![A man in a climbing harness climbs up an orange and red wall in a climbing gym](https://frequencynews-wpoffloadmedia.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/09231640/roya-ann-miller-G2QYE9czCEw-unsplash-683x1024.jpg)
Local climbing gym fights a developer and displacement
For the second time in as many years, Grand River Rocks, a climbing gym in Kitchener, Ontario, is fighting to stay in business due to urban development plans.
At the Kitchener City Council Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee meeting on Monday April 8, the owners of Grand River Rocks expressed concerns over a lease they signed without knowledge of redevelopment plans. Council has been asked by the developer, the Falco group, to approve the project that would see more than 1000 new residential units on Victoria Street North, and if that approval is granted, the gym would need to relocate.
The Kitchener city councillors questioned the gym’s decisions and proposed collaborating with developers. They deferred the decision to allow more time for debate.