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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 12 ,2 02 0 | 14 FRESH CUT STEWING BEEF Reg. $6.99 lb. $5.49 lb. All our manufactured products are M.S.G., Gluten & Lactose free! Proud supporters of our local farm families for over 30 years! Need home delivery? See our products onMrsGrocery.com Only th e Best fr om our Fam ily to Your s SToRE MadE STUFFED ROLLED RIBS Reg. $5.49 lb. $4.49 lb. March 9 - March 14, 2020 Store Made PICKLED CORNED BEEF BRISKET Reg. $6.49 lb.$5.99 lb. Store Made "HEAT AND SERVE" BEEF MEAT PIES Reg. $8.99 2/pkg$7.99 2/pkg BEEF POT ROAST Reg. $6.99 lb.$6.49 lb. CABBAGE ROLLS 16/Tray Reg. $5.75 lb.$5.25 lb. CABBAGE ROLLS 4/pkg Reg. $6.25 lb.$5.75 lb. FRESH LEAN GROUND BEEF Reg. $4.49 lb.$3.99 lb. Store Made DELI SLICED ROAST TURKEY BREAST Reg. $9.99 lb.$8.99 lb. YUKoN GoLd POTATOES 10 lb bag Reg. $4.99 ea.$3.99 ea. St. Patrick's Day Specials TAKE NOTICE THAT on April 1st, 2020, at 7:00 p.m., in the Council chamber, 150 Frederick Street, Kitchener, the Council of The Regional Municipality of Waterloo intends to declare an easement, in the lands depicted below, described as Part Lot 11, German Company Tract Township of Waterloo; Part Lot 8, German Company Tract Township of Waterloo as in 529245, Geographic Township of Waterloo, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, surplus to the Region's needs and agrees to convey the said easement interest to Waterloo North Hydro Inc. over the said lands. At a meeting to be held on March 24th, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. in the Council chamber, 150 Frederick Street, Kitchener, the Planning and Works Committee of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo will hear in person or by counsel, any person who claims that their lands will be prejudicially affected by the said by-law and who applied to be heard. Those desiring to be heard may make arrangements by phoning (519) 575-4420 or email regionalclerk@regionofwaterloo.ca. For further information, please contact Andy Gazzola, Solicitor, Property, Region of Waterloo, agazzola@regionofwaterloo.ca or call 519 575-4757 x3832. With the first two months of 2020 almost be- hind us, we've all had a chance to reflect on the many successes of last year and also, the opportu- nities to make changes and improvements. Like in 2018, this past year saw more transformation for uptown -- some of it good, some of it difficult -- all of it part of our evolution. I thought you would be interested in learning that uptown experienced a 97 per cent business reten- tion rate in 2019 -- some- thing to be proud of consid- ering we were still experi- encing construction set- backs. We had a record 32 new businesses open -- the most we've ever seen since the BIA began tracking this information back in 2014. That said, it is impor- tant to recognize that, due to various different rea- sons, we said goodbye to nine businesses last year and there are others who continue to struggle after the last few years of change and disruption. So, like in my last col- umn, I encourage you to make "choosing local" a priority and not wait until it's too late to make a visit to your favourite uptown haunt. UPTOWN VITALITY A few months ago, I men- tioned that I planned to pro- vide highlights from the in- augural Uptown Vitality Re- port in some of my opinion pieces. This month I'd like to shine a light on develop- ment -- present and future. As a reminder, the Up- town Vitality Report (can be found on the BIA web- site) was created to help better understand how Up- town is growing and evolv- ing -- especially around economic impact, retail trends, office trends, con- sumer spending potential and business attraction op- portunities. Uptown Waterloo con- tinues to experience high quality, urban intensifica- tion projects such as Circa 1877 at 181 King St. S., the Barrelyards, 128 King N. and 155 Caroline St. Over the next year, these new de- velopments will add more than 1,300 new residents to our core. As well as being a source of new housing, these developments also provide spaces for talent, offices, retail businesses, amenities and also in- crease transit ridership. It's exciting to think about how Uptown will evolve as these projects progress. Our municipalities have also made large in- vestments in accessible public spaces in Uptown such as the Waterloo Pub- lic Square, Waterloo Park and King Street North Streetscape. Construction is starting soon on the much-anticipated Water- loo Memorial Recreation Complex expansion that includes a new 16,000- square-foot "civic front" that comes with an activity court/gymnasium, addi- tional lobby space, change rooms, inclusive wash- rooms, office space, café and outdoor patio. The en- larged development will al- so incorporate an addition- al 28,000 square feet for a new Community Pavilion. The total project value is about $30 million. Tracy Van Kalsbeek is executive director of the UpTown Waterloo Busi- ness Improvement Area. 'EXCITING' TIMES AHEAD FOR UPTOWN WITH CONSTRUCTION OUT OF THE WAY OPINION UPTOWN SEES A RECORD-SETTING 32 NEW BUSINESSES OPEN IN 2019, WRITES TRACY VAN KALSBEEK TRACY VAN KALSBEEK Column