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Edmonton City Centre Mall (Renovations) | ?m | 2s | LaSalle Investment Management

IanO said:
Not sure what I think about this... mind you, no point going in there anymore anyways.
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Cory Wosnack• 1stPrincipal & Managing Director at Avison Young Commercial Real Estate
17m • 17 minutes ago

This photo was taken at 1:15 PM. Up until this week, this section of 101 St was a gathering spot for a disadvantaged population for more than 3 years.

The owners of Edmonton City Centre have faced the most significant challenges in and around their property to reduce disorder and maintain cleanliness. Numerous strategies at massive costs have kept things from being worse; however, the most impactful experiment appears to have taken place this week. By moving the bus stop up the street and closing these doors into the mall, the uncomfortable gathering spot has disappeared.

The compromises this property owner is making to increase the safety of the neighbourhood are huge. This is our main street in the financial district and this experiment alone could have a tremendous benefit for how tourists, customers and employees feel when they walk around the core.

Thank you, CANDEREL GROUP and Centrecorp Management Services Limited.

Click to expand...
Hmm some mixed feelings for this. I really disliked waiting for a bus at that location. It smelled terrible (cigarettes, weed, urine, who knows what else) and always had people in some sort of fights or screaming matches during rush hour.

In an ideal world, that would be a great bus stop since it's covered and you can wait indoors during colder weather, but it encouraged a lot of loitering and perceived safety issues. While it obviously was uncomfortable to wait for a bus there, I never personally had any actual issues occur apart from the occasional person trying to talk to you and ask you for things.

While moving a bus stop down a block is obviously not going to magically solve all the social issues that downtown and Edmonton face, I wonder if it has any impact on "diluting" the problem by removing one gathering spot? Not sure if I'm expressing that idea right or if it has any merit, but just a thought.
 
IanO said:
Not sure what I think about this... mind you, no point going in there anymore anyways.
---

Cory Wosnack• 1stPrincipal & Managing Director at Avison Young Commercial Real Estate
17m • 17 minutes ago

This photo was taken at 1:15 PM. Up until this week, this section of 101 St was a gathering spot for a disadvantaged population for more than 3 years.

The owners of Edmonton City Centre have faced the most significant challenges in and around their property to reduce disorder and maintain cleanliness. Numerous strategies at massive costs have kept things from being worse; however, the most impactful experiment appears to have taken place this week. By moving the bus stop up the street and closing these doors into the mall, the uncomfortable gathering spot has disappeared.

The compromises this property owner is making to increase the safety of the neighbourhood are huge. This is our main street in the financial district and this experiment alone could have a tremendous benefit for how tourists, customers and employees feel when they walk around the core.

Thank you, CANDEREL GROUP and Centrecorp Management Services Limited.

Click to expand...

Calfaer said:
Hmm some mixed feelings for this. I really disliked waiting for a bus at that location. It smelled terrible (cigarettes, weed, urine, who knows what else) and always had people in some sort of fights or screaming matches during rush hour.

In an ideal world, that would be a great bus stop since it's covered and you can wait indoors during colder weather, but it encouraged a lot of loitering and perceived safety issues. While it obviously was uncomfortable to wait for a bus there, I never personally had any actual issues occur apart from the occasional person trying to talk to you and ask you for things.

While moving a bus stop down a block is obviously not going to magically solve all the social issues that downtown and Edmonton face, I wonder if it has any impact on "diluting" the problem by removing one gathering spot? Not sure if I'm expressing that idea right or if it has any merit, but just a thought.
Click to expand...
Yeah, there is a whole mix of problems here. I often used that entrance, while I did not always feel comfortable going by because of the rough looking loiterers (likely some engaging in or experienced in criminal activity), I did not feel that unsafe. Maybe its important to distinguish these two things.

However, it must be quite frustrating for business owners and the people who manage the mall to have to deal with all this, in addition it is a deterrent to and keeps away some customers.

I'm afraid the best solution in this case was actually what was done - closing this entrance and bus stop. The only other solution I would advocate is very radical and I am sure get negative push back - send every homeless person in Edmonton to Riverbend and Glenora to wonder around door to door there. Sadly, until people will power and money are affected directly by these problems, things will probably not change much.
 
People with power and money are being affected by it. They are refusing to make investments, shop, live, or in some cases work in DT.

Don't have them walk around Glenora or Riverbend, rather send them to Calgary to all the ministers' ridings.
 
Unfortunately I doubt they are that much affected by it. They are quite comfortable in their virtual gated communities and probably seldom venture downtown because of all of the "problems".

It's not just an Edmonton problem. Calgary's downtown has similar challenges, but with a more robust retail and business sector has been able to manage them a bit better so far.
 
IanO said:
Also, Calgary's mall last Saturday was quite busy and had a very 'normal' feel and crowd.
Click to expand...
While I have travelled to other places, I haven't been to Calgary for some time. I based my last comment on reading a number of things like this various Calgary news.

The disorder and safety concerns are obviously there too. Maybe Calgarians are braver than here.

calgaryherald.com

Downtown businesses, Calgary police meet to begin 'collaborative approach' to safety issues

The Downton Business Association held a town hall with Calgary police this week to discuss how they can address public safety.
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com
 
^They are not 'braver', the average Calgarian has a more vested interest in their Downtown as the main employment node of the city. They had a lot going before COVID retail-wise, a much bigger Downtown size-wise and as a percentage of the workforce in the city.
 
Greenspace said:
^They are not 'braver', the average Calgarian has a more vested interest in their Downtown as the main employment node of the city. They had a lot going before COVID retail-wise, a much bigger Downtown size-wise and as a percentage of the workforce in the city.
Click to expand...
I can understand having to come downtown to work during the week, unless they can still work at home, but if they are coming on Saturday despite all the social disorder and problems (which are quite publicized in Calgary also), I would reassert they are in fact braver.
 
Is there something else planned for that end of the mall that would require those anchors to vacate or is the reality just that bad?
 
David A said:
I can understand having to come downtown to work during the week, unless they can still work at home, but if they are coming on Saturday despite all the social disorder and problems (which are quite publicized in Calgary also), I would reassert they are in fact braver.
Click to expand...
i’m not sure that calgarians are braver… i would assert it is more likely that there are more destinations attracting more people and the more people there are the safer they are (and/or the higher their perceptions of safety are). destinations attract people and people make destinations successful. and that of course becomes a self fulfilling prophesy, just as the opposite can also be self fulfilling.
 
There are more than a few major Downtown landlords, owners, investment companies and decision makers who quite honestly are appalled with the state of Downtown Edmonton and are reluctant to proceed with major investments in the hundreds of millions of clams until things improve.

I'm sure that you can use your imagination, but it's not too hard to figure out who and where these might be for many are planned, rumoured or even previous public announcements.

This includes retail, office podiums, hotels and residential asset classes.
 
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