The headline from the CTV News story was "Soon Edmontonian won't have to travel to Paris to enjoy the Louvre" Nailed it.

I assume (but could be mistaken), that if this specific site was a wetland or environmental reserve, the province would have claimed it so that development of any kind could not proceed.

Did they ever fill that commercial space?

So how would construction timelines look like for a project like this that utilizes shipping containers versus a traditional build? I assume shorter, but have no idea to be honest.

You are correct

This project is so cool. Can't wait.

I wish I shared their optimism about construction costs come January 2022

Don't understand this at all. Every time I have been in there on an Oilers game night, every table is packed with drunk people ready to lose some money.

Knowing very little about the casino business... How was the old Baccarat Casino able to operate for so many years, but Grand Villa, with the benefit of major sporting/entertainment events and some additional hotel/residents next door, cannot make it work?

I have seen 4-5 similar projects across the City...all at the exact same stage of construction with Giusti North construction banners. Am I correct to assume they were awarded multiple supportive housing projects across the City and are just building the same unit in all the different locations?

Not sure I understand the root of this comment. I was not suggesting changing the goals of Blatchford, merely making an observation that if the execution could be done in a quicker fashion, the entire City would benefit from it. This is the City's land. They can set whatever policy and...

To play devil's advocate... The purpose of getting is done quickly is 1) Extract the value out of the raw land (plus profit of development) back into the City's pocket 2) Accelerate creating a massive property tax base that will pay large amounts of taxes to the City (in perpetuity) without...

Curious to see what the extents of this green belt you are proposing could look like? I strongly agree with your 2nd point. There are too many options in the market - you can't MAKE someone buy in Blatchford or any other community. If you create a place that people actually want to be, and...

Am I missing something here? I am no expert is architecture, but from the images in the video, these appear to be the kind of building designs that get absolutely crushed on this forum.

There were already doing exterior renovations on the south side of the building when I drove by last week, so I have to assume the rest of the building is getting the same treatment

Not sure I understand what you are insinuating with that comment?

Sorry if this was already discussed earlier in the thread, but did Pagnotta end up buying the entire project to protect themselves from being able to recoup what they were owed from the original developer?

Go time

I would say that based on the direction to date on Exhibition Lands & Rossdale, there is a majority of council that believes that in hindsight the Blatchford project has not been executed in a way that is most favorable to the City, and they do not believe going down the same route for these...

I think more important than who gets in as mayor is the fact that the mayor is 1 vote of 13. That person will not have a magic wand that allows them to do whatever they want with this, or any other City owned project.