Kitchener-Waterloo Developments

[thryve]

I was at Casa Mia when I was Uptown the other day... awesome grilled sandwich.... better than a Vincenzo's IMO. I loved it!

Great place I wish them all the best success and will spread the word.

[thryve]

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

GLASS HAS STARTED GOING UP ON THE KING STREET FACADE OF THE BAUER LOFTS!!!

[WaterlooInvestor]

The leafiest windows in town
BOTANICAL IMAGES ON GLASS DESIGNED TO SEND A MESSAGE
July 02, 2008
Holly Featherstone
http://news.therecord.com/article/381342



THOSE BOTANICAL IMAGES on many of the windows at the University of Waterloo's nearly completed pharmacy school are the latest in commercial glass.

They're so fresh and colourful you might think it would be nice to have some in your home.

However, with prices starting at $70 a square foot, those windows aren't for everyday picking.

For sheer comparison, residential glass can cost as little as $2 a square foot.

Todd Herniman, general manager of Merit Glass Ltd. in Guelph, says such custom-designed windows are for high-end commercial use. They're not feasible for the standard homeowner "unless you have a monumental home."

Herniman said the pharmacy school windows cost about $4 million to manufacture and install. His firm co-ordinated the final assembly of the window panels.

Michael Boxer, an associate with the Toronto-based design firm of Hariri Pontarini Architects, describes the creation of the floral motif for the pre-glazed "curtain wall" as an organic process. "It wasn't an idea we had at the onset."

Designers originally planned an acid-etched floral pattern to appear on exterior metal panels.

After hiring a graphic designer, however, the full-colour glass concept emerged, stemming from a desire to communicate with passersby.

"(We) wanted to create discourse to educate the public and students," Boxer explains.

The design attempts to demystify what Boxer claims are public misconceptions of the pharmaceutical industry and its products.

People think of drugs as manufactured from a host of chemicals. To try to correct that misunderstanding, Herniman says, "a lot of the flowers (in the window design) are from plants utilized to make pharmaceutical drugs."

The size of the botanical images was an important and challenging element in creating the design.

Rendered from textbook pictures, the images are supposed to be powerful, so they needed to be legible at a range of distances, not just to pedestrians.

Box is satisfied that "from a car you can read the images."

Besides engaging motorists, pedestrians and students, children were also a consideration. As a visual enticement for them, insects -- "some the size of a football" -- were incorporated into the design.

Once drawn, the images were meticulously resized by the graphic artist to match the glass dimensions and sent to DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions.

DuPont Glass digitally printed the images on clear laminate film to be sandwiched between two sheets of glass from Barber Glass in Guelph, thus protecting the designs from the elements.

Merit then assembled the windows, which are hung as separate units in metal frames to create what Boxer calls "a constellation of pieces."

Glass-made buildings require at least 40 per cent insulation for safety, UV protection and solar and thermal control.

"We couldn't have transparent glass everywhere," Boxer says, "so we developed this mosaic to achieve that 40 per cent."

The botanical designs are not visible from the inside, but the school is developing an indoor herb garden to complement the medicinal plant theme.

[WaterlooInvestor]

Province increases spaces for local medical students
October 09, 2008
Record staff - KITCHENER
http://news.therecord.com/article/426787

The region's fledgling medical campus is expanding. The province has increased the spaces for first-year students at the Kitchener campus of McMaster University's Michael G. Degroote School of Medicine to 21 from 15. The University of Waterloo-affiliated program started last year. It will move to UW's new downtown health-sciences campus next September. Within two years, 63 students will be in the three-year program.


Training more doctors
Waterloo Region Record - October 14, 2008
http://news.therecord.com/article/428999

Doctors and patients in Waterloo Region will be delighted that Kitchener's medical school is expanding even before it moves into its permanent home.

The medical school will have another six first-year students, bringing the total first-year enrolment to 21. The school expects to be in the health-sciences campus in downtown Kitchener next September.

Many doctors in the region already have a full list of patients and can't take more. In the long run, the new medical school should encourage more doctors to practise here.

The school's expanded enrolment is wonderful news -- it is just what the doctor ordered.

[WaterlooInvestor]

Pharmacy school nearly ready
November 01, 2008
Terry Pender, RECORD STAFF - KITCHENER
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/437684


First-year pharmacy students Emily Lamantia (left) and Noah Bates (centre) tour the new school with Jake Thiessen, the school’s director.


Workers put finishing touches yesterday on the school of pharmacy’s main lecture hall, which has windows that look out onto King Street West in downtown Kitchener.


Dr. Jake Thiessen walks through a muddy parking lot in a busy construction site and steps into a signature building in the city's core -- the University of Waterloo's school of pharmacy.

At King and Victoria streets, the $52-million building is the most visible and tangible sign of progress in the City of Kitchener's long-running campaign to bolster the downtown.

Thiessen is the founding director of the school, and these days he walks around the site with a feeling of exhilaration.

"It is a terrific thing to be part of something from the ground up," he said yesterday during a tour of the building. "I was blessed with the privilege of starting with a blank slate and dreaming of what could be."

On Monday, workers will start moving in laboratory equipment and furnishings. Faculty and staff will also start moving in. Classes, which have been held temporarily on the main campus of UW, will switch to the Kitchener campus in January.

The building is more than a year behind schedule, but those who walked through it yesterday gazed slack-jawed at light-filled spaces, wonderful views of the city and state-of-the-art teaching facilities.

The pharmacy school, designed by Robbie/Young + Wright Architects and Hariri Pontarini Architects, both of Toronto, is the first part of what's called the University of Waterloo's health sciences campus.

On three sides, the building is covered in glass, decorated with colourful images of plants famous for their medicinal qualities.

On the inside, the patterned glass panels appear clear, allowing light to flood into lecture theatres, laboratories, classrooms and meeting rooms.

"Things like this don't come out of a can," Thiessen said. "You have to work very hard."

Two first-year students -- Noah Bates and Emily Lamantia -- were the first in the school's vanguard class to get a look at the new building.

"It's great to have new equipment in all the labs, the lecture halls are great," Lamantia said.

Added Bates: "You can actually feel the excitement in the air from just walking through and seeing the difference between what we are used to on campus, compared to a building that was designed specif-ically for us."

The school is on the site of a former rubber factory, and it took 10 years to remove contaminants from the ground. The former owner gave the property to Kitchener for a dollar, and the city gave it to the University of Waterloo, along with $30 million. It was the largest, single expenditure in the city's $110-million program to improve and diversify the downtown.

From the seventh floor in the pharmacy school's tower, the plan appears to be working. As Thiessen looks over the downtown, he can see $70 million in private-sector investment within 100 metres of the health sciences campus.

To his left is the Kaufman building, where Brampton-based Andrin Homes spent over $40 million to create 270 condominiums. To his right is the 100-year-old Lang Tannery building, where Toronto-based Cadan Inc. is spending $30 million on renovations for businesses, offices, services, restaurants and retailers.

When Thiessen looks at the former Lang Tannery, the possibilities come thick and fast -- small pharmaceutical development companies in the old tannery could use the expensive equipment at the school of pharmacy.

"By linking these small companies with universities you create this ideal partnership of discovery, innovation and development," he said.

Next door to the pharmacy school, construction is underway on a $21.5-million building that will house a medical school for family doctors, along with a clinic and research space.

A public courtyard will link the medical school with the pharmacy school, which will have a coffee shop and outdoor café near the main entrance. Public lectures on health-related topics are planned.

"What we want to do is be of the community," Thiessen said. "We want to engage with the community, we want to demonstrate to people that this place brings you care that is unmatched. That is one of the things we are trying to do here."

In a few years the school will have 480 undergraduates, the equivalent of 30 full-time faculty and 20 full-time staff. None of this would have happened without the "pivotal and heroic" move by the city to donate the land and $30 million, Thiessen said.

He has spoken about the project across Canada, the United States and Europe, and said audiences are amazed by the city's support.

"I keep saying this is a community that works together and gets things done, and they would inevitably shake their heads and say, 'It would never have happened here.' "

[WaterlooInvestor]

Staff moving into Pharmacy building
by Martin Van Nierop, UW Daily Bulletin - Monday, November 3, 2008
http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2008/nov/03mo.html

Staff will start moving into the new home of the School of Pharmacy at UW's Kitchener health sciences campus today.

The unique building, at the corner of King and Victoria Streets, is still undergoing final touches and including landscaping, readying for the arrival of staff who will move in throughout November, and for students at the start of the January winter term. There are currently 90 students already enrolled, out on co-op terms. They return in January, along with an additional intake of 120 students.

The building cost comes to approximately $48 million, not including completion of the fourth floor, which will become faculty research labs and is still being tendered. Total budget for the campus site to date is $78 million.

Siamak Hariri, of Hariri Pontarini Architects, said that the Pharmacy building and the site in general will be a campus of which the whole community will be proud. He said the building is unique, from its glass curtain depicting various medicinal herbs, to its interior use of tall windows allowing lots of light, to its extensive use of space for common areas where students and faculty can meet and interact. It is designed to be an exciting addition to the downtown area that will establish a connection with the community.

"A great school of pharmacy should have the capacity to lift your spirits. It's important that it not be just a building that solves a functional problem, but it actually has something that you feel as if you've come to this school and you want to be here. That's something that has a lot to do with being able to attract talent, but mostly makes you aspire to excellence." Hariri said.

The School of Pharmacy is also known as Building A on the health sciences campus site. Building B is the one currently rising next to it that will house the satellite medical school and an Optometry Clinic. The Pharmacy building is comprised of 120,000 square feet of space, in a seven-story tower, four-storey wing, finished basement, plus mechanical penthouses on top.

Building B totals 66,000 square feet and will have three storeys and a finished basement. A "quad" area between the two buildings will be a space for meeting, interacting and resting.

Inside the Pharmacy building workmen are putting finishing touches on labs, teaching spaces, reception areas and a small café. Anyone who walks into the building is struck by the amount of light that pours in. Hariri said it has been purposely designed with lots of light, in part to lift the spirits of everyone who enters, studies or works in the structure.

At full capacity, the pharmacy school will have 30 faculty members — 16 in the pharmaceutical sciences or "wet bench" fields, and 14 clinical or "dry science" — plus 20 staff members. Plans for the pharmacy school also call for about 70 graduate students working on master's degrees and doctorates.

[WaterlooInvestor]

Pharmaceutical lab opening centre in core
HPR says UW pharmacy school was big attraction
November 08, 2008
Michael Hammond, RECORD STAFF - KITCHENER
http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/441130


Peter Kalra (left), Klaus Schaffler and Cindy Graham of Human Pharmacodynamic Research stand inside the space in downtown
Kitchener the company is renovating for its new laboratory and offices.


The University of Waterloo's health sciences campus in downtown Kitchener hasn't opened yet, but it has already attracted a pharmaceutical company to the core.

Klaus Schaffler, a veteran scientist who has devoted 30 years to pharmaceutical research, is set to begin research trials at Human Pharmacodynamic Research's new laboratory above the Shoppers Drug Mart, next door to Kitchener City Hall.

Schaffler, president of HPR, is preparing the lab to be the company's North American hub. Schaffler is working with a staff of two, but has plans to grow the operation.

His decision to locate here wasn't just about business. It was UW's school of pharmacy that lured the German scientist to town. "This is a chance for me to work with academics," he says.

Schaffler will split his time between HPR's Munich laboratory and the downtown Kitchener location. He will also take on the role of research professor at the school of pharmacy.

Schaffler first considered opening in downtown Kitchener after he was introduced to Jake Thiessen, director of the pharmacy school that will be part of the health sciences campus. Schaffler had already worked with researchers at McNeil Consumer Healthcare in Guelph for several years and was looking to establish a permanent lab to serve his growing North American client base.

Not only can he serve the growing demand for his services here, Schaffler says being part of an emerging health-sciences cluster in Kitchener offers his business another advantage. "Our goal is to fill the pipeline, but it's also in our best interest to get the best people," he says.

In return, the pharmacy school's students can tap into Schaffler's extensive experience in commercial research. Thiessen says Schaffler will play a key role in the school's mandate to innovate.

"It might not be entirely appreciated by most people, but these schools are the leading centres for research," he says. "He will fit dead centre into the ambitions of the school."

Thiessen says Schaffler will provide guidance to student research projects and teach when the Kitchener campus opens in January.

HPR specializes in research delving into the brain's response to pain; it tests and assesses the effectiveness of compounds being developed by drug makers.

This area of specialization could pay big dividends because the market for pain-treatment drugs is growing dramatically.

HPR occupies 11,000 square feet of space in part of the old King's College theatre complex. A mezzanine level has been added, to take advantage of the high ceilings.

The space includes laboratory facilities, open-concept offices and recreational areas where those taking part in trials can relax.

Peter Kalra, HPR's managing director, says the building could become the focal point for health sciences businesses in the downtown. "I think this can be the hub of the health-care cluster," he says. "There's space for even more here."

Next door to HPR's office, pieces of the old movie house remain, including the shell of a theatre, which Kalra says could serve as lecture hall.

Rod Regier, Kitchener's director of economic development, expects that the health sciences campus, promoted by UW around the world, will bring more development to the core.

"I would suggest that there is a huge upside for us, and it's going to come from companies like HPR."

Regier says he isn't expecting big investments from multinational pharmaceutical companies, due to the state of the economy. However, UW's progressive policies regarding ownership of intellectual property, could bring new companies, started by UW faculty, to the core.

He says he knows of several startups already interested in setting up in the downtown.

There also are hopes that more companies will be lured to a redeveloped Lang Tannery complex, just west of the UW campus along Victoria Street.

During Oktoberfest, Regier said the city welcomed a business delegation that was specifically interested in the UW campus. "I think this is just the beginning," he says.

Thiessen says he has spoken to "a variety of companies" interested in locating near the school, which he hopes will act as a magnet for emerging companies.

Mark Garner, who is approaching the end of his first year as director of the Kitchener Downtown Business Association, says the arrival of HPR is proof that the city's $30-million investment in the UW campus will generate a long-term economic impact.

"This shows you this model can work," he says. "People are seeing that we are at a point of change."

[WaterlooInvestor]

November 7, 2008

Schembri King St Student Apartments | 46 m | 15 fl | Construction - View from Uptown Waterloo (King & William)



Shoppers Drug Mart | 10 m | 2 fl | Construction




The building actually looks pretty sharp at street-level. :tup: It's not perfect, but you have to remember this is a redevelopment project (rather than starting off with something entirely new).


UW Health Sciences Campus | 36 m | 8 fl | U/C

Looking down King Street


Medical School & Lang Tanning Smokestack


Pharmacy & Medical Schools


Medical School


City Hall Overview - 1


City Hall Overview - 2


King & Victoria



Bauer Lofts | 57 m | 15 fl | U/C

Bauer & SunLife


Bauer Buildings


Caroline & Allen


South down Caroline (@ Allen)


Old meets New on Allen Street


Banner


King Street


Close-Up #1


Future Courtyard


Close-Up #2


South Side


King & John


King Street looking North

[Mastodon Goard]

^those are great photos.

I especially like this one:

[Mastodon Goard]

Originally Posted by WaterlooInvestor

Ont. to receive $6.2 billion to repair infrastructure
Updated Thu. Jul. 24 2008 10:51 AM ET
The Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...724?hub=Canada

Video: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/cash...rio/#clip68930

LONDON, Ont. -- Ontario's battle to wrest more funds out of the federal government yielded a victory today with a multi-billion dollar commitment from Ottawa for infrastructure.

Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon says more than $3 billion in funding will help the province repair its aging roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

The Ontario government will match that amount to raise the total investment to about $6.2 billion.

Cannon says substantial infrastructure funding for Ontario was long overdue.

Deputy Premier George Smitherman says today's announcement shows the two levels of government are working together for a stronger Ontario.

The spending is expected to create much needed jobs in the province, which has been hit hard in recent months by cutbacks in manufacturing and the auto sector.

Initial priorities include improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway in northwestern Ontario, rural broadband coverage in parts of Ontario and rapid transit in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.

The funding arrangement will run until 2014.








It's worth repeating:

Initial priorities include improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway in northwestern Ontario, rural broadband coverage in parts of Ontario and rapid transit in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region.

Wow. You really need to include more smilies. Looks like a used-car saleslot.

[Mastodon Goard]

Originally Posted by WaterlooInvestor

For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 22, 2007

Large Retail Drug Store To Anchor New Downtown Redevelopment Project

KITCHENER - Kitchener's downtown is in for more exciting changes over the next few months with the announcement today of a new private-sector redevelopment project at the corner of King and College Streets that will feature a 20,000 square-foot Shoppers Drug Mart retail store.

Located right beside Kitchener City Hall, the large retail drug store is expected to open in March 2008 and will be a unique retail endeavor for Shoppers Drug Mart, considering the majority of its redeveloped stores are between 15,000 and 17,000 square feet in size.

The retail drug store on the main floor is expected to feature an expanded food component to meet the growing demand for food and services in the downtown which is a direct result of the influx of residential units currently being developed in the city core.

The new drug store will be a major expansion of Shoppers Drug Mart's presence in the downtown and will replace its current, much smaller downtown store, located at 31 King Street West.

"We are very excited to see this property come back to life and bring new energy to the core," said Mayor Carl Zehr. "It's just another exciting example on a growing list of investors and private-sector companies that are showing confidence in City Council's vision for a re-energized downtown and want to become a part of what we are building here in our core."

According to the real-estate developer and building owner, Bernie Nimer, Shoppers Drug Mart will occupy the first floor of the two-storey project. The second floor will be redeveloped and will feature tall ceilings and mezzanines throughout with the objective of attracting large-scale office uses of up to 25,000 square feet. Massive windows and skylights will allow natural light to pour into the redeveloped building.

The concept for the completely redesigned exterior is the design of local architect, Andrew Bousfield. The contemporary look will feature stainless steel stucco and natural stone elements. The uniquely integrated lighting will allow the building to come alive at night and the window elements will reflect Kitchener's industrial heritage.

The announcement of this redevelopment plan comes on the heels of the recent opening of David's Gourmet, a gourmet - food store that is located on the main floor of a redeveloped building at 179 King St. West.

"From the beginning, the City's plan and vision was to create a downtown where people will want to live, work and spend their free time," noted Rod Regier, the City's executive director of economic development. "We have been successful in creating the right conditions that are now attracting private sector interest and investment in our downtown."

In the coming days, City staff will be working with the two existing tenants of the building to find them alternative space within the downtown.

-30-

Images:

Store front


Store side


Store back


Building Permit:

Permit No 07121658
Site Address 238 KING ST W
Work Description PERMIT IS FOR THE INTERIOR FINISH OF SHOPPERS DRUG MART.
Status Under Review
Permit Category Non-Residential Alteration
Permit Type Commercial
Application Date November 14, 2007
Issued By
Issue Date
Final Date
Roll Number 301202000103600
Legal Description PLAN 374 LOT 151 LOT 152
Parcelid 50000087
Ward 1
Planning Community 1
Work Proposed Interior Finish
Construction Value 700000
Residential Units on Property
Reqrd Rear Yard (m)
Reqrd Left Side Yard (m)
Reqrd Right Side Yard (m)
Special Conditions
Contractor PETRETTA CONSTRUCTION INC
Contractor Contact Info 2504 BINDER CRES KITCHENER ON N0R 1L0 phone 519-737-1292 phone2 519-737-7007
LAND_USE_SUBCATEGORY COMMERCIAL
CENTROID_X 540973.39
CENTROID_Y 4811106.54
OBJECTID

WOW! I MEAN, WOW!!!!

[Mastodon Goard]

So I see that WI is also continuing his SSP tantrum here.

[CanadianSkyScraper]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/livinginacity/

[CanadianSkyScraper]

Uptown Waterloo Public Square
Courtesy of Duke-Of-Waterloo on skyscraperpage

[algonquin]

That square will be great for the Busker Festival. Now if they could erase the mistake behind it...

[Tri-City Guy]

Great to finally see a photo of the completed square. Now if only the Shoppers and Scotiabank became cafes. Still, at least people will pass by the square to get their meds and money.

[Jaybird]

I drove through Waterloo last week downtown, and Waterloo is absolutely BUSTLING!!! They did an amazing job with that town square, although I hate there's big box stuff there.

[ontarian]

I just discovered this forum today, and was surprised to find there was no mention of the new highrise condo at King and University. Does anyone have any information regarding the details of the development? From what I understand from the Record article, http://news.therecord.com/article/415571, it will be one of the tallest buildings in KW, and certainly in that area.

edit: I should add that development was approved, something the article left uncertain.

[myfaceisonfire]

most of us waterlooians have migrated over to SkyscraperPage. We have an entire subforum there dedicated to KW (including a 5 page thread on this development).

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=157850

[Mastodon Goard]