I've been hearing a lot of grumbling downtown about the NEW Devonian Gardens, and how it "just isn't the same" anymore.
Well, true, it definitely is not. But virtually all of the grumbling is coming from people who KNEW the old Gardens, so a direct comparison is automatically made.
If I disregard those memories, and view this new space in isolation... to me it is now a nice extension to the food court seating. A place to eat or meet with a little less bustle, while being surrounded by greenery, instead of people traffic and food vendors.
It no longer has the lush rainforest-y downtown oasis vibe it once did. I'll give you that. But I'm thankful we still have this, versus the 50 more retail outlets that it could have turned into.