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ICE Tower

archited

archited

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I just got off the phone with a rep from Westrich regarding their new tower on the southeast corner of 103rd Avenue and 104th Street, calling on behalf of a client that I have who has a large operation adjacent to the Staples Center in Los Angeles and a soon-to-be 7,200 sq.ft. Night Club in Beverly Hills (our current project). The group is looking to potentially lease the entire 18,000 sq.ft. podium of the new ICE Tower, a rental project similar in scale to Westrich's Encore Tower one block south. The ICE Tower project is slated for completion about 2026/27. Concept plans and renderings will be forthcoming soon. I can't say more about the project until there is more information available for public consumption and the deal goes past the preliminary stage. This will be my client's first venture in Canada.
Ice-Tower-7.jpg
 
IanO said:
3 possible new towers at this intersection.
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Possible? Yes. Probable and within what time frame? My probability estimate is low that 3 happen within the next 10 years.

1. Westrich has the one that from what I have been told will likely go forward within the next 3-4 years, economics depending.
2. Affordable storage was sold/is for sale but to whom with what plans in what time frame I dont know.
3A. Katz's tower north of affordable storage...well Katz has plans for all his sites but timing could be 5-15 years.
3B. The site on the NW corner of 104st and 103ave last I heard had no plans to move forward anytime soon (or changing the embarrassing f**king sign from saying Muse 2019).

So in theory yes, we could have 3-4 new towers and we could have 3-4 towers in a lot of places downtown. But the probability of 3-4 in that location within the next 5-10 from what I have heard is low.
 
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Westrich is scheduled for completion on this site in 3+ years -- as to the rest time will tell (and demand will grow). In late 1999 Staples Center Arena (now called Crypto.com Center) opened in a very seedy part of Los Angeles near the LA Convention Center. The scuttlebutt then was that area would "never" develop "experts" saying that the adjacent area was too run-down to attract serious investment. Anschultz Entertainment Group (AEG) owned the then Staples Center and began assembling the land adjacent (similar to OEG/Katz in Edmonton more recently -- two billionaires, similar goals). I am not saying that Katz copied Anschultz but the progression between the two projects is very similar. 8 years later Phase 1 of LA Live was completed, including a theatre designed to hold awards ceremonies and a retail plaza; a year later Phase 2 opened with ESPN studios, an arcade featuring numerous restaurants, the Grammy museum, Club Nokia and the Conga Room club; a year after that The Ritz-Carlton/Marriott hotel opened along with a multiplex cinema. Sounds amazingly similar in scope and scale to the ICE District, doesn't it? One of the main differences is that just when ICE was ready to blossom into full force COVID came along and stymied growth plans and prospective tenancies. I mention this for two reasons... 1. The impetus of the ICE district has already been the main propellant for two Westrich towers adjacent and now a third -- a project with an "in" for a major entertainment tenant (my client). The success of AEG and its developments is closely modeled with the ICE district in Edmonton. Expect to see some surprises in the next couple of years.
2. 104th Street is restarting re development (again the Westrich Site benefits from location).
 
In all honesty, let's not compare LA to us. Look at their population in comparison to our 1.55 million metro. The key is understanding the Edmonton factors and work with that in our timeline. We are doing fine.
 
Clearshades said:
In all honesty, let's not compare LA to us. Look at their population in comparison to our 1.55 million metro. The key is understanding the Edmonton factors and work with that in our timeline. We are doing fine.
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I'd argue the timeline for Ice District is even better than LA Live, regardless of population differences.

The former Staples Center was built in a seedy part of DTLA and was by itself for a good 6 years before LA Live came along. Rogers Place is adjacent to a seedy central area, but was never in the thick of it, as the condos, office towers, and university can attest to. Rogers was built in 2016 and the rest of the first phase was well underway by then, with Stantec and JW finishing in 2019 and the Ice District Plaza shortly after. That's pretty quick by comparison.
 
dunno said:
I'd argue the timeline for Ice District is even better than LA Live, regardless of population differences.

The former Staples Center was built in a seedy part of DTLA and was by itself for a good 6 years before LA Live came along. Rogers Place is adjacent to a seedy central area, but was never in the thick of it, as the condos, office towers, and university can attest to. Rogers was built in 2016 and the rest of the first phase was well underway by then, with Stantec and JW finishing in 2019 and the Ice District Plaza shortly after. That's pretty quick by comparison.
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Yes, the bus depot and the parking lot across the street were certainly not upscale, but I wouldn't have called them particularly seedy and the hotel came along at the same as Rogers. So I would agree if we are following the LA model we were moving along as fast if not faster, at least until COVID hit.
 
The Westrich project on the corner of 103rd and 104th is referring to the empty building adjacent to where @archited said this potential new project is going correct? Anyone have updates about that? It's been radio silence for awhile on that site.
 
EdmTrekker said:
“Westrich is scheduled for completion on this site in 3+ years -- as to the rest time will tell (and demand will grow). “

The plus in 3+ years is rather open ended unless archited meant less than 4 years.
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Does the westrich tower have its own thread/forum on here?
 
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