This week City Council granted final zoning approval for a new Wal-Mart development at the old Quarry Sportsplex site near Division Street and Highway 401. This is great news for Kingston’s North End, and an exciting step forward in the regeneration of the Rideau Heights neighbourhood.
It wasn’t all that many years ago that the old IGA in the Kingslake plaza closed its doors, creating a food desert across the north end of the city. Today the Division Street hub has grown, now providing residents shopping options that will be further enhanced and with a new Wal-Mart added to the mix in the near future. The design for this new development ensures that this Wal-Mart will not only be accessible by car and by transit, but also by foot with a walking path from the east end it that will make a manageable walking distance for much of Rideau Heights.
This new commercial development has been several years in the planning stages, and I’m so pleased to see it move ahead. Hopefully we will see shovels in the ground very soon!
Here is a look at the site of the new Wal-Mart, shown below in grey: 