Jeff Hawkes writes in a column entitled “Upscale projects shouldn’t get cold shoulder” that:
Developers say the century-old Lancaster Press building, a vacant, six-story, industrial-age structure at North Prince and Lemon, has promise. Since 2006, they’ve been hoping to remake the former cigar factory into a posh residential building with retail space and 47 condos going for up to $400,000. But another outcome is possible. With a million-dollar hole in the finance package, the $17-million project could collapse.
WATCHDOG: Were the former Watt and Shand site available today, developers would be competing to develop a mixed use structure with upscale condominium units ranging from $500,000 for an efficiency apartments to $2 million for an entire floor! No subsidies would be needed.
Unlike in the 1990s, over recent years downtown has been revitalized with art galleries, good restaurants, shops, and an influx of young professionals as well as empty-nesters from the suburbs.
If someone wants to attract affluent customers, they need to put together a large site within a block of the Central Market, perhaps on the location of the empty former department store that makes up the southern part of Lancaster Square. The Watchdog predicts that would work!
