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General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Printable Version

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RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - westwardloo - 10-19-2020

(10-19-2020, 03:03 PM)taylortbb Wrote:
(10-19-2020, 02:17 PM)jeffster Wrote: Unless it’s to someone like Momentum. They seem to get stuff done fast. Auburn, or Andrin, for example, some of us would be dead by the time they finish Bramm.

Even though Momentum builds faster, I think it's better for the city for it to not end up all with one developer. The city should be the one planning the street grid, making sure it integrates in to the trails and roads surrounding the site. The city also has the opportunity to ensure it becomes a good mix of retail, residential, and office. Master planned developments always end up kind of boring.
Could not agree more. City should be the ones planning all street grids whether it is a subdivision or a master planned residential development. It is too bad that the Schneider's factory land wasn't subdivided before selling. Not only is that probably going to take 3 decades to complete, it is going to be extremely boring in terms of architecture. If a few developers were involved I think we would see the buildout quicker and there would have been healthy competition to create unique functional building to attract buyers.  

Personally I am waiting for a few toronto developers to discover Kitchener as investment opportunities. Seems like we have a decent amount of regional players, but then everything else is slow boring London developers. 

Not that I would ever want to live in a majority of Mississauga, but there are a lot of interesting building being proposed/built near square one that i would love to see in Kitchener.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Momo26 - 10-19-2020

I second that re: Square One area type growth/opportunity. As if stands, I'm not one of the anti-growth squad - take the out of town investors, have standards expectations they must meet of course, but the growth take place. It's our time.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Lens - 10-19-2020

I've heard rumours that Momentum as it currently operates maybe be no more after their current projects are compete.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - danbrotherston - 10-19-2020

(10-19-2020, 04:29 PM)westwardloo Wrote:
(10-19-2020, 03:03 PM)taylortbb Wrote: Even though Momentum builds faster, I think it's better for the city for it to not end up all with one developer. The city should be the one planning the street grid, making sure it integrates in to the trails and roads surrounding the site. The city also has the opportunity to ensure it becomes a good mix of retail, residential, and office. Master planned developments always end up kind of boring.
Could not agree more. City should be the ones planning all street grids whether it is a subdivision or a master planned residential development. It is too bad that the Schneider's factory land wasn't subdivided before selling. Not only is that probably going to take 3 decades to complete, it is going to be extremely boring in terms of architecture. If a few developers were involved I think we would see the buildout quicker and there would have been healthy competition to create unique functional building to attract buyers.  

Personally I am waiting for a few toronto developers to discover Kitchener as investment opportunities. Seems like we have a decent amount of regional players, but then everything else is slow boring London developers. 

Not that I would ever want to live in a majority of Mississauga, but there are a lot of interesting building being proposed/built near square one that i would love to see in Kitchener.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere near square one. I rode across the GTA from S1 to the east side of Scarborough, and the 1 km of parking lots from the GO Bus to the start of the trail was by far the most dangerous part of my day...also, 1 KM of PARKING!

And that's not even to to mention the annoyance of our GO bus pulling into S1 7 minutes before our connection and still missing our connection.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - danbrotherston - 10-19-2020

(10-19-2020, 03:03 PM)taylortbb Wrote:
(10-19-2020, 02:17 PM)jeffster Wrote: Unless it’s to someone like Momentum. They seem to get stuff done fast. Auburn, or Andrin, for example, some of us would be dead by the time they finish Bramm.

Even though Momentum builds faster, I think it's better for the city for it to not end up all with one developer. The city should be the one planning the street grid, making sure it integrates in to the trails and roads surrounding the site. The city also has the opportunity to ensure it becomes a good mix of retail, residential, and office. Master planned developments always end up kind of boring.

Is there even going to be a streetgrid back there?  Frankly, I'd like it if they could develop the entire area back there, but even leaving aside the parcel that is apparently so contaminated that it's unsafe for humans to even walk past (hence a trail is not permitted), Bramm still only covers half the land, and is at most two parcels with Bramm St. down the middle.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - westwardloo - 10-19-2020

[quote pid='85240' dateline='1603152345']

I wouldn't want to live anywhere near square one. I rode across the GTA from S1 to the east side of Scarborough, and the 1 km of parking lots from the GO Bus to the start of the trail was by far the most dangerous part of my day...also, 1 KM of PARKING!

And that's not even to to mention the annoyance of our GO bus pulling into S1 7 minutes before our connection and still missing our connection.
[/quote]
I agreed! thats why I said I wouldn't want to live in most parts of mississauga. Port credit is nice though so so I couldn't say I wouldn't live anywhere in mississauga. That said there are few proposals around square one that are quite unique that I would welcome to downtown kitchener any day. The point is I want Toronto developers willing to try unique cohesive things to discover kitchener and stop building them in a sea a parking lots haha.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Momo26 - 10-19-2020

We have a long long long way to go before we resemble anything like Mississauga. No one likes the congestion (getting from one side of Hurontario to the other taking upwards of an hour in rush hour pre covid times). We aren't even as expansive (not Kitchener or Waterloo individually at least - even combined?) as Missauaga so we would hit city limits first.

But we should have some buildings that are just like 'wow' from a distance too...a la Marilyn Monroe towers ...


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Bjays93 - 10-20-2020

I wouldn't want to see anything like square 1 is right now, but oxford has proposed a massive development for downtown mississauga and is already starting on it (60+ tower master plan to make a proper downtown in mississauga)

Some long term masterplan like that with a string of different architects would definitely be good for the region imo


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - tomh009 - 10-20-2020

(10-20-2020, 10:33 AM)Bjays93 Wrote: I wouldn't want to see anything like square 1 is right now, but oxford has proposed a massive development for downtown mississauga and is already starting on it (60+ tower master plan to make a proper downtown in mississauga)

Some long term masterplan like that with a string of different architects would definitely be good for the region imo

How many different architects will Oxford be using in Mississauga?


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Bjays93 - 10-20-2020

(10-20-2020, 12:18 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(10-20-2020, 10:33 AM)Bjays93 Wrote: I wouldn't want to see anything like square 1 is right now, but oxford has proposed a massive development for downtown mississauga and is already starting on it (60+ tower master plan to make a proper downtown in mississauga)

Some long term masterplan like that with a string of different architects would definitely be good for the region imo

How many different architects will Oxford be using in Mississauga?
I dont know at this point. So far at least 3 applications for 5 buildings have been issued. Two sets of two residential and one office building. One of the residential towers is Toronto's Daniel's, I dont know who is the architect for the other pair of towers at the moment but Hariri Pontarini is involved in the project as well so they might be the architects for that or maybe just the overall vision I'm not sure.

The application for the office building was just last week, so no architect has been announced yet that I'm aware of. Oxford made it sound like they wanted to work primarily with local firms of which there are plenty.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Spokes - 10-20-2020

(10-19-2020, 03:03 PM)taylortbb Wrote:
(10-19-2020, 02:17 PM)jeffster Wrote: Unless it’s to someone like Momentum. They seem to get stuff done fast. Auburn, or Andrin, for example, some of us would be dead by the time they finish Bramm.

Even though Momentum builds faster, I think it's better for the city for it to not end up all with one developer. The city should be the one planning the street grid, making sure it integrates in to the trails and roads surrounding the site. The city also has the opportunity to ensure it becomes a good mix of retail, residential, and office. Master planned developments always end up kind of boring.

Totally agree.  No more Barrelyards projects please.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - ac3r - 10-21-2020

I would tolerate a Mississauga type development here if it meant we got something designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects. Their portfolio is incredible.


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - panamaniac - 10-21-2020

(10-20-2020, 08:51 PM)Spokes Wrote:
(10-19-2020, 03:03 PM)taylortbb Wrote: Even though Momentum builds faster, I think it's better for the city for it to not end up all with one developer. The city should be the one planning the street grid, making sure it integrates in to the trails and roads surrounding the site. The city also has the opportunity to ensure it becomes a good mix of retail, residential, and office. Master planned developments always end up kind of boring.

Totally agree.  No more Barrelyards projects please.

Cough (Schneiders site), cough, cough ...


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Bjays93 - 10-21-2020

(10-21-2020, 01:46 PM)panamaniac Wrote:
(10-20-2020, 08:51 PM)Spokes Wrote: Totally agree.  No more Barrelyards projects please.

Cough (Schneiders site), cough, cough ...
Try smartcentres new cambridge proposal. Its even worse


RE: General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours - Momo26 - 10-21-2020

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/popular-kitchener-wedding-venue-the-hacienda-sarria-closes-1.5154412