@Freedm the Bonnie Doon site has been under-performing for years (and I mean like 50 yrs.) and so I would expect that the LRT transit station landing in their laps was fortuitous. It is a large site so I would expect that the most likely thing to happen is the current owner building out a couple of mixed use towers to show profitability and viability and then either joint venturing or selling parcels to bring on other developers. As with any TOD development in any City the measuring stick is enabled population counts, making development a self-fulfilling prophecy over time.
So much potential, so much hope for the future... Let's just hope there is a future that resembles this still arriving... Frankly I hope Bonnie Doon does get built with narrow point towers. It's a fantastic location with spectacular views from all different directions... You got downtown, U of A/Strathcona and Refinery Row views. Something for everyone! Not to mention a single-seat rapid well MASS transit ride anyway to downtown. I also hope that with an increased population on site that the retail aspect of the mall actually grows stronger over time and that the developer kind of rethink's demo'ing the entire thing to be replaced by outdoor oriented retail. This is Alberta after all and it's damn cold and snowy over half the time... If I have the choice of indoor shopping vs dashing door to door outside, I know what I'm choosing every time...
With a quick acceleration to a hydrogen economy, no reason why the boom times can't thrust Edmonton into an exciting 100-year future -- sustainable, manageable, and full of possibility. We should all be talking about the add-on economy that is derivative of hydrogen.
Hydrogen can and will give fossil fuels a second life as ironically using methane reforming renders ton of useful black carbon which can then be used for carbon fibre for example. That's why I think hydrogen with CCS is win-win for everyone especially when used appropriately... Aka as a replacement transportation fuel when batteries can't get the job done... We just got to make sure we do it properly and not half ass it as is the case with a lot of of pie-in-the-sky utopian dreams proposed by fossil fuel interests which is why I'm naturally skeptical. However the science is valid and the technology just like Nuclear 2.0 has its place... But that's a whole 'nuther discussion point...
Here's hoping we see more action on Alldritt in 2021! I'm still dreaming of that tower FINALLY getting underway... And yes I know economic conditions are hardly ideal but then again that's generally the perfect time to build such large scale projects. Labor and materials tend to be cheaper just as long as you have the financing to play the long game and wait... Much like the Shanghai Tower or more famously the Empty/Empire State Building. Approved before the crash, built just after the October 1929 economic collapse the tower went up in 13 months and opened in 1931 in record timing. And like today as it was back then the tourist revenue is what makes the building economic, not the actual leasing of space that made the building the moneymaking machine it is today...
Contrast that with the NEW owner of the Chrysler Building who seems to be having a bit of a meltdown in the Bloomberg article about it... A good read though, nonetheless... Midtown Is Still Empty, and Landlords Are Sounding the Alarm Probably because the Chrysler Building lacks an open observation deck that while people assume the security costs sink such operations are actually the most profitable part of the tallest class of towers... 30 Rock, 55 Hudson Yards, Empire State Building, One WTC, One Vanderbilt all have them and each one of them to a varying degree is a tacky but profitable venture... The whole museum/waiting line/photo thing is cool but cheesy. I am glad most Canadian decks skip this level of pushy in your face and just allow you to go up the building and then learn or buy stuff later... Same with the Space Needle... It's a respectful affair to say the least...