>-Waterloo has seen serious decline since the death of RIM

>-Not sure it will ever come back, most people including myself left years ago.

I think you overestimate Waterloo's decline just a tad, perhaps your perception being coloured by leaving it. I assure you, it's thriving and in many ways better than the early 2000s when I went to UW. Including the condo boom you mention, though I'm puzzled why you think this somehow hurts walkability.

But yes, Lester street is unrecognizable and every single house I lived in between 2002 and 2007 is gone.