JUDICIAL SALE: APPROVED MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY IN THE HEART OF OLD STRATHCONA, WHYTE AVE, EDMONTON, AB JLL Alberta Capital Markets has been…
It was nice, but overly ambitious for the area. Whyte Ave is a popular area, but not really a high income one chock full of millionaires. It is a real mix of people at various income levels, many at more moderate levels.
It might have been the type of project that could have went ahead year ago when things were booming, but certainly not in these times.
Having said that, I hope something happens here soon. It is a good location and having that derelict lot is a real downer. I wish the quaint old church that was there was not torn down and left there until something was actually ready to be built.
People with high levels of entrepreneurial spirit sometimes trip up especially when circumstances don't go their way. If they were too close to the line and COVID hit, I can see their finances dry up. Too bad; it was a solid effort trying to do the right thing by the neighborhood. Some others are getting stretched to the breaking point in Edmonton right now -- I don't want to throw out any names and jinx their position.
Indeed it's tough as a smaller developer, especially on projects of this scale - your wiggle room gets very tight. But I'm appreciative of the smaller guys (relatively speaking) who are willing to go for bigger projects like this.
It would be miserable if all we had was big, out of town developers willing to take on this scale of project.