I'm not sure if the demand being supposedly being mostly local is a good thing or not. The Alberta numbers probably includes a number of out of town buyers that I wouldn't consider local. Also, I don't feel we should stigmatize Ontario or BC buyers as laundering money, in reality most are...

Seems to be fairly good news here now for almost everyone, prices are going up steadily, but not too much Edmonton new homes activity ramps up amid strong demand for housing...

Southgate is a very nice mall, but I have some big issues with some of the layout. I go there occasionally mainly to go to London Drugs, but it is so hard to get in and out quickly of compared to the old stand alone store.

Exactly back alleys and streets where people are vulnerable to bad weather and crime are not better than mental health institutions, but perhaps it was convenient at the time for governments to unload the responsibility and significant costs, using the argument of the institutions being inhumane...

Yes, it is different from Calgary because of the distance from downtown. Rossdale is small, but really so little nearby in a walkable distance, so there is actually an existing enclave that could support more. However, much of what would be developed would probably also need to be focused on...

A nice and accurate summary. Yes, the CBD is actually doing fairly well as opposed to 10 or 15 years ago, which some people forget, or those who have come here more recently may not realize. The Warehouse District may be the next focus of where to improve and is already with some projects...

I've been around here long enough to remember a few decades ago when conversion from rental to condo was quite the industry here for a number of years, so it can happen. And I can see some of those rental buildings being built now are being made with that in mind as a future possibility...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-prepares-for-tax-hike-and-major-rise-in-transit-levy-fares-1.7320134 Yes, it is not just us which is good to keep in mind and in context. But this will have to be addressed somehow because you can not have a functional city our size without public...

I'm really not a fan of the dog in the manger approach to leaving things sit for such a long time, so if they don't have the capacity to do it I hope someone else who does buys it instead then.

I agree more mid rise development in the area would certainly help too. However, I feel part of the problem is we are waiting somehow for all these pieces to somehow miraculously all come together at once which may never happen, rather than realizing revitalizing an area is not an all or...

Not sure if this is related, but weren't there a couple of other projects called The Hive that did not go ahead elsewhere?

Being a government city, I feel we sometimes look to government to do too much. Some projects like the Power Plant, Football Stadium and RAM redevelopment could be private sector initiatives. If anything I feel our cautious slow moving governments and the city's tight finances are holding...

Yes, the JW is really the only new hotel major downtown here in many decades. Everything else here is from the early 1980's or even older. IMO, The Peaks could have been a great hotel, but unfortunately that didn't happen. However, there are still several other buildings around in decent...

There is already a parking area just north of the ball park, which doesn't get used for much except for ball games which could also serve more commercial space nearby as well as for something developed in the Power Plant.

Well that also depends a lot on when you bought it. It took a long time for prices to get back to the boom levels of the early 1980's here and I think 2007-08 was also another peak. If you bought in 2022 you may be ahead a bit.

Yes, foot traffic has recovered very well especially this year, but the recovery is slower for retail space. Several new small retail stores have opened over the last year which is good, but nothing larger yet, which is really needed to help get this mall back on track.

If the lot now empty for several years just south of City Centre still can't be developed, then I doubt there is the demand currently for housing on the mall property itself. Maybe in 5 or 10 years that will be different and having more housing or a hotel adjacent could also be beneficial for...

Now there's an idea - right now 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa is underused housing. If our politicians can't get a handle on these problems, turn it into halfway housing.

While I don't expect the same number here the extreme disparity is striking. And its not like there was a big hotel building boom here just before that period either. Most of the hotels downtown here are from the 1970's or 1980's. So the period of not much new being added is more like 40 years.

Yes, sometimes I think our real city slogan should be Make something Languish, we have more than one government here that does that. Again the usual, let the assets deteriorate and then tear them down.