The Condos are Coming!

The Condo development 1 Adam Street, which no longer has Adam street going through it, is now branded as Victoria Common. They have had a couple of public meetings where the community was invited and have recently been having open houses for real estate agents, brokers etc. They have an office on Louisa which will be open soon three days a week on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

On Tuesday, June 19, there was a special event for invited groups and the MHBPNA Blogster was happy to attend. The organic Mill Street beer and gourmet pasta were fabulous!

The units are selling in the $100,000 to $200,000 range with more several buildings and town-houses planned. Over a period of 7-8 years they plan to build 1200 units.

This will be one extremely large development with a combination of condos and town-homes, a large green area with many amenities for the owners and the surrounding residents. We have heard rumours about eventually a skating rink, karaoke bar, green space and more being built there!

Most of the development in the MHBPNA area has been over on the west side: we have the Tannery, Pharmacy, Breithaupt Block and other development going in. This is the first large scale development on the eastern side and promises to be a very positive influence for increasing property value and putting Kitchener on the map for quality residential condos. 

The real estate agent we talked with was very friendly and told us how the developer (Queensgate) had reached out to the local community and were committed to using local people for all phases of the project. The land used to have Breithaupt Tannery and Pannill Veneer on it. The buildings burned down and the land has been vacant for several years. It was fun for small scale mountain biking!

So many things about this development are positive. But it will certainly change the whole character of the surrounding neighbourhood. The MHBP area of Kitchener used to offer a great value for the first time home owner, but we have seen prices increase steadily over the past several years and this development will only contribute to further rises.

In Toronto the approval to develop condos is often tied to providing a certain number of affordable housing units, but not so in Kitchener/Waterloo. The LRT is spurring development and rising land prices along the King Street corridor, and this development will do the same further east. If you have $200,000 for a 640 square foot condo, then that is great. But if you would like to buy a half decent home for your family for under $250,000 you will have to look pretty hard (and probably somewhere outside of the MHBP neighbourhood).

So there are always different ways of looking at development. There are many positive elements to these plans and it is exciting that the value of downtown Kitchener is being realized. Our area is just not the "hidden bargain" it was a decade ago.

From the Boathouse to the Box Factory

On Saturday, June 9, The Boathouse ventured into the Mt Hope - Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood. They put on a fund raising show in the Box Factory on Duke street. Musical hi-jinx ensued!

The MHBP Blog visited and took a few pictures of the "headlining" act, Sheesham, Lotus and Son. Banjo, Tuba and either fiddle or harmonica with a strange amplification device. What a venue, and what a crowd. We are going to be very excited when the Boathouse finally opens in July. OK, it is not in our neighbourhood, but it is a short walk in the summer!

Lippert Park Picnic planned for July!

Lippert Park Picnic 2012

Fun in the Sun- Rain or Shine

For the 10 years prior to last, the Lippert Family, Helen and Ken, and many of their relatives, have organized the annual George Lippert Park Neighbourhood Picnic.  After many years, and many good times, the Lipperts are passing along the torch. 

I would like to cordially invite the Mt Hope/Breithaupt area residents to this years neighbourhood picnic.  Well perhaps less of a picnic, and more of a gathering with a tonne of fun things to do for all ages.  We’ll call it Fun in the Sun, Rain or Shine. 

The date is July 14^th from noon to 3 o’clock.  Join us for fun and games for the whole family, including face painting, family games, a family yoga session, crafts, and much more,….. and a special performance from Kitchener’s very own “The Skalywags”.  Check them out! http://www.theskalywags.com. 

We want to continue the fun that has been had by so many children for so many years.  Come out and have some fun with the family, meet your neighbours, and learn about what is going in the neighbourhood.

If you are interesting in volunteering, or getting involved, please email Lane Burman at lippertpark2012@gmail.com.  The more help we can get, the more fun we can provide for the kids.

If you are a local business in the neighbourhood, or live in the neighbourhood and own a business, we would like to spread the word, send me an email at lippertpark2012@gmail.com.  There will be opportunities to spread the word about your business to the people in the community.

I am looking forward to a great turnout, and a lot of fun for all.

Lane Burman


Here is a link to the Blog's story on the last Lippert Park Picnic!

Photo from around our neighbourhood

Meg Leslie recently tiled the side of her house. This adds a nice bit of colour to the Duke St and Waterloo St corner.

Please send us your photos if you see something in our area you think is interesting!

Jane's Walk 2012: Growing Every Year!

On May 12, 2012, the Mount Hope - Breithaupt Park neighbourhood sponsored two Jane's walks and we counted approximately 60 people for each one! Last year we had around 40 people for the one walk and I think we can thank Terry Pender from The Record for this article he wrote advertising all four Jane's Walks in Kitchener over the weekend.

(There were no walks given in Waterloo this year so as a side note we will suggest "Hey Waterloo, step up next year and produce a couple of walks!")

Our first walk began at 10 am in the new parking lot across from the Breithaupt Block where Ted discussed the history of the area, from its agrarian roots to manufacturing (pianos, leather, rubber, buttons) and now into the current knowledge economy.

(Click on any of the images below for a larger picture)

Then we walked to the Beohmer Box building which, unlike the Breithaupt Block, is not being renovated. But it is an active building which houses many interesting and eclectic tenants. In the picture below Wayne is discussing the old Fire Hall #2 which has been modestly renovated into studios and has dance classes on the main floor.

After discussing some more old buildings, including the former Electrohome building at Duke and Shanley, we all headed to Little City Farm.

At Little City Farm Greg and Karin were great hosts. Greg explained their "back to the land inside the city" philosophy and Karin fed us bread baked in their outdoor oven. What an excellent end to a great Walk. Thanks to everyone who came out!

But that's not all! In the afternoon, Wayne hosted a walk in Mt. Hope cemetery. In past years, this has been part of our main walk, but there are so many stories to tell, it become a walk on its own. And about 60 people attended.

We initially met "under the angel":

There are many great works of sculpture to observe in the cemetery when you wander through and take some time to observe:

Many of the older headstones are deteriorating with time, acid rain and other weather. But that is part of life and evolution. 

Wayne fascinated us with many great stories of early settlers, businessmen and former slaves who are all buried here. It is a great way to learn the history of Kitchener and many of the people who contributed to our rich culture.

Sometimes a man with a megaphone needs a helper!

Thanks to everyone who came out. It is a real pleasure to help with these walks each year. This is our fourth year (!!!) and the Blog has pictures from all the others if you want to browse back in the archives.

Animate, Meet Up, Bang a Gong on the Trail

On May 27, 2012 Kitchener is hosting a "trail event" on the Iron Horse trail. Initially called "Animate the Trail" it seems to have evolved into "Meetup on the Trail" and is being held at the same time the Victoria Park folks are holding their 2nd annual Henry Sturm festival.


To view the website for this event click here.


To view a poster for the event click here.


There will certainly be many things to celebrate and everyone is invited to take part of the trail and do pretty much whatever you want there.


It will be fun to walk the trail (which many of us do anyway) and see how many folks come out to this event. At some point we hope the organizers settle on a theme and name. This event started last year as a "car free" day. It was expensive to block off the road and impossible to make the many blocks between Kitchener and Waterloo very interesting and Kitchener council voted against spending any more money on it.


Relocating the event from the street to the trail is a great idea because the Iron Horse is already "car free". But with all the activity inside Victoria Park for the Henry Sturm festival, we will see how many folks venture away from that space and onto the trail itself.


Let's all come out and see what is happening on May 27th. Bring a gong to bang!

Angel watches over Jane's Walk

Jane's Walk weekend has been a great success and the last event is scheduled for 1 pm today (Sunday, May 6) in the King and Ottawa area.

A full report will be published this week. But here is a photo from the cemetery walk (click on photo for larger image).