London's Malls

[haljackey]

Good news for the former Masonville Target!

Any news about the former Westmount location? I think it could work well as a gym or library.

[MolsonExport]

Westmount is making the transformation from being a shopping mall to being a senior's indoor walking track.

Watch us transform!

Wastemount Empty Centre

[GreatTallNorth2]

^Lol, I can't stand the idea of mall walkers especially when the weather is nice and there are good trails in the city so you can enjoy the outdoors.

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Any news about the former Westmount location? I think it could work well as a gym or library.

Westmount used to be home to a temporary library location. It was great- you could go to the library to pick up a few books, then go to somewhere else without first getting into your car to drive across an inhospitable expanse of parking to get to the next nearest anything.

Since the municipal government is basically owned by the people whose business is tearing up farmland to put up pointless and hideous suburban sprawl, the library was moved to a brand-new building way out on the edge of town on Wonderland South. After all, why would you locate a municipal service like a library adjacent to a bus hub when you can locate it in the middle of nowhere, in a development owned by one of your campaign donors?

Regarding your idea, I think a library would be a great idea for that space in Westmount. But, for London's taste, it's just too close and accessible to the people it would serve.

[MolsonExport]

we wouldn't want to risk people walking instead of driving for services and shopping. Think of how the poor parking lots would cope with the loss of love!

[Rosso Corsa]

Tear it down build a full size Ikea in it's place

[Snark]

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

Since the municipal government is basically owned by the people whose business is tearing up farmland to put up pointless and hideous suburban sprawl...

So, you say that local government takes its direct orders from developers, and that's why cities continue to grow outward. If you really believe that, it only reflects that you have no idea how such things work in reality.

And that rezoning/demolition request by a big developer for his downtown King Street property was rejected by staff and council last week because...?

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

...the library was moved to a brand-new building way out on the edge of town on Wonderland South.

The new library will not be on the edge of town for long. Given time, it will be centrally located and within walking distance for a lot of people.

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

After all, why would you locate a municipal service like a library adjacent to a bus hub when you can locate it in the middle of nowhere...

More people travel by car than take the bus. That will be the case for the foreseeable future regardless of anything, and vastly more people are driving those cars to the shopping centre where the current library is located than to Westmount Mall. In any case, a bus route is located right beside where the current library is.

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

....in a development owned by one of your campaign donors?

You imply that this new library was built at that location due to campaign payoffs by developers to politicians at the staggering sum of $750 maximum per politician. Once again, you have no idea how things work in reality.

But wait a minute, you earlier said that municipal government is already owned by developers, so why do they have to pay off the politicians a second time? Additionally, how do you know that the business model was even workable at the Mall? Ever consider the possibility that the Mall's owners wanted too much in rent, and the current location as in fact a better deal for the taxpayers?


Not everything is a conspiracy.

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Westmount is making the transformation from being a shopping mall to being a senior's indoor walking track.

Watch us transform!

Wastemount Empty Centre

Lol, I just drove by there today, and instantly thought of this post way too many old people there.

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by Snark

The new library will not be on the edge of town for long. Given time, it will be centrally located and within walking distance for a lot of people.

I disagree with that. By walking distance, more like a 15 or more minute walk. Sure new neighbourhoods are being built there, but they are not directly beside the big box sprawl of crap.

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by tyeman200

I disagree with that. By walking distance, more like a 15 or more minute walk. Sure new neighbourhoods are being built there, but they are not directly beside the big box sprawl of crap.

You're right. The Wonderland South library will never be within walking distance of anything. It is in a development designed with almost no consideration given to people on foot- even the closest residents will have to end their trip crossing a hostile parking lot, so it will be a non-starter for a majority of people.

However, I don't disagree with the rest of Snark's post. Snark, my post was out of exasperation about what I feel was a terrible decision to put a public service where it is practically inaccessible to anyone not in a car. While many public officials talk out of the other sides of their mouths about "sustainability" and related nonsense.

No, I don't feel that municipal politicians are literally on the take. I do generally feel that politicians in London are far too accommodating of greenfield development that eliminates agricultural land forever; one decision to deny a developer a variance doesn't erase a long history of being very accommodating of sprawl. Don't take it too seriously, though, when I say that developers own London council. I don't mean to offend you when I say that; it's just my frustration.

[ericlewis91]

So the Sears Space is being re-developed at Masonville...

I was there yesterday and a ton of the mall is closed (almost the whole wing near the sears almost all this retailers have closed or relocated)

I also saw chunks of the sears being taken apart (looks like large windows being installed) along the wall of the Bay

One of the retailers looks like to be Sport Check/Atsmosphere according to the page
https://www.cadillacfairview.com/en_...e/profile.html

Not sure what else is coming.. I've heard H&M, Zara, The Keg..

Ill try and take photos next time

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by ericlewis91

So the Sears Space is being re-developed at Masonville...

I was there yesterday and a ton of the mall is closed (almost the whole wing near the sears almost all this retailers have closed or relocated)

I also saw chunks of the sears being taken apart (looks like large windows being installed) along the wall of the Bay

One of the retailers looks like to be Sport Check/Atsmosphere according to the page
https://www.cadillacfairview.com/en_...e/profile.html

Not sure what else is coming.. I've heard H&M, Zara, The Keg..

Ill try and take photos next time

The Keg will be going there, it's moving from its downtown location on Richmond. The way they are doing it is that they will only have an exterior entrance/exit, as to stop people from coming in with shopping bags.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Snark

So, you say that local government takes its direct orders from developers, and that's why cities continue to grow outward. If you really believe that, it only reflects that you have no idea how such things work in reality.

How does it work then?

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

How does it work then?

Jesus, why get him started.

[Snark]

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

Jesus, why get him started.

I thought it might be helpful to provide some insight on how municipal government/urban development actually functions from the perspective of someone on the inside in a decision making capacity, but perhaps that was a error on my part.

So, no problem then. I'll defer to your experience and knowledge base going forward.

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by Snark

I thought it might be helpful to provide some insight on how municipal government/urban development actually functions...

Could you direct us to when you provided "some insight on how municipal government/urban development actually functions"?

manny_santos asked you "so how does it work then?" What, you already explained it to us?

[Dither City]

Personally I'm not big fan of big box centers or suburban shopping malls but nonetheless Masonville is renovating old Sear's store. For those still hoping that Nordstrom might come to London it's big noway maybe 10 years down road.

http://london.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=814021

[MolsonExport]

Oxbury Mall getting makeover

http://www.lfpress.com/2016/02/20/lo...hree-buildings

[haljackey]

Makeover as in turning a closed mall to a strip mall.

Same as Westmount I guess. Can't hurt Oxbury though, that place is in the dumps currently.

[MolsonExport]

beats the current iteration for sure. Probably the most depressing mall in the entire city.


joycebyrnealtor

google street view: https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.00805...8i6656!6m1!1e1