West Village was supposed to have a grocery store, I'll be amazed if they get a dollar store in that space! haha
They’ll fill the stores eventually, but it won’t happen quickly due to 9th ave being a lifeless car sewer.
It has some things going for it. There is a high amount of foot traffic down 11th St. between Beltline and the LRT station, and when the third tower gets built, there will be a lot of residents in that location. A couple of stores go in and more will follow.
 
They’ll fill the stores eventually, but it won’t happen quickly due to 9th ave being a lifeless car sewer.
It has some things going for it. There is a high amount of foot traffic down 11th St. between Beltline and the LRT station, and when the third tower gets built, there will be a lot of residents in that location. A couple of stores go in and more will follow.
It took 10+ years to fill the retail space in Nuera. I'd expect WVT to follow a similar trajectory
 
The 11th Street underpass project will likely come and go. I wonder how that will affect 14th... Where does that underpass project stand?

It is anticipated the recommendations will be finalized in Summer 2023, and the final plan and next steps for the project will be shared in Fall 2023.
 
If I had to speculate (and I don't, but will anyways)...

I think market conditions have changed massively. With commercial rents down and interest rates up, ASI's holding cost for this parcel has probably increased substantially. As a result, they probably need to pull forward development from "years from now" to "asap"

Project economics are probably better to build wood-frame low-rise vs concrete mid-rise. It also requires a lower capital raise and this is a challenging time to raise capital.

So smaller, wood-frame building = easier to fund, better project economics, faster timelines. It's a sign of the times.
 
If I had to speculate (and I don't, but will anyways)...

I think market conditions have changed massively. With commercial rents down and interest rates up, ASI's holding cost for this parcel has probably increased substantially. As a result, they probably need to pull forward development from "years from now" to "asap"

Project economics are probably better to build wood-frame low-rise vs concrete mid-rise. It also requires a lower capital raise and this is a challenging time to raise capital.

So smaller, wood-frame building = easier to fund, better project economics, faster timelines. It's a sign of the times.
ASI should acquire a property more suitable then cause this one ain't it.
 
That's one possible takeaway for sure.

Another broader takeaway would be that if interest rates and cost remain elevated, inner-city development of in Calgary might be increasingly skewed towards these 4-6 storey, wood-frame buildings just outside (or even within) the Beltline. It might be really challenging to get mid-rise and high-rise buildings developed profitably in the current environment, even with Calgary's strong rental market.

For example, Broward by Truman looks like 6-storeys and is in Beltline. I doubt they are maximizing buildable area on that parcel. I wonder if that's wood-frame as well.
 
This is such an epic fail for the location. While I can live with it not being a highrise (although seems like a waste of development potential in a prime location), the design is just banal and looks like something that belongs in the outer burbs.

Wood frame doesn't have to look shitty. Broward looks great IMO. Lots of good wood frame stuff in University District also.
 

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