The neighbourhoods I've considered are certainly still dense (I've ruled out more sprawled areas for the moment like Paradise, Kenmount Terrace - not to say it's not possible, but it would be much more difficult, and I also have less interest in these neighbourhoods). I've thought about this a lot and I have considered the neighbourhoods that have the potential to have a robust commercial sector with room for growth, I've also considered population demographics and connectivity within the City). Rabbittown is one I've considered, as well as Newtown and the area around MUN, namely around Bonaventure Avenue/Elizabeth where it's slightly more dense). Georgestown is awesome and I wish there were more services there, but at the same time, it's not far enough from downtown to be the great urban experiment that I envision, haha.
On a side note, I absolutely think it's possible to integrate business into areas like Kenmount Terrace. Without a doubt, it will require some government intervention. Strip-mall style commercial hubs embedded into sub-divisions like Kenmount Terrace could probably work, because it's actually grown to be a sizeable community. Unlike other neighbourhoods, like Rabbittown, there are very few or no buildings which could be appropriately retrofitted for business activity, as all of the buildings are single-detached dwellings.
Signal, you're totally right. The regulations on development and the zoning laws can be a nightmare to navigate. In neighbourhoods like rabbittown/newtown, they should be completely overhauled for mixed-use development. Zoning, in my opinion, was popularized out of the post-war era of suburbanization and single-use neighbourhoods. They're really retrogressive and personally, I think the whole concept of zoning a City needs to be revisited. But I digress… haha.
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Originally Posted by rwspencer38
As someone who has seriously considered opening up a business, I can tell you that it is extremely difficult. As great as starting a new business in a pre-dominantly residential area would be, the likelihood of success is extremely small. I won't say it can't be done because it has been successful in other cities across the country, however, what is the motivation for opening a business in a residential area? Is it to revitalize the area in hopes of spurring commercial growth or is it to run a successful business? I would certainly hope it would be the latter! Then it begs the question of whether or not it would be a wise idea to start a business in an area with little commercial success knowing full well it would be extremely difficult given its location. It's sort of a chicken and egg situation.
The way I view it is this: If you want to create a successful business then you need to place it in the best possible spot to reach your goal. Most people typically need finanical support for their start-up costs and having delt with banks and financial supporters, most would be skeptical about the success of a lone business in a residential area.
Not saying it can't be done, but yeeessh it would be damn tough.
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I don't disagree with you. But I wouldn't so quickly say that the chances for success are low though because it's really a foreign concept in St.John's so it's hard to predict how it would be received. I also think that if it has occurred, it wasn't really planned well. Of course you can't pick a location arbitrarily - but you can look at neighbourhood demographics aligned with your product/service, you can look at movement/traffic flows in the neighbourhood to get a location that has high-visibility. But at the same time, if there's an awesome bar in Rabbittown, then I would just go to Rabbittown. I wouldn't go to CBS now, but Rabbittown really isn't that far. You can walk there from downtown in 10-15 minutes, if you live downtown. There are also thousands of students living in that area (between MUN, Newtown, Freshwater, Bonaventure, and Downtown), and going to Rabbittown to hang out at a cool bar would be more convenient than going downtown to an equally/less cool bar. Sure, it's experimental, but I believe it's totally doable. The greatest hurdle is the City and strict regulations on development, I THINK. With that said, why can't we revitalize an area WHILE making money? They are not mutually exclusive concepts! Because at the same time, there are also advantages of opening a business in a new area - less competition!
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I know where Newtown Elementary is... and I know where Newtown Road is... but I don't know if one is in the neighbourhood or if it is a third location.
). At the same time I also think Pasta Plus and Quintanas (?) may be the only sit-down restaurants in the area, neither of which are overly special.
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