market and took it.
Which side of the intersection? I lived 4 houses from the intersection in 2012.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - tvot - 07-10-2016
(07-09-2016, 11:27 PM)Memph Wrote:(06-26-2016, 04:40 PM)rangersfan Wrote: Noticed today that at the intersection of Dunbar and Erb there are 4 houses in a row that were all sold by the same realtor. Not sure if there is a potential land assembly in progress for a larger project or if a landowner had an opportunity to sell the 4 properties during a hot market and took it.
Which side of the intersection? I lived 4 houses from the intersection in 2012.
The four houses are on the North side of Erb, starting at Erb & Roslin going towards Dunbar.
RE: General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours - jamincan - 07-10-2016
I lived one block from there until recently.