HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage - 2011-12-06HERITAGE KITCHENER MINUTES
DECEMBER 6. 2011 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Heritage Kitchener Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p. m.
Present: Mr. K. Kirby -Chair
Councillors Z. Janecki, J. Gazzola and Y. Fernandes, Ms. A. Oja, Ms. E. Young, and
Messrs. J. Ariens, L. Robertson, S. Sindile, S. Thomson and G. Wolfe.
Staff: L. Bensason, Coordinator of Cultural Heritage Planning
M. Drake, Heritage Planner
C. Goodeve, Committee Administrator
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS
On behalf of the Committee, Mr. K. Kirby welcomed Mr. G. Wolfe and Councillor J. Gazzola,
who were recently appointed to Heritage Kitchener for a term ending November 30, 2012.
PRESENTATION -KITCHENER DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC PLAN
The Committee was in receipt of materials on the Draft Downtown Plan: Core Areas of Focus,
dated November 2011. Mr. M. Garner, Executive Director, Kitchener Downtown BIA provided
an overview of the proposed Downtown Strategic Plan, which is being developed based on
consultations into to what people would like to see in the Downtown core. He stated that this
information would be streamed into the following three areas of focus:
• Focus #1 - An Amazing King Street Experience -turn King Street into the place to be
and be seen';
• Focus #2 -New Urban Neighbourhoods -plan for up to three new neighbourhoods that
redefine urban living; where urban living is seen as one of the best ways to live; and,
• Focus #3 - An Innovation District - rebrand and foster the Warehouse District as one of
the province's premiere multi-disciplinary centres of innovation.
Mr. Garner provided details concerning proposals for each of the three focus areas and
displayed images of current successes and assets in the Downtown; all of which have come
online since 2004. Examples included: Kaufman Lofts, Le Marche Residences, WLU School
of Social Work and the King Street Streetscape project. He noted several future projects being
pursued, such as the Arrow Lofts development, re-development of the Mayfair Hotel, the new
consolidated Courthouse, and the Victoria Park Lake clean-up. He advised that all of the
City's advisory committees are being asked to provide input into the Plan, which will be
consolidated with input received from the universities, neighbourhood associations and from
citizens via an online survey. He noted that each group has been asked for their opinions on
what they like /dislike about the Downtown. The Committee then held a roundtable
discussion.
In addition to commenting on the positive /negative aspects of the Downtown core, members
provided feedback on what they thought was missing from the Downtown identifying such
things as: a movie theatre; specialty grocery store; large primary attraction or drawing feature;
restaurants and cafes similar to those found in European public squares; more retail variety,
such as a toy store; visual connection from the City Centre development to Victoria Park; more
parks /green spaces; more public art; conceptualize the Downtown as being an urban mall;
large scale entertainment; more seating around Civic Square; add grass to Civic Square; close
Gaukel Street and convert it into a green space.
Following the information gathering session, Mr. Garner advised that next steps for the
Downtown Strategic Plan are to finish the consultations and present a draft of the Plan to
Council in early 2012. He noted that this would include a proposal to implement the
recommendations contained in the Downtown Strategic Plan over afive-year period.
ADJOURNMENT
On motion, this meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m
Colin Goodeve
Committee Administrator