Quote:
Originally Posted by Echoes
I will venture a guess that in in 2030, Riversdale (20th Street) will be more vibrant and desirable than Nutana (Broadway) - at least in terms of the commercial district. It's hard to imagine Nutana's housing stock being surpassed as the most desirable inner-city neighbourhood for the upper middle class and upper class, but the 20th Street commercial district has some things going for it that I think will push it beyond the buzz that is Broadway:
- significant growth and infill opportunities in area: vacant lots, derelict buildings, and an obsolete industrial area between 20th and 22nd ripe for mixed use infill and densification
- a longer commercial corridor: there is simply more commercial space than on Broadway
- proximity to Downtown, River Landing, Farmer's Market, etc.
- a populace that is less entrenched in an idea of how the neighbourhood "should be". Nutana residents can be militant in protecting their neighbourhood (which comes as no surprise), but I think it comes at the cost of further increasing density, expanding the commercial area, bars and nightspots, etc.
By 2030, rising rents and property values in Riversdale will be pushing those early gentrifiers first attracted to the affordability and grittiness of the area north to 33rd Street.
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I agree on both counts. There's so much prime redevelopment land in Riversdale that it could easily double (if not triple) in the next fifteen years. The Banks alone will increase the population by 10%. I expect 20th street redevelopment to push further west, possibly extending all the way to the tracks.
33rd will boom once the north downtown project starts. That's another thing people tend to underestimate. The city is targeting a density of ~20,000 people/square kilometre in the north downtown. That's a Paris level of density.