Raise the Hammer

I agree with everything in your comment, but I'm still worried about the idea of "facade preservation" as it is very open to different interpretations, many of which alter the scale, personality and functionality of the structures far too radically. Maintaining these buildings not only provides us the efficiency of reusing a structure that is built to a very high standard, there is also the interaction with the street and the city. Small storefronts are incubator spaces, and the positive effects of 4-5 such spaces on gore park will be much greater than that of a preserved facade that opens into a cavernous condo foyer "or Target, or whatever" (in the words of Blanchard). Even if the interior has no original features left, the buildings' very layouts can benefit the core.

I would hate to see us lose the necessary human-scaled street-level interaction with Gore Park in the name of preserving facades.

And aside from ALL of this is the matter of there being NO PLAN. What is the rush? Why there? Why now? Blanchard is eager to get these down before designation gets in his way. We will see no "shovels in the ground" for years (if ever).

Why is council rewarding WB for the last decade of neglect?

The current state of King Street is partially because of the perverse rewards we give for absenteeism and speculation - and our refusal to use Heritage Act tools to benefit the city as a whole. It's time to stop bending to speculators for fear of - I'm not even sure what. For fear of them leaving town? We'd all be better off if they DID leave. A lot of them made bad investment decisions in the eighties, or decided to cross their fingers and hold the city hostage for public funds. Some succeeded. As for the rest? Too bad. It's time for a new precedent: Designate now and if the speculators can't figure out how to make it work, they are free to cut their losses and sell to someone who can, because the citizens can't afford to prop up their get rich quick (???) schemes any more.

What better place to start a new precedent than with some of the most significant original structures facing our public square?