08 Mar, 2010
Buildings and change in Westboro – part one of two posts
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Westboro
My neighborhood is Development Central right now. Winter is coming to an end and there’s a construction crew on every corner. New buildings are springing up all over the place and old ones are getting major facelifts.
One of these is the old Chinese Bible Church on Richmond Road right near the Legion. This is what’s going on there right now:
Don’t know which building I’m talking about? I don’t blame you. It blended into everything around it. It was a mass of brown siding, completely unremarkable in every way but size. Your eye easily passed it by, that is, when it wasn’t covered in scaffolding.
It used to be a movie theatre. If I had an extra five million lying around I’d buy it myself, give it a refurb and turn it into another Bytowne Cinema. Imagine how great it would be to live walking distance away from a grand old dame like that.
So the old church/movie theatre is being renovated. People have questions and no one really knows what’s going on. I asked a friend of mine if he had any insider info. Apparently, at two million, it wasn’t selling very well. So the owner/developer is giving it a dust and a polish to make it more attractive to buyers.
It makes me sad already, thinking that it’s likely going to turn into another place to buy coffee or yoga/fitness wear. Or maybe it’ll be another completely useless business for local residents… perhaps it is destined to become a place to get a botox or chiropractic treatment, or to buy kitchen tiles or expensive eyewear.
Where is the baker? The butcher? The deli? Do you think there’s one out there who has two million to spend on a new old building?
More tomorrow.
