Blatchford Development | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton

^ Says the person that does not plan on moving into Blatchford. :rolleyes:

This is a major concern for those that do plan on living in Blatchford someday.
 
David A said:
There are a lot of reasons for the slow development. First of all, if City Council wanted fast development, they would have approached this differently. Second, economic conditions changed dramatically shortly after this project went ahead and particularly the last few years which have been brutal in Alberta.

However, I don't see much to really complain about (other than it being agonizingly slow), it is not as if houses in Edmonton are so scare and cost in the millions. There is plenty of other places for people in this city to purchase homes at prices that would be the envy of homebuyers in many other parts of Canada. Lets keep this all in perspective and get a grip on it.

Also, in my opinion constant whining is not good attribute for a City Councilor. They are there to do things, not whine and moan all the time. Cartmell is not the only one and perhaps not even the worst (another newer offender comes to mind), but I want our city officials to accomplish things more than be constant critics.
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There was also at least one mayoral candidate who wanted to expedite Blatchford development. Because everything had be done NOW, which is rather short-sighted if you ask me.
 
David A said:
There are a lot of reasons for the slow development. First of all, if City Council wanted fast development, they would have approached this differently. Second, economic conditions changed dramatically shortly after this project went ahead and particularly the last few years which have been brutal in Alberta.

However, I don't see much to really complain about (other than it being agonizingly slow), it is not as if houses in Edmonton are so scare and cost in the millions. There is plenty of other places for people in this city to purchase homes at prices that would be the envy of homebuyers in many other parts of Canada. Lets keep this all in perspective and get a grip on it.

Also, in my opinion constant whining is not good attribute for a City Councilor. They are there to do things, not whine and moan all the time. Cartmell is not the only one and perhaps not even the worst (another newer offender comes to mind), but I want our city officials to accomplish things more than be constant critics.
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This is laughable - Cartmell isn't complaining for the sake of complaining. There are currently ~30 houses with over $250M spent and we are 6 or 7 years into this thing. He is also providing suggestions to accelerate the IRR on the project and trying to provide solutions to a clear problem.
 
Hold on, you’re saying that plots of land were serviced and ready to built upon 6-7 years ago? Or rather they started “servicing” the land 6-7 years ago? Including the drilling of how many 1000’s of geothermal holes and the removed of millions of tons of concrete and airport runways? To me, I’m under the impression that we’re only into our 3rd construction season right now? No?
 
MacLac said:
Hold on, you’re saying that plots of land were serviced and ready to built upon 6-7 years ago? Or rather they started “servicing” the land 6-7 years ago? Including the drilling of how many 1000’s of geothermal holes and the removed of millions of tons of concrete and airport runways? To me, I’m under the impression that we’re only into our 3rd construction season right now? No?
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You're correct, the COE has been exemplary developer here, Cartmell is being a whiner...
 
TAS said:
I think it is absolutely fair to say that this development has underperformed and the city has missed its own projections significantly. Good to see Cartmell have admin look at some options here.
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Underperformed how? Was there ever an annual unit absorption rate for Blatchford? Considering the last airplane took off in late 2013 and the first residents moved in at the beginning of 2021, I would say that's decently fast considering the complex site.
 
Avenuer said:
Underperformed how? Was there ever an annual unit absorption rate for Blatchford? Considering the last airplane took off in late 2013 and the first residents moved in at the beginning of 2021, I would say that's decently fast considering the complex site.
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Underperformed according to the city's own budget variance report at end of 2021 - $9.5 million less in revenue from Blatchford land sales than they had projected.

Screenshot_20220718-214334_Gallery.jpg


And this was also reported:

"When the City approved the Blatchford Business Case in 2014, it expected 250 home sales each year starting in 2015, rising to 500 yearly units by 2018. On that basis, there should be about 2,750 units today. As of May, Encore is the biggest developer in Blatchford, having built 20 townhouses so far and started another 10. Only 32 units have connected to the utility, leaving an accumulated operating deficit of $3.7 million."
 
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TAS said:
Underperformed according to the city's own budget variance report at end of 2021 - $9.5 million less in revenue from Blatchford land sales than they had projected.

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And this was also reported:

"When the City approved the Blatchford Business Case in 2014, it expected 250 home sales each year starting in 2015, rising to 500 yearly units by 2018. On that basis, there should be about 2,750 units today. As of May, Encore is the biggest developer in Blatchford, having built 20 townhouses so far and started another 10. Only 32 units have connected to the utility, leaving an accumulated operating deficit of $3.7 million."
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so yes significantly under performed. 32 units is an absolute joke.
 
When did homes actually start being built and constructed? The 2015 numbers are confusing to me. Did homes even start being built before 2018??

So I think we can criticize the last 2 years, especially with the real estate boom. But the 2700 number seems off. Why were home starts so delayed? Issues with demolition? Ground work? Energy system!

And now I think we need to see home sales in the hundreds as well or else it’ll clearly be an issue. In many ways though, there’s no transit, connectivity in and out sucks, there’s not a lot of reason to live here except for the long term vision and hopes. I think that’ll work against it.
 
It really seems like some of the mixed use or stacked townhouse proposals need to break ground to get anywhere close to the goal of 500/year. Even if all the available freehold townhouses in the current phase and the next (blue outlined area on the new map) get built that is only ~220 units total.
 
If the city were to do as Cartmell suggests and pegs the lot prices in Blatchford to similar lots in the suburbs, wouldn't that just be a bigger subsidy for Blatchford? I mean, I wouldn't be upset. Cheaper future home and the neighborhood would build out quicker.
 
^
5 or 10 or 20 years later, homes will be worth what the market will pay for them completely independent of the original lot price. try getting a deal on a house in westmount because the lots were cheaper than current pricing in keswick.

the benefit is in having the neighborhood built out sooner. not only is there an end to carrying costs and at least some recovery of servicing costs, as soon as they are sold the city starts to collect property taxes. they will never recover the unpaid taxes on unsold lots as they are the developer (unsold private development lots at least pay property taxes to the city).

a private developer would likely also never have incurred the same level of up front costs the city paid for at blatchford. that way, when the market does slow down - and they always do - you’re not under water the way city now finds themselves with no way out.
 
stensby said:
It really seems like some of the mixed use or stacked townhouse proposals need to break ground to get anywhere close to the goal of 500/year. Even if all the available freehold townhouses in the current phase and the next (blue outlined area on the new map) get built that is only ~220 units total.
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The city has made up absorption numbers, even the best performing subdivisions do not produce 500/year.

Cartmell has provided a reasonable solution to cut land pricing so builders can accelerate IRR while they are pioneering the subdivision.
 
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