01-21-2015, 03:42 PM
(01-20-2015, 04:48 PM)MidTowner Wrote: I see your point. I couldn't agree more that downtown needs more people. We're all aware that a virtuous cycle involves residents attracting more services which in turn attract more residents. To play devil's advocate, I might suggest that services (and particularly ones that cater to residents rather than workers) is what is still needed: Kitchener's has traditionally been a "9-to-5" downtown with plenty of employees and not enough residents. Maybe we do need more restaurants, and more people living downtown to frequent them, but not particularly more office workers.
That having been said, all I did say was that, in my opinion and having been to the restaurant when it was one, this is a great building for a restaurant.
Traditionally, many of King Street storefronts had apartments above them that were occupied (sometimes) by the store's proprietors or in other cases by the general public. Do any of these former apartments have a chance at being resurrected? I seem to recall that some of the older (ie 1920s, 1930s era) apartments to the east along Weber or Duke have been purchased and/or renovated. Has anyone seen statistics on the existing downtown residential vacancy rates?