Read More About Belmont Village in Kitchener
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Belmont Village
Greetings! Welcome to the WRX Property Group website and blog. Today we have in store for you another entry in our series on the many neighbourhoods and regions of Kitchener-Waterloo. Today’s neighbourhood, Belmont Village, is one of the most distinctive in the entire city: it’s got character, it’s got charm, it’s got history, it’s considered one of the Region’s finest places to live… and it’s time to take a closer look!
See Homes for Sale in Belmont Village in Kitchener
Where Is Belmont Village?
It’s quite common to see the term Kitchener-Waterloo used in reference to the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo. No matter how interconnected and symbiotic they are, though, Kitchener and Waterloo remain separate cities, each with its own municipal government. When we’ve discussed neighbourhoods in the past, they typically fall either in Kitchener, or in Waterloo.
When it comes to Belmont Village, however, it’s a bit of a different story. If any neighbourhood is part of Kitchener-Waterloo, rather than Kitchener or Waterloo, then it is Belmont Village. Indeed, the Belmont Village stretches from the very south of Waterloo to the very north of Kitchener, passing through several neighbourhoods along the way.
Belmont Village is not a precisely delineated area, per se, but it essentially radiates outwards from Belmont Avenue West, with Union Boulevard and Highland Road West serving as very rough northern and southern borders. Homes that are part of Belmont Village technically fall into the neighbourhoods of Uptown Waterloo and Westmount in Waterloo (two historic neighbourhoods in their own right), and Victoria Hills and Cherry Hill in Kitchener.
Where (And When) It All Began
When the Great Depression hit Canada (and the Waterloo Region) in the 1930s, work and money were scarce, and many a Kitchener-Waterluvian was keen to find employment. One of the City’s solutions was an ambitious new construction project, which included everything from sewer systems to new roadways (with streetlights!). An effort was made to preserve plenty of green spaces, as well as a wide street in the centre: Belmont Avenue.
For several years, the area remained paved but unpopulated, and full of unrealized potential. Enter: Claude Musselman, who purchased the whole lot for $1 in 1947 ($22 in 2018 money; Musselman must have been quite a negotiator). Musselman commissioned a brick plaza, and a variety of stores began opening in the area.
From the ‘50s onward, Belmont Village really began to take shape. It was an eminently walkable neighbourhood, with a wide range of shops and restaurants, close proximity to urban centres, and a grid-shape. As car-centric suburbs began popping up around the edges of Kitchener-Waterloo in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Belmont Village maintained its distinctively self-contained and self-sufficient nature: residents had everything they could want just a short walk away.
The Heart of Belmont Village
Simply walking through the more residential segments of Belmont Village is enough to understand that the neighbourhood has its own unique vibe. But if you want to check out the most iconic segment of Belmont Village, head to the strip between the intersections of Belmont Avenue and Union Boulevard, and Belmont Ave. and Glasgow Street. The street is at its widest here, and very pedestrian and bicyclist-friendly.
You’ll find a wide range of shops and restaurants, ranging from quirky to cool to classy. This part of Belmont Village is also where some fantastic events take place every year: first of all, there’s the new Belmont Local Food Market, an honour-system farmers’ market. Car enthusiasts will love the ‘Cruise into Belmont Village’ event, which features classic cars. Christmas in the Village, on the other hand, has horse-wagon rides, great shopping opportunities, and the jolly man himself: Santa Claus.
All in all, there are over 70 businesses in Belmont Village – quite impressive for such a relatively small area. Included among Belmont Avenue’s businesses are health and fitness locations, a wide variety of unique restaurants (including Vegan, Thai, and Indian fare), cafés, spas, fashion hotspots, specialty shops, and so much more.
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Hopefully we’ve established that Belmont Village is a very interesting and active area – but now the question is, is Belmont Village a good place to call home? For many people, the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ Belmont Village might appeal to one of the many employees of Downtown Kitchener’s thriving Innovation District (the Tannery, Communitech, Google, and so forth).
Indeed, Belmont Village’s location makes it pretty ideal for people working in Uptown, Downtown, the hospitals, the universities… and when you factor in the excellent transit connections (more on that shortly), Belmont Village could work for just about anyone.
Belmont Village is perfect for people who want to live somewhere with ‘character.’ The homes here are far from cookie-cutter; on any given street, you’ll see homes of various shapes, sizes, and styles, with many detached homes and several apartment buildings.
Unifying the properties, however, is just how green Belmont Village is. Mature trees line the streets (as well as the popular nearby Iron Horse Trans Canada Trail); many homes feature large, verdant lawns; and it’s a very common site to see a neighbour tending to his or her garden.
That’s one more aspect in which Belmont Village excels: it has the feel of a tight-knit community. In a word, most Belmont Village residents are quite ‘neighbourly.’ It does have the feel of a small neighbourhood, and would thus be popular for people hoping to avoid the busier parts of Kitchener-Waterloo while still retaining access to high-quality shops and restaurants. Speaking of access…
In the Middle with Belmont Village
Let’s dive a little deeper into Belmont Village’s unique location, straddling both sides of the Kitchener/Waterloo border. Uptown Waterloo and Downtown Kitchener each have their own unique perks, and each area has shown remarkable growth and development over the past few years (with plenty more to come). Residents of Belmont Village are equidistant from (or close to) each of these diverse, bustling areas.
Belmont Village residents are truly spoiled for choice when it comes to public transit. There are numerous LRT stations in both Uptown and Downtown, as well as an even closer one near Grand River Hospital. Downtown Kitchener, particularly once the impressive/massive new King-Victoria Transit Hub is completed, will be the central location in the Waterloo Region for all forms of public transportation.
Conclusion
Belmont Village is a wonderful little gem of a neighbourhood, tucked right in the middle of Kitchener and Waterloo. It has all the perks of a small community, with the added bonus of close proximity to some of the more densely-populated parts of the Region. Plus, it continues to offer some of the best food in all of Kitchener-Waterloo.
If looking for one of the best neighbourhoods to buy a home in Kitchener-Waterloo, then you might want to check out Belmont Village: it’s unique, it’s friendly, it’s in a fantastic location, and much, much more. Please feel free to contact us: whether you’d like to know more, or you’d like one of our professional Realtors to help find the perfect home for you, we’re always happy to help.
Written by Will Kummer