Downtown Brampton Update - May 2007

[ShonTron]

On the GO Train:

So long, 48 Abell.

Dufferin Jog demolition complete:

Kodak Demolition

New highrise near Bramalea GO.

Pizza Depot. Very Good.
It's got almost as many locations in Brampton as Pizza Pizza. But they're non-existant outside of Brampton and Malton.

Triple-tracking work.

The GTA's crappiest hosptial with the nastiest ER nurses will soon be replaced.

Bridge over concrete Etobicoke Creek was just widened.

Newish YMCA.

GO/VIA Station

Landmarq (rental)

Old Dominion Skate plant. Stone Manor's proposed condo site.

Renaissance Condos - Sales office demolished, site cleared. Possibly the first GO parking lot closed for redevelopment.

One of the last "baby arc" lamps that used to be ubiquitous in the older parts of town illuminates this alley.

Rose Theatre and "Three Corners"

What was there before:

The bus made me do a double take. The brushed brick effect does make the blank sides and rear somewhat attractive.

Something strange is going on with the old Dominion Building/O'Malley's Pub.

I wonder what plans the city has for the old Heritage Theatre. I think there was enough opposition to its demolition. An artsy/independant and/or Bollywood cinema might make sense.

Peel Housing Tower on John. Will include public underground parking.

Peel County Court House, 1867

Very few old county seats still have the original Court House, Jail and Registry Office intact. Woodstock is one other example.

City Hall. It's OK.

A few local houses.

Infill townhouses - former industrial site (Flowerlea Dairy)

Park Place Condominiums - Sales office is going up.

I guess this must be the park they refer to. You know you're in Brampton when you can't escape Sandy Kennedy's mugshot. (No, he's not running for office - he's a real estate agent.)

Carnegie Library and old firehall (which was before that a market).

 

[JasonParis]

I wonder what plans the city has for the old Heritage Theatre. I think there was enough opposition to its demolition. An artsy/independant and/or Bollywood cinema might make sense.

I like that idea...a lot!

I guess this must be the park they refer to. You know you're in Brampton when you can't escape Sandy Kennedy's mugshot. (No, he's not running for office - he's a real estate agent.)

BTW, half the teachers in my high school had a crush on Sandy Kennedy and that was back in the early '90s!

 

[Observer Walt]

A Bollywood theatre is an excellent idea, given the demographics of Brampton. It would be a shame to lose that old building, although I have to say that Brampton has generally done a good job preserving heritage buildings.

I like the City Hall, particularly the clock tower, which echos two or three other clock towers in the downtown area.

 

[CDL.TO]

Nice pics. You make Brampton look good, which can be a challenge. Also a good reminder of the potential of DT Brampton. Just to imagine what could happen if there was frequent train service from there to Toronto and (imagine!) the airport.

I like the look of the new theatre, but the plaza outfront seems excessive and deadening.

Where's that new tower near Bramalea GO located exactly? Looks slabtastic!

 

[ShonTron]

The new tower is right on Bramalea Road, just south of Avondale. It is indeed slabtastic, and huge, as it curves from east to north.

I questioned the need for the additional square - Gage Park and the square in front of City Hall should have been enough - and they can be programmed quite well and be very popular (like summer events, New Year's). It used to be (and still is) known as the Four Corners because since 1900 or so, there were the big banks on all four corners of Queen and Main.

The theatre (which I agree, is attractive for a community arts centre) was built there because the city owned the land as part of a half-completed early 1990s redevelopment plan, that saw the Belevdere Condos built, Market Square Lane/Theatre Lane built, Hanna and California Street obliberated, and the dead space that would have been a shopping/cinema complex. The condo, the street and an underground parking garage were all that were built.

 

[hardlyamathwhiz]

Thanks for the pics SeanTrans. Do you know what the fate of the dinky white sub restaurant that sticks out in the middle of the square rather ackwardly? I'm interested to see what the north side renovations of the Old Dominion building are all about.

And I totally agree with you that downtown Brampton could be an attractive place to live if GO transit was more frequent. Hell I'd even consider moving back....a few years down the road anyway.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Brampton,Ontario

ST: Good Brampton photo tour! I have Region of Peel questions: Does the Region of Peel still exist? Is the old Courthouse still used or is it now an historic building? Thanks-LI MIKE

 

[ShonTron]

Despite Mississauga's efforts, the Region of Peel is alive and well.

The Courthouse was last in use in the 1960s (its now at the far south end of town), the jail closed in the 1970s (and the site of three hangings, the last one in 1948). All three - jail, courthouse and registry building are historic - the jail now the archives, the registry office now a small art gallery and government offices, the courthouse is restored and is popular for filming.