Strength
Weakness
Location
Proximity to Water
Walkability
Heritage Buildings
Limited Selection of businesses
Seasonal (Winter)
Minimal Parking
Heritage of Crime and Poverty
Opportunity
Threats
Inventory of Industrial Buildings
Underutilised Municipal Assets
Business Improvement Association
Emerging “Arts Scene”
Suburban Development
Bureaucratic red tape
-
No Strong Anchor Tenants
Limited Hours of Operation
Very few Offices/White Collar Employers
Low week day traffic (Mon-Fri 9-5)
Just one Bank, no post office, no grocery,
no pharmacy
- Limited Retail selection
- Low “permeability” low volume of
customers on a daily basis
- Inconsistent Operating Hours
Result – Few Pedestrians, no vibrancy, not
sustainable for mainstream business
- Poor winter transportation for
pedestrians cyclists and transit
users.
- Snow banks block access to on
street parking
- Hilly Hespeler streets and sidewalks
are precarious with ice
- No winter festivals after Santa Clause
Parade in early December
- Few opportunities or reasons to “play
outside”
Result – Fewer pedestrians and
customers. Business declines
significantly or ceases altogether.
- Perception: There is “no parking” in
Hespeler.
- Reality: On Street Parking is free for
2 hours
- There are several free city lots, well
distributed throughout the core
- Few areas for long term parking or
daily parking for employers,
employees or residents
Result – Many business discount
Hespeler Village as a viable location and
opt for sub urban office or retail space
instead.
- Poorly maintained Industrial buildings on the
Northern Entrance on Guelph
- Run down houses and poorly maintained
streetscape on Queen Street West
- Run down houses and poorly maintained
streetscape on Queen Street West
- Poorly demarcated pedestrian trails
Riverbank Lofts 200 Residential Units:
Approved, Completion forecast for Summer 2016
Hespeler Furniture Factory – Riverside “Brick
and Beam” Employment Lands: Proposed
“Distillery District” concept shown below
Inventory of City Assets in
Hespeler Village
Buildings
- Old City Hall/Fire Station
- City Works Yard Jacobs Landing West
- Hespeler Library
- Field House in Forbes Park
Parks
- Forbes Park
- Cenotaph at Queen/Tannery
- Jacobs Landing West and West
- 2 Gazebo’s on Queen St East
- Public Docks at Little Riverside Park
Parking Lots
- Lots H1 through H4 as indicated
- BIA mandate is to promote and beautify
Hespeler Village
- City funded board via BIA Tax Levy.
- Annual Budget of $15K
- Progressive members have a track record
of effective program implementation
- Social Media: 1,000+ Facebook
followers
- BIA sign improvement grants
- Street Banners, Christmas lights,
flower baskets etc
- Effective Lobbying and fund raising
Hespeler’s public graffiti wall
Hespeler’s cheap rent, urban amenities and
proximity to the river and trails is attracting a
small but extremely active community of artists,
designers and musicians. Clustered artistic
activity such as this is often a precursor to main
stream development.
- Lax planning disciplines and retail
standards have resulted in the flight
retail and office space to highly car
dependant suburban locations
- Small to medium sized developments
are disbursed with little to no
incentive for intensification and
urbanisation
Result – Homogenous blandness with
no sense of place or community
identity.
Hespeler is filled with possibilities for
architectural re-use projects. Zoning
limitations, flood plain issues, soil
contamination and aging infrastructure need
to be addressed in a creative and
constructive way.
The traditional municipal approach of rigidity
and risk mitigation will stifle growth and
result in lost opportunity. For Hespeler to
fully realise its potential the private and
public sector need to partner and embrace
the “Art of the possible”