10 Mar, 2010
Buildings and change in Westboro – continued
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Westboro|Yaktivism
ETA: Local Fishbowl readers might be interested in the public meeting regarding the development of the Soeurs de la Visitation convent and site. It’s tonight (March 10) at St. Georges Church, 415 Piccadilly Avenue (in the downstairs meeting room). Futher details details are on the Westboro Community Association blog.
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The first part of this post is here.
Westboro has lots of good things going for it. It’s close to downtown, close to the river and close to parks and recreation. Westboro has good schools and cool shopping.
It’s no wonder that people want to live here. It’s become a trendy neighbourhood. The price of homes have skyrocketed, as well as rents for stores along the main drag. The businesses that call Westboro home (and I’m thinking specifically of Richmond Road) have changed drastically over the past 10-12 years. MEC moved in and a whole bunch of shops came along with it: the Expedition Shoppe, Bridgehead, and Lululemon (for starters) essentially created Westboro’s new reputation as a mecca for treehugging, latte drinking, eco-friendly consumers. (A group in which I count myself!)
Hot housing markets beget more housing. Residential infills are everywhere, but I’m not too keyed up on infill. My only issue is with owners and developers who ask for zoning adjustments to accommodate massive mega homes that don’t jive with the rest of the neighbourhood. People want 10 metre high homes where only 8 is allowed. People want to chop down all of their trees and replace their front lawns with driveways and fill every square inch of their property – and more – with extra closets and a fifth bathroom. To those of you who pooh pooh me on this issue I say this: how would you like a concrete behemoth towering over your home?
Anyway, I this isn’t about residential infill. I wanted to talk about commercial development (or lack thereof) in Westboro.
The Westboro BIA (at least I’m assuming they are the ones who are responsible) has procured some new decorations for Richmond Road. Here is one of them, shown at the corner of Richmond and Roosevelt Avenue. (You will need to click to enlarge this image.)
In the background are two new condos: Westboro Station (on the left) and The Exchange (on the right). The construction site in the forefront is for the second phase of Westboro Station.
The new banners show a bicycle with a basket in which we can see a baguette, a bottle of wine, and a bouquet of flowers.
The Westboro BIA is fond of marketing this neighbourhood as “Westboro Village.” This idea appears in newspaper and magazine ads and on other promotional material, like their website. The phrase goes back over 100 years when this actually WAS a village. It was annexed to Nepean, which then became part of the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa. Nevertheless, a village is a community in which people live, shop, work and play.
The link between “Westboro” and “Village” is getting weaker with every passing month. Despite there being a Community Design Plan, there is little thought to what Westboro will look like as a whole, 20 years from now. Development seems piecemeal with little regard for how all of it will impact on available resources.
The illustration on the banners isn’t exactly a lie. You can hop on your bike (courtesy of Westboro Sports, or better yet, Bushtukah or Tall Tree) and certainly obtain a bottle of wine (from the LCBO on Richmond Road), the baguette (from the Real Canadian Superstore) and the flowers (from Tivoli). But all those new condos that are promising exciting ground floor retail don’t seem to be able to deliver it. Harvest Loaf – an actual local baker – was pushed out long ago. The shoe repair fellow had to move around the corner. How long is the Candy Store going to last? The newspaper and magazine store? What about the other independents?
At first we were excited about all this commercial development. Sushi place? Total score. A Candy Store? BRING IT.
But it gradually began veering down a different road. To quote the Westboro BIA website, Westboro offers a “quaint, yet urban shopping experience.” I think that shopping – or doing anything – along Richmond Road is going to become less and less pleasant, not unlike walking in a wind tunnel, but with fewer interesting stores and less sunshine.
We are heading towards a street filled with Botox stops and chiropractors. I don’t want any more places to buy yoga gear or touring bikes. I want a cozy pub (and so do you, judging by a few comments in the first part of this post), and a good deli like Nicastros. Give us something we can use!
I know many of you are thinking that it’s fair market; those who can afford it will pay the increasing rents. I get it, that’s how it works, but is this good for those of us who actually live here?
I don’t even want to get into the condo issue. There’s one sprouting up on every corner. Why hasn’t this happened in the Glebe?
Perhaps what sets Westboro apart isn’t the eco-friendly bent, it’s greed. Greed that fuels all of the super-sized developments; lining the pockets of people who don’t even live here. Greed of the people who live the I-Want-the Biggest-House-Possible-And-I-Don’t-Care-What-The-Neighbors-Say-or-what-it-Does-to-the-Neighborhood kind of philosophy.
Can a city council legislate what stores open in Westboro? It’s not impossible. Councillors can take strides to attract a certain kind of commercial real estate. How has Niagara-on-the-Lake, for example, managed to preserve the historical feel of their main street? What kind of zoning and development bylaws are in place in order to create the kind of “village” people want to live in?
As for parks and recreation: we have so many people, so few facilities. Dovercourt is stretched to the max. Have you tried signing your kids up for swimming lessons? Or, related, tried snagging a spot for their afterschool program? Greenspace is eroding. Traffic is increasing.
I used to joke that everything I possibly needed was in Westboro: coffee, a newspaper, chocolate, a good meal and a pint of beer. (And when my life is all over you can bring me over to the funeral home on the corner.) I still believe that, but I’m not sure if it’s going to last.
I’m not sure what the solution is, but I fear that we’ve tipped the balance and are past the point of no return.
