By Staff
March 10th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
It’s an awkward compromise – squeezing a heritage structure in between two mid-rise buildings.
The creative thinking that exists wasn’t brought to bear on this project.
A less than fitting end to the contribution the Walker family made to the growth and evolution of the city.
I look at the facade of what was the Pearl Street Cafe every day from my window.
It looks ridiculous. It is sandwiched between the delivery entrance of the Carriage Gate development and the work and live units on Pearl St.
If indeed the “preserved” heritage building becomes 2 townhouses (very narrow, and small units) would you want to live attached to a delivery entrance for the condo building?
Nothing like waking up to the garbage trucks and delivery vans.
This is what our council thinks is saving Heritage Buildings. The developer
In return gets increased height.
What a joke.
I assume the name for the development has been changed to the Walker Sandwich.
The City’s Heritage Planner and the Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee it seems are incapable of thinking outside of the box.
There have been a number of similar situations in very recent years to the one on Walkers Line – such as developments on Prospect Street, Ghent Avenue, Plains Road East, and Pearl Street.
The Pearl Street location like the Walkers Line proposal has had the heritage property integrated into the new high-rise building. But worse still than at Walkers Line only the facade of the Heritage property on Pearl Street is left standing.
The Heritage Planner, both the incumbent and her predecessors, have been urged from time to time to seek an agreement with the project developer to move the heritage property to another location. A move was successfully achieved in recent years for a heritage property located on the corner of Lucas and Elgin Streets. It was moved to Maple Avenue. Some 25 years ago a heritage property was moved from Maple Avenue to St. Paul Street
There are still a number of vacant lots available around the southern part of the city where a heritage property could be placed and still be in context. Definitely a better context than is being proposed for Walkers Line.
The developer would purchase the vacant property, incur the cost of moving the heritage property to that new location, and then either retain ownership or sell the property, likely at a profit. In return for being civically minded, the developer would be granted concessions by the city, such as to zoning or other or other obstacles to the proposed construction.
It is a pity neither the city planner nor the Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee are able to be visionary.