Rebuilding Downtown

I am old enough to remember Robinson's, the way Jackson Square was, Eaton's and even that Japan Camera Center at front of Jackson Square.  I even remember when Woolworth's was where the Path Employment Center is and I also remember Kresge's.  What about those trolley bus wires?  Up to the late 80's, downtown Hamilton was the place to be!


There was even a lot excitement when the Hamilton Eaton Centre was built.  That's where I met former Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander.  He was rather impressed that I remembered who he was.  But I digress.  I could go on dropping names, but I'll do that every once in a while in the occasional entry.  All in good time...


Look at it now.  There really isn't much there anymore.  A lot of what was once there is now parking lots.  The arguments on what to do with Gore Park go on and don't seem to stop.  The Standard Life Center was once a beautiful spot, more brilliant than it is now.  The Rink in the Square was a great idea, but now that's gone too.  Buildings are slowly crumbling.  It's still debatable on whether or not Lister Block can be restored.  Then there are the old theatres.  The old Century theatre is now demolished after it was found to be a danger to anyone inside and around it.  The excitement left with the 80's.


So what happened?  Back then, we had lots of moxy.  Copps Colliseum, the Sheraton Hamilton, the Hamilton Convention Center, the Ellen Fairclough building and even the Standard Life Center was built.  Then Eaton's went under and so did Sam the Record Man.  Stelco became a shadow of its former self.  Robinson's went under and got bought out by the Hudson's Bay Company.  Woolworth's focussed on specialty stores and took the Woolworth name off the map.  And as for Kresge's, they went away too.  The Zeller's store is now a parking lot.  The site of the Robinson's store is now a parking lot.  Delta Bingo took the Kresge's site.  And here we are now, left with only memories of what was and what could have been. 


The problems that exist downtown are the result of neglect, lack of imagination, apathy and even greed.  Anybody that wants to put something new, say at King and James, would have to buy all the property and deal with several different owners, to have one nix the deal because that person thought he or she could get more money out of it.  So in the end, we all lose because of those who would rather sit on their property and basically extort those who want to do good things.


As the result, there's a lot of property that have been neglected for far too long while someone else is busy trying to see what he or she can get out of it.  Out of frustration, it becomes a parking lot or it becomes a variety store or smoke shop.  So what would a business say about seeing downtown the way it is?  They'd probably want to put their offices in Ancaster, further depleating the downtown core.  And don't get me wrong on this.  I am not condemning the business owners.  They're the ones who pay the rent on whatever is left of the building they reside.


And then another problem is about to come up.  What happens when the renovations at City Hall are done?  What is to become of the Hamilton (Eaton) City Centre?  It currently has the worst vacancy rate among the other malls.


The Hamilton Eaton Centre (as it was), was beautiful when it opened.  It was the fall of 1990 and there was a lot of excitement about it.  The decor was bright and it sort of made Jackson Square look plain.  And the stores that were there were high-end, but not out of reach like a Holt-Refrew or some outlandish boutique.  But the problem was that we went through a really bad recession and over the next few years, they would slowly leave the mall.  If you think the condition of downtown was sad, imagine that mall, almost 75% vacant.


Downtown as it is, has so many eyesores that it will be a great challenge to rebuild it all.  But we have to get it done.  In case anyone forgot, our city will be the home of a major Pan-Am games venue and the waterfront location, where the Rheem plant lies shuttered up, seems to be the place where that stadium will be.  The A Line will be brought to the forefront in that initiative, running from the waterfront to the airport.  It's not going to the waterfront now, but it will be once that stadium is built.


Up to now, our attitude has been "let's go to Limeridge" or "let's go to Ancaster".  Changing that attitude needs to be a starting point.  Everybody who has reminisced about the way downtown used to be are clamouring for it.  They are crying in unison "give me something to come downtown for."  We need to ask ourselves some tough questions if we really want our downtown core to be more people friendly.


Are we content with a bingo hall on our main artery?  Are we content with the look of downtown along King Street between John and Bay?  How many buildings need to be rebuilt and which ones have no hope for restoration?  So Gore Park becomes pedestrian friendly.  Then what?  There's still lots to do.  What about the parking lots on prime land?  James Street has a hole in it in between the Commerce Place and the RBC building.  What about that parking lot at King William and James?  What about rebuilding James Street?  We need something that we can be proud of.  We need beautiful buildings, not parking lots.  And we need to be building something downtown every year.  While downtown festers, Toronto is still building condos and other buildings.  So what do we need to do?


We need to hold property owners accountable for their actions and inactions alike in the downtown core, because the decisions they make will have an effect on others in the downtown core.  And let's put the onus on where it belongs.  The city councils and regional councils, entrenched in their turf wars and amalgamation battles, failed the downtown core miserably, by not paying any attention to it over the last 15 years.


We need to have more discussions on what we expect downtown to be and how we can make it happen.