Contributed by Kimberley Ezeard
Cabbagetown was not exempt from what seemed like the never ending winter, and now we enter the season of never ending construction and traffic detour…
“Why”, you ask? This reflects the trend to renovate or rebuild and stay in our existing homes, as opposed to facing the stress of shopping for a property that will better suit our current and projected needs.
The housing inventory in the downtown core is still very tight and it is a daunting task to search for properties that allow mature couples to “age” in, young families to expand, and singles to mingle, not to mention the current level of competitiveness for those “perfect” matches! This of course applies to our fine neighbourhood as well, as we have a limited inventory to begin with. It would seem, every street you turn down just now appears to have a construction site or renovation project running on it, including ours, as we are renovating our home.
Spring may bring construction, renovation and traffic detours but the birds are singing, our Garden Tour is scheduled for June 3 rd , everything is blooming, and the children are playing outside again, so it’s easy to sit in the sunshine and understand why our neighbourhood is so special.
What also adds flavor and quality of life to Cabbagetown is our shops and restaurants. We have the privilege of many specialty stores serving high quality goods and services ranging from delicious foods, organic groceries, our fabulous fishmonger at MWM Fish Co., dry cleaning and one of a kind gifts, cards, and crafts. We must be conscientious to support these businesses, so they may continue to support us.
Through the construction and renovation process we rely on the good will and patience of our neighbours, and deal with the traffic inconveniences as a part of living in tight quarters. Where it may be our project this season, certainly we’ll be accommodating other neighbors next year.
Dealing with a major construction project is stressful and disruptive. The ongoing good will we have experienced from finding a temporary rental to people expressing concern when things did not go well, is a testament to the level of friendliness and cooperation in our amazing neighbourhood. We are very grateful for our good neighbours for their support and are hopeful that everyone with a project has the same experience.
