Duchess Discussion
This mornings excursion of 124th Street/ Westmount area kicked off at Duchess Bakeshop. What better way to start of the day? I've proudly managed to stay away from Duchess for several weeks now, but this was a justified excuse to indulge a little bit.
Today's field trip was to learn about the planning related history of the area and of the homes and to understand and see the neighbourhoods attempts at revitalization (both successes and challenges). The second half of the day was dedicated to our first group project which was to conduct a neighbourhood evaluation for TOD.
We had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to Garner, one of Duchess's co-owners. He told us a little about the history of the 124th commercial district and updated us on it's current status, successes and challenges, as well as visions for the future. Like Garner, I too have seen a significant transformation along 124th since Duchess opened its door several years back. Prior to Duchess, I had no reason to come down to this area because it didn't offer someone of my age anything to do. The opening of a bunch of new restaurants has been the most significant draw for me, as 124th now hosts a unique array of independent eateries.
The challenges Garner faced in opening Duchess were unfortunate. His experience, and that of many other businesses is a frustrating illustration of the complexities within City of Edmonton planning departments and the City's vision for growth overall. Like Garner said, its too bad that City policies are making it hard for honest entrepreneurs and businesses who want to create change within their neighbourhoods to open up. It seems like the City has too many competing and counter-intuitive visions and polices.
On a lighter note, Garner spoke positively of his vision for 124th as well as the massive support and dedication that the local community and business association has committed to revitalizing the area. It was evident that business owners in the area really care about the community and want to see it succeed and grow. I think it's important that such an area keeps its unique and independent identity and resist selling out to franchises. Initiatives such as the Façade Improvement Program would be one way that businesses would be able to improve the curb appeal of their businesses and contribute to the attractiveness of the street overall.
We had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to Garner, one of Duchess's co-owners. He told us a little about the history of the 124th commercial district and updated us on it's current status, successes and challenges, as well as visions for the future. Like Garner, I too have seen a significant transformation along 124th since Duchess opened its door several years back. Prior to Duchess, I had no reason to come down to this area because it didn't offer someone of my age anything to do. The opening of a bunch of new restaurants has been the most significant draw for me, as 124th now hosts a unique array of independent eateries.
The challenges Garner faced in opening Duchess were unfortunate. His experience, and that of many other businesses is a frustrating illustration of the complexities within City of Edmonton planning departments and the City's vision for growth overall. Like Garner said, its too bad that City policies are making it hard for honest entrepreneurs and businesses who want to create change within their neighbourhoods to open up. It seems like the City has too many competing and counter-intuitive visions and polices.
On a lighter note, Garner spoke positively of his vision for 124th as well as the massive support and dedication that the local community and business association has committed to revitalizing the area. It was evident that business owners in the area really care about the community and want to see it succeed and grow. I think it's important that such an area keeps its unique and independent identity and resist selling out to franchises. Initiatives such as the Façade Improvement Program would be one way that businesses would be able to improve the curb appeal of their businesses and contribute to the attractiveness of the street overall.
Westmount Walking Tour
Westmount is one of my favourite residential neighbourhoods to drive around because of the many beautiful historic homes and the tree lined streets. I admire the character that many of these homes have and often try to envision what this area must have looked like back in the old days.
I hope that the neighbourhood is able to retain is character despite infilling. There are some obvious examples of new homes that stick out like a sore thumb (those ugly vinyl sided semi-detached houses) while there are also those that have made appreciated attempts at integrating common design elements.
The sad thing about this neighbourhood is that no homes, other than those that have legal historic designation, are obligated to retain or maintain their historic architectural characteristics. The existing rules have "no teeth" according to Dr. Summers. This is really too bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment