By Pepper Parr
September 13th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
While the citizens of the city are asked to sit in on public sessions to discuss how we are going to Grow Bold and where all the high rise condominiums and apartment buildings are going to be located – the cranes towering above the city swing in back and forth and up and down with huge buckets of concrete as the development projects underway rise floor by floor.
The Bridgewater as it will look from Lakeshore Road. That space on the left is not what the final view will look like.
The Bridgewater on Lakeshore Road is now well above grade, the Paradigm on Fairview has three of the five towers on that development well underway – with sales reported to be very brisk.
The Berkeley on John Street is also well above grade.
The Molinaro project on Brock Street is getting ready for public review and the Carriage Gate project that is to be built opposite city hall is waiting for whatever the recommendation from the Planning department is going to be.
There are another couple of dozen projects that are in various stages of development; one a three tower structure on Brant Street at the Ghent intersection.
While all this happens the school board heads toward the actual closing of two of the city’s seven high schools and the city works at deciding when they should be pumping more money into transit.
The project that is going to have a significant impact on how people enjoy the waterfront is Bridgewater. The three structures are going to change how the way Lakeshore Road works and how people get to enjoy some of the eastern part of the downtown core waterfront.
The space between the 22 storey condominium and the eight storey hotel is going to be all people will be able to see from Lakeshore Road.
The opening between the two buildings is a bit bigger than we expected – but it isn’t wide open.
The public will be able to walk from Lakeshore Road through what is going to have to be well graded land. The original plans call for a reflecting pool in the middle.
Add to all this the development thinking being done on what will happen to the existing Waterfront Hotel and the plans the owner has to develop that property by demolishing the current structure and putting up a building that will be in the 20 storey plus hotel and a possible two other structures.
All this is putting some oomph behind that Grow Bold phrase.
Aerial view of the hotel part of the Bridgewater project that will be on the corner of Lakeshore Road and Elizabeth and the Waterfront Hotel property to the west.
Bridgewater project from what will become the bottom of Elizabeth Street overlooking the lake.
The existing Waterfront Hotel wants to redevelop their property and put a much taller building on the site and add an additional stricture. There are issues to be worked out regarding the land south of the hotel that is to a large degree made up of landfill.
An aerial view of the Bridgewater construction project. The red line between the buildings is the width of the opening the public will b able to walk through to get to the waterfront.
What an eye sore. I thought city hall was supposed to be on the residents’side not the developers. – a small path to the lake?
“a small path to the lake?” – yes, but it’s a Bold path 🙂
I think the title of this article should be changed to “Bridgewater development is going to change how Burlington residents won’t be able to interact with the waterfront”.
Sad….
I would rather have Burlington “Grow Smart” than “Grow Bold” but that is clearly not the case.