Comment 17199

By statius (registered) | Posted January 15, 2008 at 16:10:56

"I'd like to see some more well done condo conversion projects downtown. I don't want offices and businesses that close at 5."

Who works to 5 anymore? I'm expected to stick around till after dinner - often till 8 or 9 - and so are all of my peers. Very few (a privileged few) in high demand white-collar professions and industries such as law, investment banking, advertising, etc. work a standard 9-5 schedule anymore. Consequently, there is a tonne of evening business nowadays for restaurants and other businesses in traditionally white collar areas. Why do you think the most expensive restaurants in Toronto thrive in the financial district? Firstly, because we have expense accounts. Secondly, because we don't have time to go home for dinner, often returning to work afterwards. Further, consider that in most major cities a lot of the nightlife is concentrated in the vicinty of the financial district. Why? The combination of high stress and high income leads a good number of my colleagues to drop a truly staggering amount on booze (and other substances) at overpriced clubs and lounges as soon as Thursday or Friday hits (depending on where you work) in the desperate hope of decompressing for the weekend. They almost always end up going back on Saturday night too. Thus I think having a high concentration of white collar work in the core could be a plus. If this were combined with some new, upper end condo development, I think the downtown would be setting out on a pretty good track to renewal. The thing is, the yuppie paradigm has shifted. Young, educated people rarely want to face the hassle of a commute anymore, particularly with gas prices being as they are and the moral turpitude which attaches to driving long distances for no good reason everyday.

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