[northlands]

So I guess this one has hit a roadblock. Drove past it yesterday and it almost looks abandoned.

I thought the same.

Whole intersection is just miserable. You have the Enterprise Sq fortress and this abandoned behemoth providing absolutely zero street interaction, and then Commerce Place Tim's+bus stop which is a pretty hot place for frightening people on BMX to hang out. At least the park is kind of nice.

 

[Omega Prime]

I thought the same.

Whole intersection is just miserable. You have the Enterprise Sq fortress and this abandoned behemoth providing absolutely zero street interaction, and then Commerce Place Tim's+bus stop which is a pretty hot place for frightening people on BMX to hang out. At least the park is kind of nice.

Personal safety awareness: never trust a grown man going slow or weaving on a BMX bike in a downtown area.

 

[Avenuer]

So I guess this one has hit a roadblock. Drove past it yesterday and it almost looks abandoned.

Ownership group wants to shift gears to an apartment building with approximately 230 units.

 

[IanO]

Which is alright, but in my mind this would have made a fantastic hotel conversion and option for visitors.

 

[itom987]

Would they be trying to snag a grant from city hall?

 

[archited]

^^^^ Possibly -- and that combined with the fact that it is practically impossible to get financing in the current environment for hospitality build-outs.

 

[David A]

Which is alright, but in my mind this would have made a fantastic hotel conversion and option for visitors.

I agree. I think the building and location is better suited to be a hotel. I realize COVID has disrupted things a lot, but it is probably smarter to plan for the future, not the present.

 

[archited]

^^^^ Only if as owner you can endure the wait until hospitality financing emerges once again. Banks that I have spoken with say not for the next 2 years, minimum. There are substantial holding costs on a building this size -- mortgages, interest, taxes, fluctuating building costs -- an enigmatic puzzle, to be sure. An apartment than can be later converted to a hotel would be the smartest way to go -- a building filled with singles units and support entities would provide a good start down that road.

 

[MCXavierL]

Audible:

Permit Type
Major Development Permit
Address
10201 - JASPER AVENUE NW
Description

To change the Use from a Hotel (175 units) and Apartment Hotel (139 Dwelling units) to a Multi-unit Housing with 262 Dwellings.

Permit Status

In Progress

 

[IanO]

That's unfortunate...

 

[archited]

It underscores the extreme difficulty in getting financing (COVID) for hospitality projects and the relative ease for funding rental apartment build-outs. There will be a strong move towards rental units which subtend the most flexible way for later conversion to either condominiums or hotel space. I have made this very recommendation to several clients here in SoCal. Expect to see relatively small units on the apartment side that are then convertible to hotel suites and relatively larger units that can convert to condos, applicable after COVID relaxes its grip on the economy.

 

[EdmTrekker]

It underscores the extreme difficulty in getting financing (COVID) for hospitality projects and the relative ease for funding rental apartment build-outs. There will be a strong move towards rental units which subtend the most flexible way for later conversion to either condominiums or hotel space. I have made this very recommendation to several clients here in SoCal. Expect to see relatively small units on the apartment side that are then convertible to hotel suites and relatively larger units that can convert to condos, applicable after COVID relaxes its grip on the economy.

Just so. The rental unit floor plans might not be everyones cup of tea given they be very small. They are likely to be all rented out so maybe at least 262 pairs of new boots on the ground 365 days of the year which is better than nothing at this point. I sure hope the developer has engaged a savvy architect to design the units so they are thoroughly designed to be cost effectively converted when the time is right. Edmonton House gone from executive rental suites to hotel rooms and back to rentals in whole and part over many years and is still evolving thanks to its good bones.

 

[MCXavierL]

Pre-SkyriseCities. From the Edmonton Journal, October 18, 1980.

I haven't been in the building but are there actually three underground levels, one for stores and two others... for stores?

Strand -> IPL Tower -> Enbridge Tower -> Hyatt House for a minute -> ?

 

[Edmcowboy11]

Well at least we will have life in that building again, and that many more people in the downtown core.

 

[IanO]

Still trying to corroborate (the assumed folklore of) the proposed Playboy Club on the second floor.