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That is a bizarre building/location to tear a building down and put a green space. Is it just going to be an island of grass surrounded by parking and 109 st.? Who will use this? Staff? Students? They just completed a brand new park right on campus, why would anyone want to cross 108 and then a bunch of parking to get there?
 
Also seems very strange. Less urban fabric is not a good thing or something to be celebrated. They have a brand new quad and this building isn't connected to anything.

My guess is part of it will be 'greenspace' and the rest surface parking, similar to what Alberta Blue Cross did on 107 Street.
 
That is a bizarre building/location to tear a building down and put a green space. Is it just going to be an island of grass surrounded by parking and 109 st.? Who will use this? Staff? Students? They just completed a brand new park right on campus, why would anyone want to cross 108 and then a bunch of parking to get there?
"The building is planned to be demolished by the end of the calendar year, making way for a green space development in 2025, with the land being held in reserve for a future campus expansion opportunity."
 
Norquest better start building that expansion sooner rather than later then!

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If I were to guess (and I am) they are probably trying to aquire the full block, or at least that side of it. IIRC the boxing gym recently closed, and the 7-11 bailed for crime reasons, so there probably wasn't much chance of finding a tenant for the building.

Does seem like a waste though, but then that whole block on both sides of 109 is pretty sad. I hope whoever let the apartment block on the other side kill the CRU flow lost their pension over it.
 
“Too often we’re focused on the wrong data point.

If we only look at vacancy stats, we miss the rate of change. Comparing vacancy rates over time incorrectly describes the health of a market. Instead, we should be looking at the “people-rate of change.”

Today, there’s nearly 15 million sq feet of office space occupied in downtown Edmonton. Two decades ago, in what was described as a healthy and tight market, only 12.1 million sq feet were occupied. That means 14,000 more people are occupying downtown office space today.

In terms of residential, 37% more people live downtown, now topping 37,000 people, with many more to come in the months ahead.

Our two major downtown post-secondary schools have grown by 20,000 students since 2004. Impressively, NorQuest College and MacEwan University are continuing to grow steadily and will be teaching over 50,000 students by 2030. And we can’t forget about the many thousands of staff it takes to serve these students. All of whom are coming downtown.

When we look at the data points that matter, you can see that there’s been a lot more growth than most people realize.”

Cory Wosnak via Linkedin

 
I wonder where the 37,000 number comes from and if that includes Wikhwentowin or Boyle Street.

Either way, nice to see a different perspective. I'm a firm believer (probably based on my age too lol) that post-secondary growth shouldn't be overlooked. That's rental, hospitality and retail demand right there that can be taken advantage of by the right people. I saw some people clearly in their 20's checking out the location of Foosh on 104 St and scanning the QR code at the door, so there's definitely some interest there.

This shouldn't be ignored and should be harnessed to its full potential.
 
“Too often we’re focused on the wrong data point.

If we only look at vacancy stats, we miss the rate of change. Comparing vacancy rates over time incorrectly describes the health of a market. Instead, we should be looking at the “people-rate of change.”

Today, there’s nearly 15 million sq feet of office space occupied in downtown Edmonton. Two decades ago, in what was described as a healthy and tight market, only 12.1 million sq feet were occupied. That means 14,000 more people are occupying downtown office space today.

In terms of residential, 37% more people live downtown, now topping 37,000 people, with many more to come in the months ahead.

Our two major downtown post-secondary schools have grown by 20,000 students since 2004. Impressively, NorQuest College and MacEwan University are continuing to grow steadily and will be teaching over 50,000 students by 2030. And we can’t forget about the many thousands of staff it takes to serve these students. All of whom are coming downtown.

When we look at the data points that matter, you can see that there’s been a lot more growth than most people realize.”

Cory Wosnak via Linkedin

Yes, both office space and residential downtown have grown considerably over the years. I feel more negative comments are probably from people who haven't been here long enough to notice the change.

The residential growth rate averaging around 1.8% per year using the above figure, seems fairly decent to me. The office growth rate of around 1.2% per year is quite a bit less, but none the less still positive.
 
“Too often we’re focused on the wrong data point.

If we only look at vacancy stats, we miss the rate of change. Comparing vacancy rates over time incorrectly describes the health of a market. Instead, we should be looking at the “people-rate of change.”

Today, there’s nearly 15 million sq feet of office space occupied in downtown Edmonton. Two decades ago, in what was described as a healthy and tight market, only 12.1 million sq feet were occupied. That means 14,000 more people are occupying downtown office space today.

In terms of residential, 37% more people live downtown, now topping 37,000 people, with many more to come in the months ahead.

Our two major downtown post-secondary schools have grown by 20,000 students since 2004. Impressively, NorQuest College and MacEwan University are continuing to grow steadily and will be teaching over 50,000 students by 2030. And we can’t forget about the many thousands of staff it takes to serve these students. All of whom are coming downtown.

When we look at the data points that matter, you can see that there’s been a lot more growth than most people realize.”

Cory Wosnak via Linkedin

Agreed with all of this. And then also helpful to layer in other data points like overall job growth or residential growth elsewhere in the city.

I think it’s fair to say we are way better than we were. And that we still failed to capture much of our incredibly high population growth in central areas, especially comparatively to other cities.
 
I used to frequent the CB building and will be sad to see it go as it is a really unique and cool building, with fantastic spaces inside.

I recall reading somewhere that Norquest wants a presence on 109st in the long-term.
 
Objects - gorgeous place, however, the sparse choice of snacks didn't prompt me to stay

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Culinary Unicorn should be opening soon-ish

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The space next to Culinary Unicorn has been leased - anyone know what's happening with it?

20240928_142935.jpg



The Budget rental car space is still up for grabs

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Looks like Suya Hause has been permanently closed

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Ayco still has that funky wall

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Not surprised, the Suya House never seemed busy when I went by. Sadly this end of 106 St is really doing poorly now.

I hope something fills the old budget space. I think it has some good possibilities for a variety of uses.
 
I used to frequent the CB building and will be sad to see it go as it is a really unique and cool building, with fantastic spaces inside.

I recall reading somewhere that Norquest wants a presence on 109st in the long-term.
And to see something significant on 109 for Norquest would be great to see. I just hope that if they plan future development for that and perhaps adjacent sites that it happens sooner than 10 or more years from now.
 
And to see something significant on 109 for Norquest would be great to see. I just hope that if they plan future development for that and perhaps adjacent sites that it happens sooner than 10 or more years from now.
Yes, if they are going to build something in a year or two, I can understand and it makes sense to tear it down. But if it is going to be 5 or 10 years it would be better to keep and use it in the meantime as it is actually a still a usable building.
 

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