Today in the Globe & Mail, Hadani Ditmars profiled the changing face of Kitsilano – I can’t believe she didn’t contact us for a quote. I’d be happy to weight in on Kitsilano as a real estate hot spot and the dilemma our neighbourhood faces as the high cost of real estate threatens to bury our once-bohemian nature.
Increasingly, high-end shops are replacing mom-and-pop stores in the former hippie epicentre of West 4th Avenue. "It’s becoming another Robson Street," complains local architect Tad Young, who says it will soon resemble the slick downtown shopping strip – itself once a more bohemian avenue.
Adam Smith of the Kits Point Residents Association managed to get quoted again but his resolve regarding the "Californication" of Kits is weakening now that Watermark is set to open tomorrow:
But Mr. Smith rails against the "balkanization of the beach," with parts set aside for off-leash dogs, volleyball players and a private business. "Ten years from now, this will still be a beautiful place. I hope the neighbourhood will still have a good mix of people. But increasingly," he acknowledges, "real estate prices are going to define who lives here."
Good thing he’s already in the market.
Last modified: November 18, 2008
i am horrified at the prices of homes/condos in kits! how are we, the renters supposed to afford to stay here and enjoy our favorite place on earth to live???? its pure craziness, and i think there should be a law that says anyone who has rented in “kits proper” for the last 2-3 years should get first dibs on places for sale, and at a reduced rate!! we should start a petition…………..
I just did a google search for “the changing face of Kitsilano” and this blog popped up. 7 years later since the last comment and it’s really sad to say that the predictions Mr. Smith made have already, for a large part, come true. An Urban Outfitters is set to move in on 4th and The Kingshead on Yew was just replaced by a WINGS. Went to the LOCAL eatery, and while it’s better than Malone’s, it’s just not my scene. Everyone looked the same in there…beautiful and young (not that that’s a bad thing), but it was just so…uninspiring. 4th is the next Robson St for sure. It’s sad when you can tell which privately owned businesses are going to go bankrupt next. I love the beach, but I feel like I’d be more suited to the Main St/Commercial Drive area now. Too much about being “trendy” and not enough soul. Maybe I’m just getting too old!