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General Urban Kitchener Updates and Rumours
(04-23-2015, 08:37 AM)ookpik Wrote: Yes the loss of that 7-11 will be a huge loss for junk food, cigarette and lottery ticket buyers in the area Wink

What about the McD's a few steps away? Surely it's at least as affected by ION construction. That McD's has been a rather dingy, world-weary location for years. Does McD's plan to tear it down and rebuild it into something more modern?

I believe they lost their drive through to ION construction
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I won't miss the 7-11. I still miss the H. Salt Fish & Chips that was there before 7-11 though.
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I have a feeling that nothing much has happened at McD's because they plan on rebuilding. Remodeling was a chain wide requirement. McD's are franchises although I'm sure there are a few corporate stores.
When this location lost its drive-thru we didn't hear so much as a peep about it so that leaves me thinking that there is more at play then we know..
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Who owns the empty lots on Benton, across the street from Arrow Lofts? Combined, it's a sizeable parcel but I think it has been standing fallow for quite a long time. Zoned CR-2 but I haven't heard of any plans for this.
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(04-25-2015, 07:11 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Who owns the empty lots on Benton, across the street from Arrow Lofts?  Combined, it's a sizeable parcel but I think it has been standing fallow for quite a long time.  Zoned CR-2 but I haven't heard of any plans for this.

I've been told that it belongs to Auburn, but I don't know for sure. 
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The former Dr. Seagrist building and property at Belmont and Glasgow has sold. Dr. Seagrist moved out a few weeks ago.
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(04-25-2015, 09:27 PM)panamaniac Wrote:
(04-25-2015, 07:11 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Who owns the empty lots on Benton, across the street from Arrow Lofts?  Combined, it's a sizeable parcel but I think it has been standing fallow for quite a long time.  Zoned CR-2 but I haven't heard of any plans for this.

I've been told that it belongs to Auburn, but I don't know for sure. 

If true, pretty much worst case scenario.
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The former Botanica Restaurant space in the Crowne Plaza Hotel has been stripped out in recent weeks. I don't know what the plan is for the space, although a hotel employee told me a few months back that she thought it might be converted to office space.
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(04-27-2015, 06:50 AM)Spokes Wrote:
(04-25-2015, 09:27 PM)panamaniac Wrote: I've been told that it belongs to Auburn, but I don't know for sure. 

If true, pretty much worst case scenario.

Auburn is going to be tied up at Barrelyards for a while, and then they have the (potential) second tower at Arrow to do, so I suspect this would be pretty far down the priority list.

It would make a nice location for a mid-sized grocery store for the Kitchener core, though.
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(04-27-2015, 08:26 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(04-27-2015, 06:50 AM)Spokes Wrote: If true, pretty much worst case scenario.

Auburn is going to be tied up at Barrelyards for a while, and then they have the (potential) second tower at Arrow to do, so I suspect this would be pretty far down the priority list.

It would make a nice location for a mid-sized grocery store for the Kitchener core, though.

Really?  I can think of half a dozen Downtown locations where I'd put a grocery store before I'd build one on the slope of Benton St. 
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(04-27-2015, 08:34 PM)panamaniac Wrote:
(04-27-2015, 08:26 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Auburn is going to be tied up at Barrelyards for a while, and then they have the (potential) second tower at Arrow to do, so I suspect this would be pretty far down the priority list.

It would make a nice location for a mid-sized grocery store for the Kitchener core, though.

Really?  I can think of half a dozen Downtown locations where I'd put a grocery store before I'd build one on the slope of Benton St. 

There is the slope, yes.  But you can build the store into the hill on two levels (common in Europe) you can even have a small underground parking deck. 

On the other hand, the cost of the land will also be substantially higher at, say, next to 1 Victoria.  And conventional surface parking will eat up more valuable land.

I'm not saying that I actually expect to see this.  But I do think it could work well.
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(04-27-2015, 09:08 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(04-27-2015, 08:34 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Really?  I can think of half a dozen Downtown locations where I'd put a grocery store before I'd build one on the slope of Benton St. 

There is the slope, yes.  But you can build the store into the hill on two levels (common in Europe) you can even have a small underground parking deck. 

On the other hand, the cost of the land will also be substantially higher at, say, next to 1 Victoria.  And conventional surface parking will eat up more valuable land.

I'm not saying that I actually expect to see this.  But I do think it could work well.



In my mind, I see a mid-rise terraced building on that site, with townhomes facing the street and some wonderful south-facing terraces on the upper floors. 
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(04-27-2015, 09:22 PM)panamaniac Wrote:
(04-27-2015, 09:08 PM)tomh009 Wrote: There is the slope, yes.  But you can build the store into the hill on two levels (common in Europe) you can even have a small underground parking deck. 

On the other hand, the cost of the land will also be substantially higher at, say, next to 1 Victoria.  And conventional surface parking will eat up more valuable land.

I'm not saying that I actually expect to see this.  But I do think it could work well.

In my mind, I see a mid-rise terraced building on that site, with townhomes facing the street and some wonderful south-facing terraces on the upper floors.

That would work nicely, too.  But if it really is Auburn, I suspect we'll be waiting for a while.

Does the Land Registry Office release the name of the owner for a given piece of land?
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(04-27-2015, 10:36 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(04-27-2015, 09:22 PM)panamaniac Wrote: In my mind, I see a mid-rise terraced building on that site, with townhomes facing the street and some wonderful south-facing terraces on the upper floors.

That would work nicely, too.  But if it really is Auburn, I suspect we'll be waiting for a while.

Does the Land Registry Office release the name of the owner for a given piece of land?

Yep, but you have to pay to pull up the records.
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(04-27-2015, 08:26 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(04-27-2015, 06:50 AM)Spokes Wrote: If true, pretty much worst case scenario.

Auburn is going to be tied up at Barrelyards for a while, and then they have the (potential) second tower at Arrow to do, so I suspect this would be pretty far down the priority list.

It would make a nice location for a mid-sized grocery store for the Kitchener core, though.


My thoughts exactly.  Combine that with the Alexandria property.  This one's very far down the list of to-dos.

While there could be other more "ideal" locations, a 6 floor mixed use building with an urban format grocer would be good here as it would serve that neighbourhood plus downtown well.
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