The Civic Centre in downtown Kitchener is a small triangular neighbourhood bounded by King, Victoria and Lancaster. This locale is the seat of government for the City of Kitchener and Waterloo Region. Access to the GO and Via Rail is right across the street on Victoria. The expressway is a minute or two east and the LRT runs right through Civic Centre.

The downtown location provides plenty to see and do. There’s the Museum and Symphony, Centre in the Square, Victoria Park, nearby Rockway golf course and the Auditorium complex. And it’s your choice for bars, shopping and restaurants along King St.

There’s a good selection for groceries. There are 3 Zehrs,, the Farmers Market, a Sobeys and 2 Valu-marts to list just a few of them.

Schools are local and mostly walkable with the exception of St. Mary’s on Homer Watson. The top half of the neighbourhood attends public schools to the north, with the bottom portion feeding public schools to the south.

Detached housing dates from the early 1900s into the 1930’s. The vast majority are 2 storeys with 3 and 4 bedrooms. Garages are not a common feature, which is very typical for the downtown. Newer accommodations are condominium. The oldest buildings are upwards of 20 or 30 years old now. The Kaufman Lofts sits right on the north west corner. There are plenty of new projects everywhere you look, including one going up beside 85 Duke, which was finished just a few years back.

Much of the area around King, Weber and Frederick consists of high rise and low rise commercial space and government services. Several courts of law, Revenue Canada, the Region of Waterloo, Kitchener City Hall, Service Ontario, and a police station are all located here.

The Civic Centre neighbourhood is a great choice for anyone working downtown in government services or otherwise. It’s walkable with lots to see and do and has great public transit as well. The urban lifestyle is alive and well and good things are happening in the Civic Centre everywhere you look.