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Miscellaneous

Daveography said:
Sounds like the new owner of this parkade wants to put in a few retail bays along 103 St.:

View attachment 164621

Reference ID: Job No 296827141-001
Description: To convert part of an existing parkade (4 levels) to 3 General Retail Stores (ground floor) and construct interior / exterior alterations.
Location: 10040 - 103 STREET NW
Plan 3136KS Blk 3 Lot 70
Applicant: HODGSON SCHILF EVANS ARCHITECTS INC.
Status: Tech Rev - More Info Requested
Create Date: 11/2/2018 10:46:44 AM
Neighbourhood: DOWNTOWN

This location in case the above image wasn't clear:
View attachment 164622
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This is excellent. There are a number of companies in this area and the amount of complaints to HR departments regarding harassment for those that park here is through the roof. It isn't the worst thing to look at in its current state, but it also is covered up really well from the outside, so it allows for people to do what they want inside. Definitely an important improvement to reduce some of the overall shadiness in this small area and will help the area when the Falcon Towers are eventually built.
 
Daveography said:
Understated effect of the ICE District; hasn't just brought major new development, but also:
  • Facade improvement and two new street-facing retail bays in MNP Tower (Amore Pasta and Delicious Pho)
  • New restaurant building on small parking lot by Bell Tower (Joey)
  • Landscape and laneway improvement around Bell Tower
  • New street-facing Shoppers Drug Mart in City Centre Mall
  • Complete reclad and interior modernization of HSBC Tower
  • New BUCO Pizzeria in EPCOR Tower
  • Facade improvements on City Square Tower
  • Facade improvement on old Grand Hotel (now Crash Hotel)
Arguably the redo of the downtown YMCA (Williams Hall) could be counted as well.

I know it hasn't all worked out for everyone (e.g., Denizen Hall, Transcend Mercer), but on balance the level of re-investment in the area around the arena has been a net positive for downtown.
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It is tough for some of the smaller businesses, because of the uncertainty of regular business. For example, last summer, there were little to zero shows at Rogers Place. There are various rumours as to why that was the case, but at the end of the day, it is a problem for smaller businesses, in particular, restaurants. I think on one hand, it has been a boon, but some folks came in expecting a lot more ancillary run off from the arena. Right now, there isn't another concert at Rogers until February. Yes, lots of hockey, but that is also a different crowd. I don't disagree that there haven't been benefits brought to the entire area, but let's also not put our blinders on completely and ignore some of the negative impacts that Rogers has had. I don't think the negative was intentional, but I think people also expected more regular acts coming through and at times, it is like that, while at others, it is dead for long stretches. It will definitely drive the commercialization of our downtown, but we should be okay that that might mean at the cost of driving smaller business elsewhere.
 
@westcoastjos -- same thing happened in Los Angeles with L.A. live, but more recently that is being ameliorated with the huge impact of downtown residential high-rises. You are right about the upset of the equilibrium, but it will soon right itself again as downtown population density continues to grow.
 
@westcoastjos I don't believe the coming of the arena has brought as many negatives as we're being led to believe, I think some businesses simply had set their expectations and perhaps aspirations too high, and expected the benefits of a downtown arena to be realized overnight. And perhaps it was sold to everyone in a way that made it sound like that would be the case, which is not great.

What I'm seeing, though, is a lot of incremental investments that are improving the public realm, changing the way people see downtown, and reigniting confidence gradually, but still vastly accelerated from the pace before the arena. Maybe there have been some negatives, but so far the net has been positive which was my original point.
 
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Daveography said:
@westcoastjos The way a lot of the stories are being told, though, is that downtown has somehow become worse for some businesses. I don't believe that to be the case, I think some businesses simply had set their expectations and perhaps aspirations too high, and expected the benefits of a downtown arena to be realized overnight. And perhaps it was sold to everyone in a way that made it sound like that would be the case, which is not great.

What I'm seeing, though, is a lot of incremental investments that are improving the public realm, changing the way people see downtown, and reigniting confidence gradually, but still vastly accelerated from the pace before the arena.
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The bold part is exactly what I'm talking about. My point wasn't that existing businesses were driven out, but that people were sold this grandiose idea and came in with expectations that were too high. The amount of events that have been held at Rogers Place was definitely over sold. The city could have/should have tempered some of the messaging given their stake in the project. While there are incremental improvements in some areas, there have been drawbacks in others with various offices emptying and conversion projects taking place. That has secondary impact on nearby businesses, even in the day time.

Bottom line is that while Rogers Place was a catalyst for change, the change hasn't been perfect and there have been secondary impacts that haven't been completely rosy. While I fully support downtown and lived downtown for years, I think it is still important to acknowledge both sides with a balanced point of view. If you swing too far to the booster view of downtown, you lose sight of some of the things that OEG and the CoE have swept under the rug.

Recently, some folks in the real estate market, specific to residential, have pointed out that there is a saturation point. No one really knows where that point is, but we will hit it at some point. Let us hope we don't get there for a number of years though, so we do see the equilibrium reach balance. :)
 
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@westcoastjos and @Daveography, you might compare downtown in some respects to Old Strathcona. When Strathcona found its mojo and juju starting back in the 1970s it became, over time, a retail and hospitality hub focussed on the pedestrian realm. Its growth has amped up over the years and it is now sustaining a number of new developments. Downtown Edmonton is similarly going through a growth spurt related to newfound entertainment, art, retail and hospitality venues. That attracts people who then want to live downtown. I don't believe that there is a "tipping point" -- growth related to demand feeds off of itself. Back in the 60s and 70s of the last century everyone was clamoring for a home in the suburbs -- not so much anymore. The new meme is that the suburbs are boring and everyone wants to be near the action. Old regulations that restricted mixed use are now passé and it is common to have apartments mixed with offices and hotels (as we are beginning to see in announced projects for the City). Edmonton is projected to have 3.5 million people by 2040 and 60% of that increase from the current 1 million means that downtown is going to have to generate a minimum of 11 towers the size of Encore every single year to meet demand. The only caveat to that prospect is if the Edmonton economy goes into complete recession and that is very unlikely to happen in the projected 22-year timeframe.
What would help, however, would be if the City could pull its head out of its (you-know where) and start focussing on the amenities that can sustain downtown as a livable and vibrant community, stitched together without the need of a vehicle to get around. The magic is starting to happen and the future is bright -- very BRIGHT!
 
I'll bite - one caveat is that people still want to live in the burbs in Edmonton and Calgary.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-growth-mdp-goals-long-term-plans-1.4908663

That article just came out on Calgary and the transformation that they want to drive - in the last 10 years, the burbs have grown at 90.3% while the developed areas have grown 9.7%. They want to turn those numbers upside down. An ambitious plan to be sure and that article highlights the difficulty of driving growth inward. I think the planning both cities are doing reflect that, but we'll see what demand says in another 20 years. :)

While not exactly downtown, Blatchford could be a good tipping point if it turns out well.
 
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Sounds like a two-story commercial building is going up at 100 Ave. and 158 St., occupying the vacant lot there:

Permit Class Class B
Permit Date Nov 29, 2018
Status Approved
Description of Development To construct a mixed-Use Commercial building (Unit 101 - Restaurant with 97 square meters of Public Space and up to 80 seats) with an accessory outdoor patio (85 square meters of Public Space with up to 40 seats); Units 102, 103, 104 and 105 - General Retail Stores with an outdoor patio (up to 18 seats) and wood trellis canopies accessory to Unit 103; Units 201 and 202 - Professional, Financial, Office Support Services; Unit 203 - Child Care Services with 76 kids and an accessory outdoor play space on the second floor.
Address 15802 - 100 AVENUE NW
Legal Description Plan 1822191 Blk 2C Lot 38
Neighbourhood GLENWOOD
Neighbourhood Classification Mature
Ward Ward 1,
Zoning CB1,CB1
 
A representative from ONE Properties mentioned during the EDC presentation for CNIB that Timbercreek may be interested in developing a tower on the corner of Jasper & 121 St, which would replace the retail podium for the tower that's just to the north. Just a rumour for now, but very interesting nonetheless.
 
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