IanO said:
Just like the last time where the guys from Montreal and Toronto were sold on our market and opportunity and then shocked when almost nothing had deposits and any firm sales. They packed up and went back home rather quickly; it was almost comical.
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You often say follow the money ... in this case we don't know if there is any money.
 
_Citizen_Dane_ said:
Yeah, they're using one of the old pictures. @archited posted one of the more up-to-date elevations. As told to us at the HRRP, including the south facade in the revisions was the only concession Limak would give to the City — they have no intention of trying to salvage anything else:
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... because Limak is such a large and reputable company the city was afraid they would move to ??? if the city wanted more concessions ... because this is on the only remaining lot in the area to develop??

Nope and nope. The city is being played here and this all could end badly.
 
David A said:
... because Limak is such a large and reputable company the city was afraid they would move to ??? if the city wanted more concessions ... because this is on the only remaining lot in the area to develop??

Nope and nope. The city is being played here and this all could end badly.
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Extracting as much as you possibly can from developers isn't a good way to entice new development or build affordable cities.

The tenuous business case for new construction downtown is enough of a deterrent.
 
... yet a lot of new development and construction has actually happened over the last decade downtown and after a COVID lull, it seems to be picking up again.

I feel there is an entrenched group in our business establishment that doesn't have much confidence in our city. I think the problem is too often we sell ourselves short.

I am with the former mayor who said no more crap. It can be a boom bust cycle here, but the biggest mistake is letting the desperation of the bust lead to all sorts of crap being built when things recover.

A well thought out and developed city will entice people and can be affordable.
 
Avenuer said:
What are the odds when this building gets put up for sale now with an approved rezoning in place? 4 months? 6 months? 1 year? Limak does not build things.
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With a 5 year sunset clause on this zoning, with specific requirements in place in terms of maintaining the west and south facades, would another developer want to take this on unless it was relatively ready to proceed in the not too distant future?

What is the benefit for another developer to buy this now and do nothing? Is it that the value of the land would go up thereby increasing their asset? Would the value change in 5 years once the zoning reverts back?

And if there was a developer wanting to purchase this if it became for sale, and then proceed with building, is that not a win for everyone?
 
EdmTrekker said:
Perhaps behind the scenes that was the plan and without Katz having to life a finger...
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It's an intriguing theory and actually makes a lot of sense to me. There is potential controversy and risk here at the initial stages that perhaps Katz did not want to get bogged down with.

So, if the project gets approved and it goes smoothly, Katz comes in and takes over. Having a bigger company and more resources proceed with this would make more sense plus it is right next to his big development.
 
edmontonjournal.com

Edmonton historic board urges city keep heritage in mind as older buildings demolished

Edmonton's Historical Board worries the city may not be taking heritage seriously enough.
edmontonjournal.com edmontonjournal.com

"We often find that one of the chief obstacles to our work and an ongoing concern is the approach of the overall administration … there is a bit of a concern about the culture that there is not a value appreciation — or frankly as we saw with the proposed demolition of a municipal historic resource — that there isn’t even an understanding of historic resources and the role that they play in our city.” - Dominic Schamuhn, Edmonton’s Historical Board Chair

Woof, city council and administration need to give their head a massive shake. I am very disappointed to read some of the lines in this article about how administration is an obstacle rather than a supporter of heritage, and that for the first time, more historic buildings are being demolished than added to the city's historic property inventory. Also, having Stantec speak to bringing life to a neglected area by tearing down the Horne and Pitfield building while downtown is filled with gravel parking lots that have gone undeveloped and maintained for decades is beyond disappointing.
 
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