[Calgcouver]

Lol, Das Racist! Definitely not. Also push back for change among Chinatown residents is likely because average age in NA Chinatown's is really old. Gentrification of Chinatown has been a "problem" in Vancouver as well, realistically it is that new businesses are opening in response to different consumer preferences, and Chinatowns typically having lower net retail rents in often great locations. Chinatown in Vancouver has seen some of the most interesting restaurants in the City open including new bakery's & Taiwanese Beef Noodle places to German sausage street food places. Most of the classic and long-standing places seem to remain, but if the market is no longer there for them, are we supposed to pretend they should maintain forever? Also Richmond has long since become the new centre for Asian businesses in a similar way to certain strip malls in North Central Calgary have.

Hon's development likely didn't only not move forward because of community opposition, but bad market fundamentals currently.

In response to Anthem's development specifically, I just selfishly wish more awesome pan-asian food options were in the retail of Waterfront, because it is not far for me and i love that shit cause i lived in Asia for a while, so thatt's like 80% of my diet and what i want to eat.

 

[maestro]

This project definitely faced opposition from Chinatown, there was supposed to be a hotel in the podium of the first phase but the community fought it and got it removed, then if I recall correctly they opposed every DP the developer went back in with and everything became a fight. Why work with a community after that? There's nothing racist going on here, relax... lol

That's my point about being an ambassador. Engaging the community and making them feel like part of the process. Most community like things they way they are. You need to convince them tby hearing what they have to say and not brandishing them NIMBYs . They know the community best and have ideas consultants would never consider. A DP is a submitted proposal. It's doesn't engage the community at all. It makes them feel ignored. That's how things sour and become irreparable.

These are general observations. I don't know the specifics with this development and the community. Chinatown communities are not very trusting because of the histories pointed out by Silent&Motion. It's not impossible to work with them.

 

[Cowtown]

I was surprised to see a Mexican place open in Chinatown not too long ago.

Lol, Das Racist! Definitely not. Also push back for change among Chinatown residents is likely because average age in NA Chinatown's is really old. Gentrification of Chinatown has been a "problem" in Vancouver as well, realistically it is that new businesses are opening in response to different consumer preferences, and Chinatowns typically having lower net retail rents in often great locations. Chinatown in Vancouver has seen some of the most interesting restaurants in the City open including new bakery's & Taiwanese Beef Noodle places to German sausage street food places. Most of the classic and long-standing places seem to remain, but if the market is no longer there for them, are we supposed to pretend they should maintain forever? Also Richmond has long since become the new centre for Asian businesses in a similar way to certain strip malls in North Central Calgary have.

Hon's development likely didn't only not move forward because of community opposition, but bad market fundamentals currently.

In response to Anthem's development specifically, I just selfishly wish more awesome pan-asian food options were in the retail of Waterfront, because it is not far for me and i love that shit cause i lived in Asia for a while, so thatt's like 80% of my diet and what i want to eat.

 

[Calgcouver]

I was surprised to see a Mexican place open in Chinatown not too long ago.

The Moose and Poncho is really tasty! Hope to see more small businesses that are quality and looking for cheap rent, despite them being of different backgrounds locate in Chinatown. Doesn't have to be a bad thing.

 

[Social Justice]

I know you're being facetious, but it's very clear if you look at the development that has occurred around the boundaries of Chinatown, developers have very clearly tried to isolate the neighbourhood over the last several decades. Look at Harry Hays, Sun Life Plaza, The Bow Tower and, yes, Parkside condos. They all orient their retail and nicest design features away from Chinatown. On the Chinatown side is where they stick the parking garages, fire exists, etc. Contrast that with how development has been oriented around Stephen Avenue.

The fact is, Chinatowns across North America have long been regarded as a dirty, ethnic slums and developers and governments have long done things to try to isolate them or even wipe them right off the map. The fact that Centre Street and 2nd Ave isn't a massive expressway interchange is a result of Chinatown fighting back against the government's plan to level the whole neighbourhood.

So, you can treat racism like a joke, but this is the history that people in Chinatown remember. This is why they're so critical of new development, because they don't trust big developers or the government. And they have good reasons not to.



I'm not accusing the developers of being racists. I'm saying that the very conspicuous absence of any mention of Chinatown in marketing materials (like, not even a single photo of lanterns or lion statues) and the orientation of all the pedestrian-friendly retail on the Eau Claire side, and parking garages and fire doors on the Chinatown side, was a conscious decision. It is a conscious decision that was very likely based on the assumption that Chinatown carries a social stigma and that "Eau Claire" residences will sell for more than "Chinatown" residences. Again, I'm not accusing the developers of being racist. The socail stigma - real or perceived - is what is racist. Perhaps if the developers had embraced the location in Chinatown and tried to better integrate the buildings on the Chinatown side, they would have built a better development and maybe the retail would be doing a lot better.

And, for the record, I never said anything about "marketing toward a specific demographic". Acknowledging the building is in Chinatown is not the same as trying to sell units only to Chinese people.

I'm being serious.

I was following the interesting conversation, then you you brought up racism. You said it was pretty racist, TBH. Now it's on my my mind and I can't stop thinking about it.

 

[Social Justice]

This project definitely faced opposition from Chinatown, there was supposed to be a hotel in the podium of the first phase but the community fought it and got it removed, then if I recall correctly they opposed every DP the developer went back in with and everything became a fight. Why work with a community after that? There's nothing racist going on here, relax... lol

IIRC, the Chinatown CA also opposed the cycle track which was being proposed on 1st Street SW. It was suppose to run from the Bow River to Elbow river.

 

[Mountain Man]

I think everyone downtown opposed the 1st cycle track lol.

 

[Sky of Blue]

Soooo many people hate change. Period. Instead of engaging with the process and developers, to bring about positive changes and best fit improvements... it’s no to anything and everything. It’s not even a NIMBY response. It is literally not liking change at all.

 

[Chinook Arch]

Chinatowns around NA are changing, just as all neighborhoods eventually do. Rouleauville was all French at one time, Bridgeland was almost all German and Italian back in the day. I went to Chinatown in NYC, and there is very little real Chinese culture left. Heck even Harlem is changing rapidly these days. There is a fair contingent of Indian and Chinese people now living there, and a fair amount of Caucasians. As much as I like to see neighborhoods keep their unique character, the biggest threat to change is the younger generation of those cultures. They often want to live elsewhere.

 

[Silence&Motion]

Apologies for bumping a thread for a long-completed project. But, can anyone tell me what was the giant building that occupied this property prior to the development of Waterfront/Parkside? Thanks in advance!

 

[Thrillhou]

Apologies for bumping a thread for a long-completed project. But, can anyone tell me what was the giant building that occupied this property prior to the development of Waterfront/Parkside? Thanks in advance!

Used to be the Greyhound bus barn. Anthem preserved the original Greyhound sign and put it above the parkade entrance on 2nd street.

 

[DiscoStu]

I still consider these a frustrating fail in terms of how they integrate (or don't) with the river pathway...but the towers are decent, and they sure add a nice stepped touch to the skyline from the north. Those terraced suites must be pretty awesome.