Collingwood residents wary about possible pub at Kingsway Continental nonmarket housing site

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      Collingwood residents are preparing a warm welcome for new neighbours who will move into a local hotel bought by the City of Vancouver for nonmarket housing.

      But they’re not going to raise a toast to the idea that city hall may lease a portion of the former Ramada Inn that used to be Jaguar’s Pub and Restaurant for a new drinking establishment.

      According to Angela Evans, executive director of the Collingwood Business Improvement Association, the neighbourhood prefers other uses for that space, like a family-oriented restaurant.

      “As a group and as a community, we’re hoping that it’s not a pub,” Evans told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

      Evans noted that Collingwood lacks multipurpose spaces and the old Jaguar’s area could provide a gathering place. “I know the ones who live on that site prefer not to have that [pub] again because it gives you a negative feeling,” she said. “It brings different elements to an area.”

      The city isn’t ruling out the prospect that a new sports bar may open below the rooms of tenants it will bring in from the Old Continental Residence (formerly the Continental Hotel) at the north end of the Granville Street Bridge and other low-rent housing sites.

      “Should the city choose to look at options, it will be in the future,” Vancouver communications director Sandy Swanton told the Straight by phone. “And at that point in time, there will be a number of conversations that will have to happen.”

      According to Swanton, there are “no definitive plans for the pub-restaurant area”. When pressed to confirm that no options have been taken off the table, she replied: “All I can say is that there are no plans at this point in time.”

      Vancouver purchased the Ramada Inn at 3484 Kingsway in November last year for $15.5 million. Now called the Kingsway Continental, the building will provide 123 housing units.

      Minor renovations are going on, according to Jennifer Standeven, the city’s assistant director for business operations. The new residents will move in around June or July this year, Standeven told the Straight by phone.

      The city is holding an information session about the Kingsway Continental at Collingwood Neighbourhood House (5288 Joyce Street) tonight (January 10) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

      Comments

      10 Comments

      Jiff

      Jan 9, 2013 at 2:58pm

      Heavens to Betsy - not a pub! I do declare - what is this world coming to?

      Joel

      Jan 12, 2013 at 2:12pm

      Im more concerned about the people with mental health and drug addictions moving into this neighborhood. We were finally starting to see less prostitutes in this area, well I guess they will have a whole new set of customers. How am suppose to feel safe about raising kids here. This area continually gets shafted due to most of the residents being immigrants and not aware of any of the plans the city has decided for them.

      MissBehaviour

      Jan 12, 2013 at 2:15pm

      Jaguar's was really awful and not worth setting foot in for a variety of reasons, and we certainly don't need that back; however Collingwood is sorely lacking a good neighbourhood pub....heck we don't even have a beer and wine store!

      From Collingwood you can travel Kingsway westbound until almost Fraser St. before you find a pub. (Remember, the seedy ElDorado has been gone a few years, now...not that it was any good in recent memory.) To the east, it's in Burnaby near Royal Oak; to the north, Hastings at Boundary. Oh, and a 30 minute walk south of Kingsway at Joyce will take to you a pub in Champlain Heights, but it's not worth the walk.

      If the BC Liquor Store is closed at Kingsway and Tyne, there is nowhere within walking distance to pick up a bottle of wine or a 6-pack.

      I think a 'decent' neighbourhood pub there could be a vibrant addition to Collingwood and I believe the old Ramada site is the place for it....Give us good food, pool tables, & I'd welcome local live acts on weekends; attach a bistro / coffee shop like they do at Cedar Cottage to cater to the families with kids and challenge the big coffee chain that has (2!) locations at that intersection and one 3 blocks east!

      For now, I have to travel out of my super convenient and very central neighbourhood for anything like this.

      Chip

      Jan 12, 2013 at 3:44pm

      The right pub would be a good because there are no pubs anywhere near Collingwood.

      Martin Dunphy

      Jan 12, 2013 at 6:02pm

      Joel:

      Nowhere in the article does it states that the city is moving in residents with addiction or mental-health issues, even though it is a good idea to equitably distribute such living facilities throughout the city and not concentrate them in the downtown area.

      Also, I think you would find with a little research that a prostitute's typical client is a married, suburban, middle-class male. Bridges and tunnels are, more properly, your concern in such matters.

      Joel

      Jan 14, 2013 at 8:25am

      Martin check the article from the Vancouver courier. It mentions residents primarily with mental health and drug addictions such as meth will be moving in. They will now have a liquor store across the street and a marijuna bong store 2 blocks away and a growing list of massage parlous/kingsway prostitutes to spend their government checks on.

      I may sound overly paranoid, but given what we have put up with over the years being a few houses away from kingsway, this is not welcome. Im sure alot of you would feel the same way if it was couple houses away and you have young children/senior parents.

      Martin Dunphy

      Jan 14, 2013 at 11:29am

      Joel:

      With respect, a little research and a little common sense goes a long way. Mental health consumers are not spending the pittance they receive from government disability payments on bongs, beer, and prostitutes. They are lucky to have enough to stretch their food budget to the end of each month. This building is a step up for most, away from the downtown peninsula and giving the residents, some for the first time in many years, the dignity of their own bathrooms and cooking facilities.
      Any cars circling your nearby blocks looking for sex-trade workers originate from outside your neighbourhood, and they always have.

      Gary K

      May 20, 2013 at 10:51pm

      No pub please.

      nic

      Jun 9, 2014 at 1:20pm

      Starting housing projects for individuals with mental health and drugs issues right beside residential homes filled with kids is a stupid plan. This neighbourhood has “the highest number of youth and second highest number of children” in Vancouver. Dr H N MacCorkindale Elementary is a 1 minute walk away and Sir Guy Carleton Elementary is 3 minute walk. For decades, both these schools have been dealing with the mentally unstable and drug abusers wandering the vicinity. Kids from these schools and those from other close by schools (Weir Elementary, Captain Cook Elementary, Champlain Elementary, etc. ) not only are at risk while walking to and from school, but they also hang out on kingsway as it is the closest commercial street. Between Kingsway and Joyce station, there's a particularly dense population of youths due to the number of apartments and parks.

      Martin Dunphy

      Jun 9, 2014 at 1:46pm

      nic:

      I'd tell your kids not to hang out on Kingsway in the first place. Children are not "at risk" from the intended residents for this site.
      If you are worried about the possibility of a pub opening in the spot, you might want to make your views known at city hall.
      That is the focus of the above article, after all.