It’s turning into a heated argument here on social media about our concern about a potential condo development in Malvern, Essex.
The Post-it notes here say we have shared this with several of our readers; that the amount of “Let’s Let it Go” comments is in the upper 90s; and that there have been enough sharers to provide a greater number of comments than “Got Your Back” and “Stand With Us”.
Yet those sharers who we are suggesting make way are almost unanimous, they want nothing to do with us (by the way, we feel their point is a good one).
Every time we criticize the proposal of Phase I condo development, the different sides of the controversy are often countered by a superior sharers’ side of a few-hundred posts.
In the past, these comments have been respectful and civil in the sense that they encouraged us to argue the same way (either from a pro or con perspective). This is what democratic public debate is all about.
However, some of the anti-development elements seem to hold that the argument always ends when they have had their say.
That is why it is imperative that we place both sides in the crosshairs before we press the shut switch.
The downsides to condos are usually easier to spot than the upside which, for the most part, is always overlooked and dismissed by commenters.
A good example is that dense developments are often characterized by a lack of green space and nature and community, which in reality can be enriching for residents and community members alike.
With that in mind, we have a partial solution for those who are against this plan.
If there is a community centre in the region which is not already busy or overcrowded, then the condos built there could probably be used by some of the kids currently attending that centre to take advantage of the free or low-cost recreation programs.
What happened to the idea of the Gramercy Place Theatre? If you are even thinking about this, thank you. You guys wrote the book here.
We need to change the neighbourhood enough to warrant condominium developments, which not only provide for an exchange of land and infrastructure between developers and the City of Montreal, but also create neighbourhood assets such as community centres.
Condo development isn’t easy. It’s also not a holiday. We were educated on the fact that 50 people died during the construction of St. Germain d’Hiver, 16 people died during the construction of Terrasse-Vaudreuil.
The same way the population of a community that hasn’t seen a major change of any sort in over 100 years will forever remain populated, the condo-industry cannot be expected to preserve 70 years of diversity and identity.
Nevertheless, don’t expect to see condos become the wave of the future unless we want the opposite.
And that’s never been an easy sell when it comes to large-scale residential development.