Read More About Fairview Area in Kitchener
Fairview Area in Kitchener
Greetings! Welcome to the WRX Property Group website and blog. Over the past several months, we’ve made our way through the neighbourhoods of Kitchener-Waterloo, and now just about every one has a written overview.
Now, it’s time to look at the residential areas that pop up around Kitchener-Waterloo’s major attractions (and the attractions themselves). To start with, let’s take a look at the area around Fairview Park Mall, in central Kitchener. After a quick overview, we’ll explore what makes it a fantastic area to consider living or investing in.
See Homes for Sale in Fairview
A Mall to Rule Them All
There’s one thing to make note of right off the bat: Fairview Park Mall is the largest enclosed shopping mall in the entire Waterloo Region. With nearly 750,000 square feet of retail space available, it’s home to around 130 shops and restaurants. We’ll explore this all in greater detail shortly, but first, a comment on location.
The main section of Fairview Park Mall is a massive, contiguous, enclosed building right between Fairway Road South and Kingsway Drive. There is even more to enjoy, however, directly across the street, south of Fairway. A second large complex stands here, and it is home to Cineplex Cinemas Kitchener (with VIP service), Indigo’s new Kitchener location, Party City, and more to come. Something of a promenade leads from Fairview Park Mall proper to this smaller section to the south.
What’s Great about This Area
When it comes to buying a home in an area, there are two perspectives to consider: the perspective of an investor, and the perspective of an inhabitant (should that be the case). Not everyone buys a home with intent to live there, and with multiple post-secondary institutions and a diverse, growing economy, Kitchener is indeed a popular place for investment properties.
We’ll be considering both sides of the coin, but it’s worth stating that it is, after all, two sides to the same coin. People living in their new home are still investing, and investors will likely want a property that is attractive to renters. Let’s start with a look at what makes the area around Fairview Park Mall a great place to live.
Just about Everything You Need, Nearby
Along the vague ‘U’ shape formed by Weber Street East, Fairway Road South, and Courtland Avenue East is one of the longest and most diverse commercial strips in all of Kitchener.
This circuit includes numerous speciality shops (Michaels and Golf Town, for example); chain stores like Dollarama; multiple grocery options (particularly, Food Basics, Zehrs, and the only Farm boy in Kitchener-Waterloo); medical, dental, and pharmaceutical needs (including two Shoppers Drug Marts); numerous fast food establishments and restaurants; and so much more. There are even three Starbucks within five minutes of each other!
Beyond this, there is also a great mix of other beneficial attributes to the Fairview area. There are on- and off-ramps to the Conestoga Parkway here. Comprising Highway 7, Highway 8, and Highway 85, the Conestoga Parkway is one of the Tri-Cities most vital arteries, and with local access, residents of this area can quickly and easily get south to Cambridge and Highway 401 (which runs from Windsor, past Toronto, all the way to the Quebec border), on to western Kitchener, or north to Waterloo.
Speaking of routes north to Waterloo, the Fairview area is also incredible when it comes to public transit. Numerous bus routes run out of the Fairway Terminal beside Fairview Park Mall, and the Fairway Station here will serve as the southern terminus of the LRT (until the Cambridge LRT is up and running, years in the future). Not only is this an easy area to drive around to a variety of shops and restaurants, it’s also quite easy to get to other parts of the Waterloo Region – whether via the Conestoga Parkway, or with public transit.
All of this goes to say two things: first of all, living in any of the nearby neighbourhoods is incredibly convenient. Walking, biking, or taking public transit to the shops is simple, or it’s a very quick drive to a variety of options. Whether you live in Kingsdale, Rockway, the Country Hills area, or any of the other nearby neighbourhoods: shopping, fine dining, going to see a movie, and getting around is simple.
For many people, having close, local access to shopping is an important factor in deciding where to live. And the commercial importance of the overall Fairview is not getting any less significant; indeed, the area is continuing to develop and grow, and as we’ll see when we explore the coming Grand Market District, the Fairview area is poised to become one of the most important parts of Kitchener.
Values on the Rise
This speaks to the second consideration when it comes to real estate in the area: the Fairview area is likely to always be in high demand, and properties here are a sound investment. It’s likely that the broader Fairview area will become more densely populated in the years to come, conceivably leading to a general increase in property values here, and for the reasons outlined previously, it will always be an attractive area to settle in.
Investing in properties close to commercial areas means you can count on interest – this is not an area removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. That said, it’s also not an area without its share of quiet, suburban, residential streets. Indeed, following Wilson Avenue north past its intersection with Fairway shows both sides of the Fairview area: the bustling commercial hub, and the quiet residential zone, tucked away. And that’s not even mentioning the incredibly tucked away Hidden Valley, also in the broader Fairview area!
Conclusion
When you’re deciding where to live, it’s wise to have your checklist of wants and needs. It just so happens that the Fairview area check quite a few boxes – it’s got shopping, it’s got transit, it’s got schools, it’s got great growth potential… and the list goes on!
If you’re investing in an area – whether it’s purely for profit, or also as a place to call home – you want to see that it’s got a lot going for it in the present, but also that it’s not going to fade away in the future. And the Fairview area is in no danger of that. With initiatives like the Grand Market District on the horizon, as well as the growth promised by the LRT running through here, the Fairview area is poised to remain an important part of the city.
If you’d like to know more, or you’re interested in buying a home in the Fairview area, please feel free to contact us! We love Kitchener, and we’re keen to share our enthusiasm with you!
Written by Will Kummer