Saturday, May 17, 2003
Annette Phillips and Ian Elliot
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The Kingston Whig-Standard
A key element of heritage developer Kim Donovan's downtown plan is a multimillion-dollar commercial, residential and retail development over most of two city blocks. The project includes a six-floor parking garage hidden from view by an ornate brick facade. At street level, the garage would be surrounded by retail shops. The depth of a single parking level, the shops will be just the right size for newspaper stands, coffee shops and hairdressers, Donovan said. The parking garage would be open along Barrack Street so drivers know where to enter.
A companion glass and brick retail-commercial-residential complex with underground parking is proposed for the corner of Queen and Wellington streets. Development critic Helen Finley, one of the few people who has seen Kincore's plans, has high praise for the project and the company. "What a refreshing change," said Finley, a council watchdog and founding member of Citizens for Responsible Development Kingston. The idea of a parking garage hidden from view is imported from Europe, where the practice is common in heritage districts, Finley said. Kincore's concept goes further, she said, incorporating rounded corners and appropriate building materials and achieving the right mix of horizontal and vertical lines to visually enhance Kingston's streetscape.
The company also plans to incorporate a parking lot for buses into its Queen Street project, a feature Finley says is "badly needed." Kincore's parking lot would include a rest area and amenities for tour bus drivers while the bus stop's location and surrounding architecture would create a walking link that directs tourists toward the rest of the downtown. Finley calls the idea "brilliant."
A critic of both the past and present proposals for Block D on the waterfront, Finley said some of Kincore's proposed design elements - like the connection between the parking garage and the existing city building - could still be improved. But the commercial-retail-residential complex planned for Queen Street is far more appropriate than anything proposed for Block D, Finley said.
Donovan, whose firm has restored the British Whig building on King Street, also created the Brock Street Common. With its limestone facade and restored carriageway, the Common is home to the Kingston Economic Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce.
The building is a showpiece that attracts out-of-town investors said KEDCO president Steve Kelly. "When we introduce Kincore to people outside Kingston they think we won a lottery," Kelly said. "It signals that we know where the community is going: building our future on the strengths of our past."
Kincore is well known in the development industry and Kelly said he'd be surprised if other communities aren't recruiting the firm to relocate - a challenge the city will continue to face until it "gets its act together." The city has to build on the strengths of culture, architecture, waterfront, entertainment and education and encourage people - tens of thousands of them - to move to Kingston's downtown core to live, work and play, Kelly said.
One of the impediments to the Queen Street project is that Kingston has too few people to create a market for Donovan's upscale - and pricey - properties. Residential units are needed now in the city, but Kincore's planned apartments are in retail and commercial buildings that must be brought online at the same time, Donovan said.
Finley said Kincore is the best thing to happen to the downtown core in the 40 years she has lived in Kingston. "They are one of the few companies that understand how to function in a concentrated heritage city," she said. "Kincore knows how to be mannerly. They're not trying to make a big statement: 'Here I am, look at me.' No other developer has shown the patience or willingness to rebuild heritage infrastructure, Finley said. "You've got to be in it for the long term because the downtown requires quality development and that does not come cheap," she said.
A native of St. Thomas, Ont., Donovan has just finished a suburban office complex in Pickering and he recently sold the company's development properties in London so he could concentrate the business here. "We have always focused our major efforts and energies on Kingston," he said.
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Four Barren Blocks, One Bold Vision |
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