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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 2007-09-13 DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 13, 2007 City of Kitchener The Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m., Chaired by Glenn Scheels with the following members present: Denis Pellerin, Bernie Neimer, Linda Stewart, Glen Woolner, John Smola, Karen Taylor-Harrison, Chris Farley, Glenn Scheels, Vince Buehler, Christina Weylie, Scott Hayter City staff present include: Sandy Curzon, Silvia Wright, Karen Killeen, Mike S, Cory B, Brenda Grimm Business Arising 1. 1. Building Development Update Mr. Mike Seiling provided an update on the building developments in the downtown. Children’s Museum –have brought in some new tenants/concepts possible café - School of Pharmacy – making progress, there was a labour strike that affected the site - Kaufman Lofts – media had some issues with closings – occupancy permits have been - issued to some, city has no control, they are a little behind, they have added 2 stories to the structure, the quality of the building is top notch Arrow Lofts – due to the soil conditions the additions have been okayed for the industrial - building, the city is working with the developer, building permit application for parking garage has been received Eaton’s Lofts – orders are posted on the front doors, building and fire are heavily - involved. Opening for the parking garage is now started, the entrance to the garage would be off Hall’s Lane. The work on the parking garage has created safety issues with the sprinklers, therefore the Fire Department has a fire watch on which means that 24/7 there is someone in the building monitoring the building for a fire which has given the city the ability to help keep the residents in the building. All tenants were invited at the end of May to a meeting to keep them informed as to what was going on – there has been some great communication between the city and the tenants. The City is continuing to work to have any issues rectified as soon as possible. Weber and Scott Streets project – positive signs are about to come out, demolition - permit was going to be issued however, funds were not available from the owners, therefore the original owners have taken over the property again and it is on the market. It is structurally safe at the moment. Boehmer Box Factory – Ministry of Labour shut that building down the City has no - jurisdiction / authority. Building permits have been issued to allow the building to get up to a safety level Hallman Condos Update – Icon Lofts – nearing completion of design process, final - planning currently underway, no building application as of yet 1.2 Downtown Tours Brenda Grimm, K-W Tourism was introduced. Vitality group has chosen the downtown tours for students and employees based on the success of the WLU tours done last year. Partnered with the University of Waterloo, Faculty of Arts and close to 150 students this Saturday will go on a tasting walking tour of downtown. The Department of Kinesiology wants a tour for their grad students, as well as some local downtown businesses. This is all done by volunteers and if you are interested in helping out then that would be great, its fun and you have a captive audience. 2. The Kitchener Market Explore alternatives to the Market with space. Karen Killeen, Manager for The Market provided some details on the process they are currently going through. Market staff are updating vendors and tenants on a regular basis to advise them of what - is happening with the market Expression of Interest (EOI) - 2 submissions appropriate to move along, then look at - the terms see if the proponents are interested in following terms. If you need any further information, please contact Karen at Your Kitchener Market. 3. Streetscape Update Cory Bluhm provided an update on the Streetscape Project: Public consultation process was held and through that process, the pedestrian first - model was chosen. Over the summer the concept has been designed from Frederick to Francis Streets, meeting with businesses along King Street has been done. Next week the next version will be released – could be in the paper on Wednesday. Now to November more detailed discussions with an actual plan will take place, meetings with stakeholders, businesses etc. will be done and, hopefully by November final design will be completed Questions were raised regarding the parking issues and Mr. Bluhm advised that they feel confident that everyone will be impressed and that the parking issues will be addressed. 4. Employee survey Ms. Silvia Wright advised the Committee that the Downtown Employee Survey is an online survey we are conducting with major employers downtown the link will be circulated with the minutes. This is to get feedback on the downtown, it is totally confidential, there is a draw that can be done. Most value doing positive things, downtown tours, survey etc., for example 12 to 13,000 employees in the downtown might not be doing things because of their work schedule, the businesses could look at that and see if they can accommodate. Local employers helped develop survey. 2. Minute Approval The minutes of the May 14, 2007 meeting were approved. On motion, the meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m.