Quote:
Originally Posted by Doady
These kind of old houses being repurposed for commercial use is very common along major roads. Of course, these were not originally intended to be office or retail, so that you can't blame the builders or architects for that. These properties in neighborhoods in transition actually give cities a major opportunity for beautification and intensification. So when you see a house being repurposed like that, it is actually a step in the right direction.
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Lemarchant Road is a mix of things, but I think it started off as a high-end residential neighbourhood, but morphed into a major healthcare area (and still is in some regard).
The city's two primary hospitals (one is now closed) were built there, so healthcare related operations (specialist clinics, drug stores, medical supplies, funeral homes, etc...) also moved in and overtook much of the residential, repurposing the housing for offices. Some other office based business also moved in, like law offices.
The south end of the street had/has some commercial as well, an ice cream factory, a mechanic/tire store, a plumbing supply, etc...
In the 5 years since that streetview was done, those abandoned buildings have been renovated and new businesses moved in.