Just shy of two years since the closure of its initial location, Roswell Rehearsals has reopened its doors to local bands and musicians.
Anita and Trevor Johnson, the owners of Roswell’s, took over the rental of a space at 700 Progress Avenue on October 1, just a few weeks before they were set to hit two years since closing the first iteration of Roswell’s Rehearsals.
Since then, the Johnsons have been relentless in trying to find a different home for the rehearsal centre, something they felt would be sorely lacking in the music community without Roswell’s existing.
Navigating zoning laws and landlords unsure about hosting a music business have proven to make the search more complicated than they ever would have expected, and they’ve actually found themselves coming full circle as a result of an extensive search.
“The two years, searching for a space has really shown us that there aren’t a lot of spaces in the city that are usable for this kind of thing,” Anita Johnson said.
“We’ve actually ended up in the same building that we were in before… two of the big challenges were zoning and the attitude of some landlords and sort of the neighbours… just having a difficulty finding spaces where it would get on with the neighbors.”
She said ending up essentially back where they were two years ago – and not for a lack of trying to find a new, suitable space over the last two years – showcases just how difficult the zoning bylaws make it to find a home for a business like Roswell’s.
While the pair became excited to hear that they might fall under the city’s rezoning of creativity centres, they found that had them seeking out commercial spaces that weren’t a fit due to price and the kinds of businesses they’d become neighbours to.
With some guidance from the Kingston Music Office, they also looked at potentially exploring exemptions at certain buildings, but it didn’t go very far and could have been an expensive route to follow.
Anita Johnson says she feels the entire process could be made easier by having flexibility on a case by case basis.
“I think definitely considering it more in industrial areas,” Johnson said.
“There are a couple that do allow it, but there aren’t very many of them… Really looking at what the needs and the situation is realistically.”
Finally though Roswell’s Rehearsals is officially back in business, and last week the first sets of bands were welcomed into the two practice rooms currently offered within the space.
The Johnsons are relieved to see the space return, and say that at many times throughout the last two years they’ve felt like in spite of their efforts, reviving Roswell’s just wasn’t going to work out.
Trevor Johnson said there’s been more than a few occasions since 2022 when their hopes were dashed by a variety of factors.
“You get excited about a place, and the numbers work, the space works, and then there’s a landlord’s who’s not into it that kind of thing,” Johnson said.
“There’s some places that we looked at that it would have literally been hundreds of thousands to even open the doors.”
The rehearsal space is starting out with two rooms and will eventually take over more of the building, and they’re currently crowd funding to try to build more usable rooms.
