Hummingbird604.com » gentrification

An emerging Community Garden at Broadway and Fraser (Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:00:10 +0000

I have lived in Mount Pleasant (in East Vancouver) for about 5 and a half years, and I loved it from the moment I actually set foot there. I heard stories about how derelict Main and Fraser used to be 10, 15 or 20 years ago (with prostitution and drug trafficking). And it’s nice to see how much more evolved the corner of Broadway and Fraser is getting.

I met the lovely lady behind this emerging community garden at Broadway and Fraser. Lila told me that she wanted to make her neighbourhood more beautiful and to enhance it. I think a community garden is a great idea. Lila also told me that while cleaning up the area was challenging (she found needless in the ground when she was cleaning up for the garden), she is happy to see it flourishing.

And frankly, so am I. I just hope I can find ways to help her with the community garden, to make it grow. And I’m really delighted that the corner of Broadway and Fraser is getting so much nicer.

More coffee shops around Fraser Street, please :)

Raul — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:34:13 +0000

I’m quite glad that my earlier post where I discussed the question on whether Fraser is really the new Main was so well received (thanks Tom, Urban Dweller, Michael, Malloreigh and Robb for chiming in, and Sean for linking to me). One element that I unfortunately left out was the fact that the area around Fraser and 2nd all the way through to Fraser and King Edward doesn’t have coffee shops.

Admittedly, you could say that The Faux Burgeois do have a coffee shop, but … if you think about the number of cafes you get on Main Street from, say, Broadway and Main to King Edward, I can name several off the top of my head:
- Cafe Barney
- Waves
- Cuppa Joe
- Starbucks
- An independent, Italian coffee shop whose name escapes me right now
- Bean Around the World (2 locations)

Where, along the same stretch (and even on Kingsway all the way from 7th Avenue to Fraser, you onl really have Our Town Cafe, a coffee shop I love). So, really, there IS room for growth in the coffee shop business on Fraser Street before King Edward. Malloreigh was mentioning that she wanted to open her dream coffee shop there, but she ended up not doing so. Well – now you can! There is LOTS of room for that! And trust me, the demand IS there!

Of course, if the owners of my dream house on 18th and Columbia decided to open a coffee shop there, I’d be more than happy to give them some promotion on my blog!

Is Fraser really the new Main? The transformation of Mount Pleasant

Raul — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:57:58 +0000

Anybody who knows me a bit, knows that I love my neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant). I’ve extensively written about it, both on my blog and as a guest blogger on Rebecca’s when she has kindly invited me to contribute some stuff on her Vancouver History series. During my time living here (I used to be a Point Grey/Kitsilano boy in my earlier years) I have learned not only to love but also to try and learn about the historical development of my East Vancouver neighbourhood.

I remember a couple of years back, reading an article in The Georgia Straight about how Fraser is quickly becoming the new Main (quoted in this article in Mountain View).

Fraser Street is considered one of the main North-South corridors (although once you reach Broadway, you really can’t go North anymore). When I first moved to the Mount Pleasant area, I noticed a bit of a divide between Main (which, some people tell me, about 10-20 years was plagued with prostitution, drug dealing, etc) and Fraser. Both streets are parallel but despite being only divided by 6 blocks, you could tell the difference in the flavor of the neighbourhood. Fraser still does (at some point) feel somewhat sketchy. But I have not feel in danger, myself, whenever I walk around at night.

Heck, this difference was even showcased in the movie Mount Pleasant (excellent Canadian/Vancouver-based movie, you should watch it). Nevertheless, recent developments have begun a gentrification process between Kingsway and King Edward. Whether this is positive or negative, we’ll see.

People who diss the areas around Broadway and Fraser (which had in the past, admittedly, been dangerous – and maybe it still continues to be) and Kingsway and Fraser (which may also be perceived as somewhat sketchy) do forget that some of Vancouver’s great restaurants are located there. The Red Sea Cafe (best Ethiopian food in town) is near Fraser and Broadway, as is Fassil (probably second best Ethiopian food in town) and Seb’s Market Cafe (great brunch).

The addition of “Les Faux Burgeois” (a new upscale, French restaurant, although not nearly as pricey as other French restaurants in Vancouver) to the 15th and Fraser area (almost next door to The Lion’s Den) is also a signal of this transformative process. At any rate, while I am glad to see a transformation of the neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant), I am slightly worried about it losing its character. I hope it doesn’t.

And for those of you who didn’t know … there is a world beyond Cambie, you know? (this comment comes from a line in the movie Mount Pleasant, and something some of my former undergraduate students told me “I never go as far east as Cambie!“)

[SIDE NOTE -I always find it interesting when I search for content online that refers to the topic I'm discussing and I find forums where commentators are so passionate. Just look at the discussions on whether Fraser is the new Main on this forum. Interesting...]