Workplace development near LRT stations lagging home building
Originally posted by Dheana Ramsay on the Faculty of Environment website
The latest census reveals neighbourhoods around Waterloo LRT stations are growing at triple the regional rate but development of non-residential space, the places where those residents would work, has plunged by half.
School of Planning professor Dawn Parker and Principal Investigator for the Urban Growth and Change Research Group sees the current development trajectory as rational and healthy, suggesting developers are waiting to see how the area develops. Planning alumna Jinny Tran, who interviewed developers for her undergraduate honours thesis last year agrees. However, she said a subset of mainly greenfield developers were worried about tax implications, construction, underutilization of the LRT and other negative implications. Fellow alumnus Robert Babin believes an increase in retail shops and businesses should follow once developers see more people moving to the central core.
Read the full article from today's Record. Find out more about the latest research from the Urban Growth and Change Research Group.