Comment 78326

By haaa (anonymous) | Posted June 11, 2012 at 19:40:40 in reply to Comment 78321

>People with means, and I do not mean independently wealthy but people with a decent job and a decent income moved with the times into nicer bigger homes. All of which of course are everywhere but downtown.

Really? Have you priced a house south of Melbourne lately? All those labourer's cottages and clerk's townhomes in Kirkendall North are now claiming at least a 50% premium per square foot over suburban houses in Ancaster. If you razed this neighbourhood and rebuilt it to suburban standards, you would erase hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate value.

I think maybe there is a different way to frame this conversation - urban living is the new aspirational lifestyle. People with means are flocking back to 100 year old inner ring suburbs that were designed for walking and streetcars. It's happening in every city in North America (except perhaps Flint :)). It's only a matter of time before the city planning department figures it out and catches on.

A significant new demographic is moving to Hamilton. Educated, professional families looking for an urban neighbourhood - and Hamilton is the only choice outside of Toronto.

The old burghers of Hamilton can get out of the way, make it happen faster, or be run over by the change, but they can't stop it. Main and King as two way urban streets is inevitable. The only question is whether it'll be in one year or ten.

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