page_title: Downtown St. Catharines
section_title: Revitalization
hierarchical_section_title: Downtown St. Catharines / Revitalization
caption_attribution_description: English: Old Canada Hair Cloth in Downtown St. Catharines.
context_page_description: The downtown core of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada is defined by the city as the area between Highway 406 on the west and south, Geneva Street on the east until it reaches St. Paul Street then Niagara Street north until it meets Welland Avenue.
  It an historical area of the city, as well as a significant cultural and entertainment destination, playing host to several bars and restaurants along St. Paul and James Streets, and the popular Niagara Grape & Wine Festival and Grand Parade in September. Various retail and commercial businesses, are found throughout the core, as well as government, financial and law offices. Since 2015, the neighbourhood is home to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, a campus of Brock University.
context_section_description: Like many downtowns in North America, the area experienced significant decline as shopping malls and power centres in the suburbs took over as major shopping destinations. Citizens of St. Catharines often complained of the lack of parking and inconveniences associated with one-way streets in the core. Today, the downtown is experiencing a modest turnaround thanks to public and private investment in the areas surrounding St. Paul and James Streets, as well as the former Lower Level Parking Lot.
  On April 3, 2006, St. Catharines City Council voted in favour of returning two-way traffic to the downtown core, at an anticipated cost of $2 million. At the time, two-way traffic was promoted as one way of making the downtown streets safer, slowing down traffic and boosting business. By October 2009, most of the conversion work was completed. The addition of two-way traffic, especially to St. Paul Street, played a role in the Ontario Wine Council's decision to modify the Niagara Wine Route to pass through downtown St. Catharines in 2014.
  On June 16, 2006 the Province of Ontario released a Growth Plan under the Places to Grow Act, 2005, of which was born the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe in 2017.  In the plan, Downtown St. Catharines is identified as one of 22 Urban Growth Centres for the province, given a growth target of 150 residents and jobs combined per hectare by 2031.
  Since the Places to Grown Act, municipal and regional governments have invested heavily in infrastructure projects in the downtown core. A detailed inspection and analysis of the Burgoyne Bridge in 2010 revealed the need for a new span over Twelve Mile Creek. Construction on the new signature bridge, which features a steel truss-arch, began in 2014 with an estimated budget of $91.35 million, and was completed in 2016. In the nearby Lower Level Parking Lot, construction began in 2013 on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, a new campus of Brock University. Completed in 2015, the school operates alongside the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, a municipal cultural project, built on adjacent lands. The facilities house 500 full-time students in new buildings along St. Paul Street and the historic Canada Hair Cloth building.
  The grand opening of the city's new spectator arena, the Meridian Centre, took place on October 21, 2014. The 5,300 seat arena was built by the municipality to house the Niagara IceDogs ice hockey team of the Ontario Hockey League. The venue also plays host to numerous events throughout the year such as sporting events, concerts, trade shows and conferences.
caption: Canada Hair Cloth building, before conversion for university use
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SX130 IS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "iPhoto 9.5.1", "Image DateTime": "2011:10:09 14:59:13", "Image ExifOffset": "248", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "9/2", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:10:09 14:59:13", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:10:09 14:59:13", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "319/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "139/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "139/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "14251/1000", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1000000/61", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1000000/61", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}