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As a part of a new series, I will be providing a market snapshot of the numerous tourism districts located within the Niagara Region. Each district offers a variety of tourist, commercial and hospitality properties.
Downtown St. Catharines has made many strides over the past few years to establish itself as a tourist destination. The development of the wine route and the addition of both the Meridian Centre and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre are new drivers hoping to establish the city as a tourist destination.
Downtown is defined by Welland Ave to the North, Niagara Street to the East, the Burgoyne Bridge to the West and the 406 to the South. Downtown’s main arteries include St. Paul St., James St., King St., Church St., Queen St. and Ontario St. Downtown attractions include festivals, retail shops, sports and culture venues and wine and culinary properties.
The History of Downtown St. Catharines
St. Catharines downtown area was originally established as a storehouse for goods as it sat on a crossing of an Iroquois trail. In fact, those trails are what formed the downtown streets layout seen today. The area took off economically when the Welland Canal was established behind St. Paul Street.
At one point downtown St. Catharines was a recognized Health Spa resort destination. Hotels, including the Springbank, the Welland House and the Stephenson House built this reputation with the suggested healing powers of mineral water.
Montebello Park, which is now home to many tourist driven festivals, was designed and laid out in 1887. The landscape architect was F.L. Olmsted, whose portfolio also includes Central Park.
Tourist Attractions
Downtown’s signature tourist attraction is the Niagara Wine Festival, which happens each September, mainly in Montebello Park. Other festivals like SCENE, RibFest and In the Soil also draw tourists throughout the year.
The Meridian Centre, entering it’s second year, hopes to continue to grow its tourist draw. This year's lineup sees figure skating, Blue Rodeo, a new basketball team and the women’s world hockey championship alongside the regular Niagara Ice Dogs games. The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre set to open in October, has also announced a jam packed lineup that should help to draw in tourists.
Last June, downtown St. Catharines officially joined the wine route. This now puts downtown in the centre of the route between Twenty Valley and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Using wine route signage, downtown hopes to attract wine tourists to its restaurants.
Commercial Outlets
Downtown continues to grow its retail and culinary landscape with a number of new businesses opening each month. Throughout the summer a number of retail stores and restaurants have joined the landscape including; So Jollof, Marble Slab Creamery and Mindbom Records. Showtime Comedy & Entertainment, N'ata Cosa Ristorante Pizzeria and Asain Buffet are set to open later this month.
There are no hotel properties in downtown St. Catharines, historically the area has had a number of hotels including the Welland House, the Russell Hotel, the Lincoln Hotel and of course the Leonard. The Leonard was the last of the remaining hotels but has now been redeveloped into the Carlisle Suites.
Connect with a Niagara real estate appraiser today to have your tourism and hospitality property appraised.
