Saturday, September 22, 2001
Frank Armstrong
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The Kingston Whig-Standard
In the heart of downtown Kingston lies a scenic limestone courtyard few residents have ever seen. Non-existent until recent renovations, the courtyard forms the centerpiece of a new retail, office and luxury apartment complex, where people are paying big-city rents to live in luxury in the heart of history.
Kincore Holdings Ltd., which holds a public showing of its Brock Street Common today, is the most recent of a handful of landlords who have responded to a growing consumer demand for high-class city centre residential space. It's a trend that Prof. Hok-Lin Leung, director of Queen's School of Urban and Regional Planning, predicted nine years ago in his book City Images: Internal View. ``Essentially, a lot of the people moving downtown are the urban elite,'' Leung said in an interview Friday. Rejecting the suburbs their predecessors created years ago, and now invaded by the masses, North America's upper classes are looking for new ideal places. It's a movement, said Leung, that has been gaining momentum for several years.
Two of the first landlords to open luxury apartment's downtown were Rose and Zal Yanovsky, owners of Chez Piggy and Pan Chancho Bakery. In 1992, the couple renovated two huge apartments in the Clarence Street building where Classic Video now occupies. More recently, Rudi Mogl, owner of Tara Natural Foods, opened two two-storey apartments above his Princess Street store. And, in the spring, Jay Abramsky began renting six luxury apartments above the Tim Hortons restaurant at Clergy Street. With old-fashioned wood shingles, metal roofing, recycled limestone and repointed stone and brick, the restoration delighted city planners.
Such residential developments also delight the downtown business community because they give more voices to the city centre. ``It builds in a political constituency,'' said Doug Ritchie, manager of Downtown Kingston Business Improvement Area. People living downtown pump life into the area, points out Jim Miller, manager of the municipality's planning department. ``Having more people living downtown also helps alleviate some of the effects of spikes and troughs (in the economy),'' Miller said.
Previously, the Kincore-owned buildings contained Kingston Gallery of Clocks, F.W. Black Ltd. appliance store, an empty space vacated by the former Rose and Crown, and - according to Kincore President Kim Donovan - 18 tiny and partially-occupied dilapidated apartments. The Kincore complex has a trendy bistro and three specialty stores at the front, the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation offices in the back, 13 luxury apartments, and a beautiful courtyard. ``To keep a vibrant downtown, you need 24-hour, seven-days-a-week presence and (this development) has brought the same kind of individual, the educated buyer, to the area,'' said Elaine Weckwerth, owner of Serendipity Lane specialty gift shop across the road from Brock Street Common.
Kincore president Kim Donovan readily admits he was selective about who was allowed to move into Brock Street Common. Cybil Scott Ladies Fashions, Trugs Flowers & Gifts, Le Chien Noir Bistro, and the Island Beach Company's Kingston Store were chosen. ``It was very much targeted,'' Donovan said at Wednesday's sneak preview, adding he expects tenants will benefit from the symbiotic relationship.
Donovan and much of his team from Kincore hail from London, Ont. Recognizing a ``vibrancy and strength'' in the downtown and substantial revitalization potential in the city's old buildings, he moved the holding company's offices here. Kincore has snapped up properties all over the city centre, including the old British Whig building, which is undergoing a similar transformation into retail and office space. Donovan appears genuinely concerned about creating a vibrant downtown core.
"People think these upper floors are a struggle, but in fact they are really a resource,'' he said. Few would argue after seeing what Kincore has done with 63-71 Brock St. The elegant apartments, of which only four of 13 are unrented despite their $1,100 to $1,600 monthly rents, feature exposed limestone walls, hardwood floors and spectacular views.
Kincore has peeled back the layers of time to create a scene that's modern but evokes the 19th century. "It's very much back to the future, but on our terms,'' said KEDCO president Steve Kelly. "We've recreated an environment that's very much consistent with what Kingston was about in its heyday many, many years ago and has pointed the way to a future where we can use real assets in a community and put them to new uses.''
Donovan hopes other landlords will recognize the opportunities of Kingston's old buildings and follow Kincore's lead. ``The frame, the structure of the buildings is here,'' he said. ``I would like to see us all working together to see more people living, working and playing in these buildings.
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Downtown Goes Upscale: Brock Street Common Preserves Historic Beauty of Downtown Buildings |
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