That the 2013 Downtown Annual Report, entitled “The Start of Awesome…a look back at Downtown Kitchener in 2013”. In 2012, the City of Kitchener and the Downtown Kitchener BIA jointly developed and adopted the Downtown Kitchener Action Plan 2012-2016. This action plan, a collaborative venture, is intended to guide the work and effort of both organizations in enhancing Downtown Kitchener. The plan contains four core areas of focus and a series of strategic imperatives. The areas of focus include: 1. An Amazing King Street Experience 2. New Urban Neighbourhoods 3. An Innovation District 4. Foster a Collaborative Community

1. THE STARTOF
AWESOME...a look back at Downtown Kitchener in 2013.

2. 2
“It’s about creating a culture of entrepreneurship
downtown,” Michael Litt
Co-founder of Vidyard and Downtown resident, Michael Litt isn’t just changing the face of Downtown, he’s changing
the face of video marketing worldwide. From his office in the Simpson Block, Michael’s company was voted one of the
top startups in Canada in 2013. Together with his brother Stephen, they’ve created the informal ‘Green House’
– a tech incubator on Oak Street.

3. 3
STARTUPS + ART = AWESOME
In 2012, we introduced you to some of the amazing people, places and initiatives that are changing Downtown Kitchener.
If we had to describe 2013 in just two words, it would be STARTUPS and ART. This year we’re proud to share a whole new
group of change-makers. From entrepreneurs to innovators, from creative artists to sandwich artists, these are just some
of the awesome people making awesome things happen right here. But what really excites us? The growing number of
fusions between these areas – creative collisions between art, technology and cuisine.
Like any great new artwork or startup, greatness doesn’t happen overnight. Through challenges and success, prototyping
and retooling, innovation and collaboration, they become great! Downtown Kitchener is no different. We see it happening.
Together, our community is building the Downtown of the future. Here and now.
Let us show you what we’re talking about.
For the full interactive version, complete with videos, visit downtownkitchener.ca
On The Cover: Aimee & Martin Kovac Artisan Zone made their debut on King Street. This hub of creative energy
features the work of Canadian artists as well as local artisans, a full photography studio and a learning space for
upcoming classes and workshops. The stunningly revitalized interior is a work of art all its own.
Cover Image © 2013 Waterloo Region Record, Ontario Canada

4. 4
2013 FOODIE TREND
The art of a great sammie
If there was one food trend that stuck out for us in 2013, it has got to be the rise of the sandwich! And these aren’t the
everyday brown bag surprises you remember from grade school. We’re talking handcrafted, artisan creations! Who knew
piling loads of hickory sticks inside a grilled cheese sandwich, or wrapping a wrap without a wrap, would make jaws drop?
Helping to lead the trend is Bread Baron who believes the art of a good sandwich means locally sourced ingredients and
a seasonal menu that’s always got a new combination of ingredients for you to try. Check them out at the Kitchener
Market Saturdays from 7am-2pm, or Tuesday to Friday 8am-3pm.

5. Go International! The BBQ Pork Vietnamese Sub from
Banh Mi Givral Deli
The Carved Roast Beef Sandwich from Williams
– fresh and filling
The kickin’ Chili Lime Chicken Wrap
with Mediterranean chick pea salad from Bistro Nash
The Chicken Greek at Zoup! Pairs perfectly
with a cup of Soup – bad rhyme, we know
Quick Sandwiches’ Montreal Smoked Meat
is a Downtown favourite – seriously huge!
Kava Bean’s Montreal Smoked Meat Reuben heated
with sauerkraut and Kettle Chips
Big Daddy Cheese – the ‘DUDE’ sammie abides!
Macaroni & Cheese, PLUS BACON, on a sandwich!
The Yeti Café’s Pregnant Sasquatch with Jazcon
in a collard wrap. It’s gluten free goodness
The Sticky Frenchman (brie and carmelized apple)
at Cheeses Murphy doesn’t disappoint

6. 6
2013 ART TRENDS
Arts scene comes to life in a big way
This amazing new mural installation on Marisol Restaurant (at the corner of Halls Lane and Ontario Street) was handpainted by
Chilean muralist collective, Alapinta, with support from Neruda Arts.

7. 1,076people
work Downtown in the fields
of innovation.
7,670people
attended events hosted
by neighbourhood groups.
of survey respondents attended
an arts based festival.
of survey respondents attended
a performance at Centre In The Square,
Registry Theatre or Conrad Centre.
responded yes, new activity
downtown has made
downtown safer.
1,016people
attended Yoga in The Park.
Some stats of 2013
7
60% 78.4%47%

8. 8
Look what’s
happening
Downtown
Technology Startups
Food Startups
Arts and Culture
Collaborative Work Spaces
Map is for illustrative purposes
only - not all businesses are
represented

9. 9

10. 10
AREA OF FOCUS #1 An amazing King Street Experience
“We’re kick-starting a live music scene,” Cory & Curt Crossman
2013 brought the Start of Awesome…AT NIGHT! After a few years of experimenting with night time programming, the
community embraced it full force last year. ‘Between the Ears’ Night Art Market kicked off the summer season and Dragonette
turned Canada Day into a King Street Dance Party! Big Sugar brought the house down at the TD Kitchener Blues Festival,
Treble Charger rocked KOI Music Festival’s 4th year opening night (seen here) and NIGHTSHIFT brought the whole
community Downtown for one night of art under the stars.

11. King Street Art Market at Night, filled the streets with art and music
Bike racks imitate art in Downtown Kitchener!
Have you locked your bicycle up to one of these
colourful pieces yet?
2013’s Artist-in-Residence Susan Coolen created
the Litter-Arti Project – turning trash into beauty.
Gillian and Ken enjoyed a dance on King Street during
August’s Art Market “High School Dance Party”
THEMUSEUM’s Studio 54 party rocked a full house
Another first! Downtown’s Food Truck Mini Festival had an
overwhelming response from the community - stay tuned
for 2014 food truck events!
Big Sugar’s headline show drew potentially the biggest crowd EVER to Civic Square.

12. 12
AREA OF FOCUS #2 New Urban Neighbourhoods
“I try to live my entire life downtown,”Stacey Tozer
When we set out on the search for our ideal Downtownee, we were thrilled to meet Stacey. She lives in an amazing
downtown apartment, works at tech startup, MappedIn, a few blocks away in the newly revitalized 305 King building and
does her grocery shopping at the Kitchener Market. Having recently moved back from Seattle, she was looking for that
true urban experience that you can’t find just anywhere. She loves not needing to have a car, being able to find
everything she needs downtown… and being a true downtownee, that includes the importance of having amazing
coffee shops just around the corner.

13. The KPLs Pico-Path adds some colour to the construction.
Everyone wore white to the first ever Colour Me Rad…so
we painted them!
Community Access Bike Share launched five Downtown
Stations, 10-12 new stations to come to KW in 2014.
Helena at StylFrugal leads the Ontario St. renaissance with a blend of Art, Fashion and Big-city energy.
The Duke Street parking garage was begging for a little
colour – so we painted it! Now it’s a work of art.
Yoga in the Park grew exponentially this year!
Over 100 yogis every Wednesday– all summer!
Bandaloop impressed the crowd at Centre In The Square
opening party.
Start up some neighbourhood fun! Hohner Avenue had
their first ever Porch Party!

14. 14
AREA OF FOCUS #3 Innovation District
“We’re on the verge of
becoming a major startup community,” Stephen Lake, Thalmic Labs
Startup culture and entrepreneurship is the life blood of innovation. 2013 was the year when dozens of startups began shifting
the very fabric of Downtown. As Stephen Lake suggests, the startup community is taking root. If we can cement a culture, and
keep the momentum going, we could be at the tipping point to becoming an even larger startup community.

15. Catherine and Tom’s GoGoMart is a great addition to
the Innovation District! Fresh salads, coffee and more!
Jacqui, Gavin, Kevin, Jeromie, and Alex at Auvik, a tech
startup located in Workplace One at 51 Breithaupt
Workplace One is home to over 150 people working for
tech startups… and some not-so-startups
The Overlap Crew! Hanging out at their shared
space in 305 King
A great Christmas card from one of DTK’s newest
residents at 305 King Street: Mapped In
In 2013, local startup TribeHR was acquired by Netsuite.
Don’t worry, they still call Downtown homebase
Canadian Tech Startup of the Year, the Thalmic Labs
team continues to grow in their new space on Charles St.
Another startup to watch in 2014! The team at Vidyard with V-bot in their Simpson Block office

16. 16
AREA OF FOCUS #4 Building a Collaborative Community
“Our project truly embodies and reflects the authenticity
and collaborative spirit of the community in which we live,”
Kim Ho and Chris Mosiadz, Artists
Kim and Chris’ “Let’s Connect” installation for NightShift featured over 50,000 business cards, took 300+ hours to stitch together and
15 hours to install, and was enjoyed by thousands. By making room for as many sub-cultures as possible, event organizers Alternatives
Journal were overwhelmed by the amount of community support NightShift received.
Volunteer crew: Alex Bencz, Lucy Ho, Brooks Way, Shawn Carnahan, Cristina Opris, Deborah Seabrook, Cristina Balaita, Aditya Bali,
Calvin Lough, Erick Cardenas-Mendez, Beatrice Law, PJ Mukherjee and City of Kitchener Scissor-Lift Operator, Scott Brown!

17. CityAge brought together local and global innovation
leaders to discuss the urbanization of cities. Co-founder
Miro explores the Reality Cave
The Brush Off, live painting competition, at THEMUSEUM was a sold out success!Over 200 Downtownees took part in the “Bike it
You’ll Like it” lunchtime ride to the Kitchener Market
Clipped Outdoors hosts weekly Friday night bike socials

18. King Street:
Physical Experience
8.3Indicators: storefront vacancies,
safety perceptions, facade
enhancements, new signs, new
shops and restaurants, average
asking retail lease rate, etc.
King Street:
Social Experience
6.2o
Indicators: participation in niche
social events, participation in fitness
activities, participation in BIA Member
Networking, E-vents newsletter
subscriptions, Twitter followers, cafés/
restaurants with WiFi, etc.
King Street:
People Activity
6.7Indicators: Festival attendance,
Saturday Market attendance,
pedestrian traffic, hotel occupancy,
short-term parking demand,
outdoor patios, etc.
How did we do in 2013?
18 out
of 10
Revised
2012 - 7.2*
out
of 10
Revised
2012 - 6.4*
out
of 10
Revised
2012 - 6.9*

19. New Urban
Neighbourhoods
7.4Indicators: population increase,
Saturday Market attendance,
number of planned new residential
units, residential sales, apartment
vacancy and lease rates, community
centre participation, etc.
Innovation
District
7.4Indicators: Downtown employment
in innovation jobs, innovation/tech
firms moving into downtown office
space, student population, office
vacancy rate in the District, asking
lease rates in the District, etc.
Collaborative
Community
7.0Indicators: number of collaborative
commercial spaces, KPL program
attendance, KWAG program
attendance, Marketplace attendance/
rentals, awareness of major downtown
projects, web hits on specific pages,
BIA Member Networking attendance
out
of 10
Revised
2012 - 7.2*
out
of 10
Revised
2012 - 7.4*
out
of 10
Revised
2012 - 6.4*
*2012 scores revised due to new data and indicators
19

20. 20
Canada Day 2013. Art up above
“This is crazy! Contagious energy,“ overheard on King St
The 2nd annual Downtown Kitchener Canada Day Concert saw an even bigger turnout and some seriously incredible
fireworks above City Hall! Nova Scotia’s The Stanfields got the crowd fired up, and then everyone danced the night away
with Toronto’s Juno Award winning Dragonette. Join us in 2014 for an even bigger party to celebrate Canada’s birthday!

22. • Amazing new restaurants
• Bike FixIT stations
• More colourful bike racks
• CAFKA 14
• Open Ears Sound and Music Festival
• The world’s first ever ROBOTWALK- June 14,2014
• Nerdfest
• Startup Landing Pad Grant Program
• More BikeShare locations
• Amazing food festivals
• Summer Lights festival – June 21, 2014
• Weekly food trucks return
• NightShift November 1, 2014
• 12 days of #KWAWESOME
What to expect in 2014
22

23. • Huge live music acts
• More patios
• Google grows into new space at the Breithaupt Block
• The Walper’s chef Terry rocks Top Chef on the FoodNetwork
• New community funding grants
• The Science of Sexuality at THEMUSEUM
• The KW Comedy Festival expands to Downtown
• 305 King comes to life
• KOI Music Festival, Bikefest & Art Markets – bigger and better
• Block parties
• Art battles
• The rise of 1 Victoria, Victoria Commons and the City Centre condos (literally out of the ground)
• A unique new way to support local events
...and the start of LRT construction
23

24. ”I want to capture Downtown’s evolution
and show people what it means to me,”
Matt Smith
24

25. Meet Matt Smith,
local photographer
DTK: What brings you to KW, or have you always been local?
MS: I was born in Kitchener and grew up in the Kingsdale
neighbourhood.
DTK: What made you get interested in photography?
MS: I believe that photography plays a role in everyone’s life,
whether they’re the ones taking the photos, posing for photos,
enjoying the memories they hold, or admiring them as works of
art. Personally, I was really inspired by the infinite possibilities and
the opportunity to express my perspective through photographs.
DTK: We love your work! But we’re curious, why do you choose Downtown as a subject?
MS: Thank you!! Downtown is really the heart of the city and it’s been amazing to watch it grow
and evolve over the past few years. I want to capture some of that evolution and really show
people what Downtown means to me and maybe what it can mean for them too.
DTK: You’ve got a very cool project you’re working on for 2014, can you tell us about it?
MS: Absolutely! For this year I’ve decided to capture 1000 images of Kitchener with the
primary focus being on the Downtown… a comprehensive set of photos that really says
“this is Kitchener.”
DTK: Anything the community can do to help make your project a success?
MS: I would love to have the community check out the project at kitchener1000.tumblr.com
and tell me what you think!
DTK: Any hidden gems in DT that you think people ought to know about?
MS: I’m a bit of a movie buff so I often find myself at Far Out Flicks on Queen Street.
Definitely worth checking out for your next movie night!
Find out more about Matt by following along with his Downtown photography
adventures at @mattskw.
Read more about Matt, his work and his upcoming projects online: downtownkitchener.ca

26. Economic Development, City of Kitchener
200 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4G7
t: 519-741-2200 ext. 7065 e: cory.bluhm@kitchener.ca
www.kitchener.ca or www.downtownkitchener.ca
Downtown Kitchener BIA
29 King Street East - Unit B., Kitchener, Ontario N2G 2K4
t: 519-744-4921
www.downtownkitchener.ca
Back Cover: “Visionary” by Jennifer Gough This local artist calls Downtown home and looks for unique ways to connect with the community, most recently
with her installation at NightShift 2013 at the Walper Hotel. Jen is also represented at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea, New York City with an exhibition in October 2014.