Welcome Guest!
In order to take advantage of all the great features that Waterloo Region Connected has to offer, including participating in the lively discussions below, you're going to have to register. The good news is that it'll take less than a minute and you can get started enjoying Waterloo Region's best online community right away.
or Create an Account




Thread Rating:
  • 1 Vote(s) - 5 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Fairview Park Mall - Grand Market District
#31
(06-18-2018, 10:23 PM)dunkalunk Wrote: IMHO, what is being proposed is just as much a "Grand Market District" as "The Boardwalk" is a boardwalk.

One key difference is that this is actually on the LRT line.
Reply


#32
It's cool to see this area filling in, adding office space, and becoming more hospitable to pedestrians. While it's hard to imagine people choosing to hang out in front of the offices, right by the highway off-ramp, in the plans it looks like like most of the new outdoor gathering space is actually more sheltered, tucked between the offices and the new parking structure + specialty grocery. To me, this looks like a much more human-friendly use of the space than what's there now.
Reply
#33
(06-19-2018, 09:54 PM)D40LF Wrote:
(06-19-2018, 09:27 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Just renovation, or expansion into a Supercentre?
It's a renovation of the existing space, similar to what was done in Cambridge and is being done at Sunrise. No expansion.

It has always been my understanding that Cadillac Fairview does not want the store to expand outwards.

(06-19-2018, 09:30 PM)jeffster Wrote: They're doing something at the Wal*Mart at Sunrise, guess we'll see how it looks when it's done...

IIRC, Wal*Mart Fairview wanted to move to be separate from the mall, with the old Wal*Mart becoming a host to new stores...something about the Wal*Mart being to close to the highway made it impossible for them to move.
Sunrise is being renovated. It's slated to be completed in August. For a free preview, shop at the Cambridge store. It was completed in November. Wink

I'm testing my memory here, but I do recall a proposal to move the Fairview store across the street to where the cinema is currently located. I want to say this was back in 2006 or so, when the mall was renovated, but I could be wrong on that.
I remember that proposal also. I believe they were also planning on building a Sam's club location. I'm guessing the numerous proposals for that Walmart throughout the years is why that location is so outdated. I'm glad something is finally being done with it, All though now it's kind of got a Nostalgic charm to it LOL.
Reply
#34
Wow, a very bold proposal indeed!  I like the movement towards a mix of uses.
Reply
#35
(06-19-2018, 12:18 PM)GtwoK Wrote: Maybe I'm just imagining things, but do those 4 residential towers have an unusually small footprint? Square footage wise, they look barely bigger than a single unit inside the mall!

I didn't even notice them at first.  I like that though.  And if they are a small footprint, that's not a bad thing.  There a lot of really bulky towers around Waterloo Region.  Some thin ones aren't a bad thing.
Reply
#36
(06-20-2018, 12:20 PM)Spokes Wrote:
(06-19-2018, 12:18 PM)GtwoK Wrote: Maybe I'm just imagining things, but do those 4 residential towers have an unusually small footprint? Square footage wise, they look barely bigger than a single unit inside the mall!

I didn't even notice them at first.  I like that though.  And if they are a small footprint, that's not a bad thing.  There a lot of really bulky towers around Waterloo Region.  Some thin ones aren't a bad thing.

At present, the 4 towers have only preliminary planning gone into them. They'd be something that comes well after the primary development is done. I can't say whether or not 4 will ever be built, but it's hoped that with the development and LRT that something will be - and they'll certainly have a small footprint.

(06-19-2018, 10:51 AM)KevinL Wrote:
(06-19-2018, 03:14 AM)GtwoK Wrote: I mean.... wouldn't they just bury it, as they did the previous pylons?

I suppose they could, it seems like quite the duplicated effort.

It would definitely be buried when Stage 2 gets constructed, although that is a long way off. CF will certainly want it gone themselves.
Reply
#37
(06-21-2018, 11:24 AM)ac3r Wrote:
(06-19-2018, 10:51 AM)KevinL Wrote: I suppose they could, it seems like quite the duplicated effort.

It would definitely be buried when Stage 2 gets constructed, although that is a long way off. CF will certainly want it gone themselves.
Yeah.
Stage 1 was trimmed of all possible costs, so burying the power lines an additional few 100 metres based on an assumed or guessed routing for the extension was not ever going to make it in.
It's not impossible that they will take a different route out of the mall. If they do, then the Region would have paid Hydro improvements and mall parking improvements for nothing. It's a better bargaining chip to have flexibility now, than to have sunk costs in one particular alignment.
Reply


#38
(06-19-2018, 11:57 AM)Markster Wrote: Here's the full site plan from the pdf.

They've chosen to redevelop the most conveniently square-shaped plots of land.  And that corner parking lot is usually pretty vacant, so it won't impact mall patrons. I agree that any kind of street presence would be better served to the west, but with the existing building and the hydro ROW in the way, it would leave them working on triangular plots.

Having recently walked from the bus mall to the Holiday Inn on the other side of the highway, I won't object to having a building casting some shade on me.  There are more pedestrians here than you might think.

The loss of the Sears Brutalism is unfortunate. It's clear that it's just a straight up recladding, so it's all for aesthetics. I do understand that it's hard business being a mall these days, and you need to keep fresh to stay in it.

What's the deal with Lot 'O'?  Did the Region expropriate that land so that CF could get extra parking???

Coke
Reply
#39
(06-22-2018, 10:33 AM)Coke6pk Wrote:
(06-19-2018, 11:57 AM)Markster Wrote: Here's the full site plan from the pdf.

They've chosen to redevelop the most conveniently square-shaped plots of land.  And that corner parking lot is usually pretty vacant, so it won't impact mall patrons. I agree that any kind of street presence would be better served to the west, but with the existing building and the hydro ROW in the way, it would leave them working on triangular plots.

Having recently walked from the bus mall to the Holiday Inn on the other side of the highway, I won't object to having a building casting some shade on me.  There are more pedestrians here than you might think.

The loss of the Sears Brutalism is unfortunate. It's clear that it's just a straight up recladding, so it's all for aesthetics. I do understand that it's hard business being a mall these days, and you need to keep fresh to stay in it.

What's the deal with Lot 'O'?  Did the Region expropriate that land so that CF could get extra parking???

Coke

New GRT Fairway Terminal  + Park and Ride Lot
Reply
#40
Yeah, I know what it is supposed to be, but it seems misleading when they count the parking spaces and letter it like they do all the lots that they own.

Would of preferred it to be marked as Regional Property and/or labelled as Park and Ride... and not labelled as just another CF parking lot.

coke
Reply
#41
(06-22-2018, 11:42 AM)Coke6pk Wrote: Yeah, I know what it is supposed to be, but it seems misleading when they count the parking spaces and letter it like they do all the lots that they own.  

Would of preferred it to be marked as Regional Property and/or labelled as Park and Ride... and not labelled as just another CF parking lot.

coke

In practice it will be used like any other lot... it's not like they enforce any sort of time limit or anything in CF's lots. I wonder if they will on this one?
Reply
#42
(06-22-2018, 02:41 PM)urbd Wrote: In practice it will be used like any other lot... it's not like they enforce any sort of time limit or anything in CF's lots. I wonder if they will on this one?

I'd guess that there will be signage telling people not to park-and-ride in the CF lots, but there won't be any real enforcement until it starts to become a noticeable issue. Which I suspect is still years off.
Reply
#43
I'm confident any park-and-ride spillover will be in the far eastern corner of Lot A, which rarely gets anywhere close to full.
Reply


#44
Totally. Until that spillover touches the the zone of people parking for the mall entrance, it would be a waste of money for them to send someone out to enforce it.
Reply
#45
(06-22-2018, 04:20 PM)Markster Wrote: Totally.  Until that spillover touches the the zone of people parking for the mall entrance, it would be a waste of money for them to send someone out to enforce it.

CF Security Guards have the authority to write tickets on the property.... no huge costs associated there.  See someone park and walk away, write ticket.  Easy peasy.

Why wait until it becomes a problem.... It's the exact same as the bike lane argument in these forums. Nip the issue in the bud early, before it affects business.

Coke
Reply
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »



Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)

About Waterloo Region Connected

Launched in August 2014, Waterloo Region Connected is an online community that brings together all the things that make Waterloo Region great. Waterloo Region Connected provides user-driven content fueled by a lively discussion forum covering topics like urban development, transportation projects, heritage issues, businesses and other issues of interest to those in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the four Townships - North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.

              User Links