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Originally Posted by kevinbottawa
Do developers need to be forced to add the businesses you've listed? I'm sure they're capable of identifying what the demand is in the neighbourhood.
Looking at the renders of what the area will look like in the future, it's still very early in the process. The building boom in that area hasn't even started yet. All we've seen are proposals, either recently approved or yet to be approved. I'm sure the services you've listed will be added in some of the developments that are coming.
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I am not as confident as you that essential services will organically appear in future condo developments on Preston without some political pressure. Perhaps the word "forced" is too strong, but I do believe that the City has a role to play in providing a vision that guides developers.
The City would be well within its means to say something like this to a developer: "If you want to construct a building with 150 to 200 condo units then you must provide a service to the community. This could mean leasing to a supermarket at ground level, building daycare space, providing a community centre, or something similar."
Unless they are building rental units, a developer does not have to worry about the long-term. Once they sell all of the units in a building they can move on to the next project. As such, there is no market pressure that encourages the installation of long-term commercial retailers. That is why the City has to be intelligent in regards to zoning and encouraging retail.