Proposed Fusion Homes King/Cameron/Charles/Madison

[FusionHomes]

Hello all!

My name is Stefan Pazulla and I am the Brand Manager for Fusion Homes. I must say I am really impressed with the quality of the conversation in this forum - you guys and gals really have some great insight and interesting ideas.

In light of this, we would love to get to know some of you in greater detail through a small marketing focus group for this upcoming project. We will be hosting an evening at The 41 Gastropub (http://www.thefortyone.com/) on April 27, 2011 from 7-9PM. We'd love it if you could make it out and share your ideas and insights regarding this upcoming development. Space is limited so I must ask that you RSVP to me directly via spazulla@fusionhomes.com. Due to space restrictions we will only be able to host 10 of you.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Stefan Pazulla
Brand Manager, Fusion Homes
www.fusionhomes.com

[FancyNancy]

Great meeting tonight. Hope you got alot of wonderful comments on the project.

[benjaminbach]

Great meeting tonight. Hope you got alot of wonderful comments on the project.

[FusionHomes]

Great meeting tonight. Hope you got alot of wonderful comments on the project.

Thanks to everyone who came out to The 41 last night. The caliber of the discussion was just as we had expected from the members of this forum. It was also great to get the chance to meet some of you and to chat with those who will be directly affected by this project. We'll definitely look at doing something like this again as the project begins to take shape.

We will keep the forum updated as we progress.

Thanks again,

Stefan Pazulla
Brand Manager, Fusion Homes

[benjaminbach]

Thanks to everyone who came out to The 41 last night. The caliber of the discussion was just as we had expected from the members of this forum. It was also great to get the chance to meet some of you and to chat with those who will be directly affected by this project. We'll definitely look at doing something like this again as the project begins to take shape.

We will keep the forum updated as we progress.

Thanks again,

Stefan Pazulla
Brand Manager, Fusion Homes

Thanks for having us Stefan and Sam !

[BuildingScout]

Great meeting tonight. Hope you got alot of wonderful comments on the project.

Meeting was great. Thanks for having us.

[Adrian]

Can someone let us know what was talked about?

[RangersFan]

Walking by this block today reminded me how underused this area really is. For me it would not take much effort for Fusion to make an improvement, needless to say I am excited to see what they have in store for the block. I could see this area of Downtown really taking off especially if the following improvements/developments happen:

1) If large improvements are made to the Kitchener Market
2) Useful retail (like an urban grocery store/local store) was incorporated into the development
3) the site's close proximity to a proposed LRT station if built would be a great attracting factor.

Depending on the final project plans this development could be a huge success, and I wish them well.

current view 1 (today this gravel lot was 90% empty)
current view 2

[FusionHomes]

RangersFan - thanks for the insights and kind words!

We've been working away tirelessly on this project and are pleased to announce that we have just completed our architect selection process. We've chosen to work with Page+Steele / IBI Group Architects (http://www.pagesteele.com/).

We are currently working on our preliminary site concepts, and as promised, we'll keep the community updated and involved as we progress.

Stefan Pazulla
Brand Manager, Fusion Homes

[panamaniac]

While not underestimating the challenges, I think many on this forum have high hopes for this project. The signs of a turnaround Downtown have been great to see and the future looks bright if momentum can be maintained.

[KWrealestate]

Any updates on this project?

[tomthip]

http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/sho...3669#post33669

From this thread, the area is under discussion at City Hall as part of their downtown strategy planning for the next five years.
The city would like to see the area developed as a high density neighbourhood. This has probably been the City's intention for a while now... but lets hope some specific actions come out of this strategic plan to help expedite the development.

[panamaniac]

One hopes that this will not be contentious - it seems a no-brainer.

From today's Record: KITCHENER — Plans for hundreds of residential units and commercial space on King Street East may hinge on whether the developer qualifies for millions in incentives provided to other builders in the core.

http://www.therecord.com/news/local/...worth-millions

[zanate]

Some consideration needs to be given that Fusion was probably able to score a good deal on the land, on the basis that there were no special incentives to develop it that would have driven its attractiveness (and price) up.

I wouldn't rule out a tax break for what could be a valuable development on the east end. It really could be an asset. But I would ask "what do we get in return?"

[BigCityBoy]

"yes TDL owns the whole lot at King & Borden."


Not for nothing but is it legal for registered real estate professionals to disclose private holdings on public forums without the express written consent of said parties, even if they are or are not agents for the party (parties) concerned?

[mpd618]

Some consideration needs to be given that Fusion was probably able to score a good deal on the land, on the basis that there were no special incentives to develop it that would have driven its attractiveness (and price) up.

Agreed. I think a much more reasonable approach would be to waive development charges where they are not needed to support the development. Which means downtown, and no particular firm line as to what counts and doesn't. It is absurd to have an infill downtown development paying towards water and road system expansions into the suburbs.

[BigCityBoy]

That's an absurd agrument. By the very definition of 'increased density' you are increasing the waste, water and road use in that exact area by factor of four, at least? Why should they get a pass? Simply because there is a pre-existing system. I point you towards the latest back-up that occured just this week in Cambridge that assumed that the pre-existing system could 'swallow' (and i say that with tongue-in-cheek) a much larger amount temporarlly, than it could. Some reports suggest a black bin liner was at fault. God forbid someone sends a black bin liner down the sewer in this new development.

[BigCityBoy]

I'm also willing to bet that it costs more to fix or expand an old system than it does to put a whole new modern one in some farm field. And you want to 'waive' charges?

[plam]

I'm also willing to bet that it costs more to fix or expand an old system than it does to put a whole new modern one in some farm field. And you want to 'waive' charges?

I'm not that type of engineer, but I'm guessing that it's way easier, over time, to maintain systems that weren't built in fields, because they are far less sprawling. I'd rather replace one pipe than 10. I think the scaling of costs goes more with distance than with usage.

The California Planning Roundtable agrees with me (myth #3).

[DHLawrence]

Not to mention the impact of materials used. In Toronto most of the Victorian-era watermains downtown are still ticking along happily. The burbs get most of the watermain breaks because they used shoddy materials for building them. They changed the compound used on the advice of the manufacturers, who claimed that the new pipes "would last a century". They didn't make it.