Very strange location given all of the empty lots and surface parking in downtown Barrie.
 
Ward8 said:
Very strange location given all of the empty lots and surface parking in downtown Barrie.
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Not a very strange location given what the developer owns. Developers can only develop what they own, not the lots down the block.

42
 
interchange42 said:
Not a very strange location given what the developer owns. Developers can only develop what they own, not the lots down the block.
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I completely understand that. I meant, I would have thought one of the empty lots or parking areas would have been easier to acquire rather than assembling a series of lots. Maybe thats not the case here.
 
I hope the fine grain retail is retained. From today:

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Low res but from an email update sent by the developer. They've started putting up hoarding along the buildings on Dunlop Street as they prepare for demolition:


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Out with the old: Entire downtown block in Barrie levelled for new $300M development​


Oct. 8, 2021

The City of Barrie is working to revitalize the downtown core, and on Friday, that came in the way of heavy machinery levelling an entire block along Dunlop Street.

Demolition crews started to tear down what is best known as the Theatre Block in the city's downtown.

The Dunlop Street West block is being redeveloped into a $300 million development that will include two condo towers, one 30 storeys high and the other 32 storeys, complete with street-level retail.

"It's one of the biggest proposals that we have in the downtown core right now," said Michelle Banfield, City of Barrie Development Services director.

The demolition is a significant job considering the size of the block and involves obliterating the former Uptown Theatre.

Banfield said Debut Condos would complete the work in two phases with work including a pedestrian connection through the site from Dunlop Street towards the lake.

The city anticipates demolition work to last three months, with the entire project expected to be done within four years.
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barrie.ctvnews.ca

Out with the old: Entire downtown block in Barrie levelled for new $300M development

The City of Barrie is working to revitalize the downtown core, and on Friday, that came in the way of heavy machinery levelling an entire block along Dunlop Street.
barrie.ctvnews.ca barrie.ctvnews.ca
 
A crying shame to lose the fine grain form. This was one of the areas in downtown Barrie that didn't need revitalization. It was in excellent shape and looked like it had been thoroughly refreshed quite recently. Now, it'll likely get blandified with an all glass retail frontage.

That being said, there was barely any foot traffic even on a weekend evening. Everyone seemed to be on the waterfront. So perhaps there wasn't much vibrancy to lose, but maybe that's just a COVID thing.

Fingers crossed the developer doesn't skimp on the ground level design.
 
AlbertC said:

Out with the old: Entire downtown block in Barrie levelled for new $300M development​


Oct. 8, 2021



barrie.ctvnews.ca

Out with the old: Entire downtown block in Barrie levelled for new $300M development

The City of Barrie is working to revitalize the downtown core, and on Friday, that came in the way of heavy machinery levelling an entire block along Dunlop Street.
barrie.ctvnews.ca barrie.ctvnews.ca
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I'm with @Undead on this one.

Not opposed to intensification here, or the height per se; but would really have been nice to see some of the better buildings retained wholly and/or in part.
 
What's more, peep the prices in this building: 800-1,000 psf (source). I don't know if that's accurate, but considering other waterfront Barrie condos have been going for 600+ psf lately, it seems somewhat in the ballpark (and precons always cost more).

Seems like it's targeted at boomers cashing out of Toronto.

But 800 psf for an apartment in Barrie is crazy. A large unit in downtown Hoboken is cheaper, for Crissakes! Hell, it's more than Upper East/West side.
 
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Proud of Barrie for increasing growth in the city. Been up there countless times and it's a fantastic city for sure.
 
Towered said:
Just curious - what makes you think it's fantastic?
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Been visiting Barrie regularly for the past 20 years as I have family up there and it's a great little city. Some parts of downtown are a bit sketchy but otherwise I've always enjoyed my time up there and even spent some winter and summer breaks living there when I was younger.

Also, as a snow lover, Barrie being located in the snowbelts just makes it that much nicer to me.
 
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