I think another key point of the article is to point out how goddam insular CP and its residents are. This is especially apparent in your posts. Perhaps that's a reason for people's irritation with it
Insular might be a jab at me but my friend, I can absolutely garuntee you that I have lived in and visited many more areas in Toronto than you have. I have lived all over the city throughout my teenage years and twenties. But once again, your comments further substantiate to me that the Cityplace hate has more to do with hipsters complaining about Cityplace's lack of "authenticity" and its lacking in a real city experience etc. In my experience, its alot of younger kids who hate CityPlace because they think CityPlace is filled with spoiled Mississauga kids who dont know about that little authentic Brazilian restaurant on College st. or whatever. I have lived in so many cities,man, this stuff is nothing new to me. In Brooklyn, you have entire parts of the city like Williamsburg where people are absorbed with the mentality. It doesnt change the fact that their property is cheaper than Battery Park City.
To say Cabbagetown and Junction have 'tons of homeless', or that Queen Video and Little Italy are in 'rough looking areas', or that you persuade friends to avoid Liberty Village proves just how much CP is an island. These neighbourhoods are what make Toronto what it is. They're a staple of city life. If someone isn't comfortable with them, then they aren't comfortable with city life.
You misread my quote. I actually encourage my friends to go to Liberty Village but no ones wants to go there, because it is limited with only a few bars and the perception is, that its hard to get out of. I dont dislike the area at all. Queen Video is my main video store so yes, I like it. But right on Queen on Spadina, it is a popular corner for lots of homeless - you are going to deny this are you? I have lived in Toronto for a very long time. Queen/Bathurst all the way Queen/Spadina is not exactly the Ritz Carlton. I do not dislike the area. I have alot of experience there, as my girlfriend works on the strip and half-grew up down the street, but my point is: If one ounce of the graffiti or homeless that was there was in CityPlace, believe me, CP would be even more railroaded - they would call it a total ghetto. (Now, bear in mind, I love graffitti and am good friends with several well-known graffiti artists because lord knows, you will probably take that comment, distort it and run with it to help further paint your story about CP as filled with insular spoiled 905er non-city people. Sheez).
I love all areas of Toronto that I listed. I spend alot of time in the Junction, as I have friends there. The area is great but guess what, it has much more elements of a ghetto than CP. Lets be real for once. But to be honest, after living in NEw York, I dont think of anywhere in Toronto as dangerous or ghetto-ized at all.
Once again, you are trying to paint with a broad brush and stigmatize CityPlace residents as these "other" people. Dude, I have lived all over this city and stayed all kinds of places and can name more esoteric spots than most people - believe me. But that doesnt mean, as cool as Kengsington Market is, that the property is of more value or that it is less ghetto-ized than CityPlace.
And this is my point, CityPlace hate is about the discontent mocking the suburbanites - not really a realistic discussion about real-estate value.
Cityplace is like a suburban subdivision somehow nestled in the city's southcore.
But I guess we'll just have to wait a generation or two to see how well CP ages, and whether its value increases or decreases. Or whether we get a bunch of 'boat people' who decide to fill 1-bedrooms with two extended families (like what happened in St Jamestown). Only time will tell.