The Mezzo | 53.95m | 16s | WestOak Development | RAW Design

What do you think of the design?

  • I like it a lot

    Votes: 19 52.8%

  • I like it

    Votes: 13 36.1%

  • I neither like nor dislike it

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I dislike it

    Votes: 3 8.3%

  • I dislike it a lot

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • Total voters
    36
IanO said:
Mezzo no more: Lot off Whyte Avenue vacant as developer abandons project
'Now we’re left with a mess,' Coun. Ben Henderson says
Natasha Riebe · CBC News

A prime lot in the heart of Old Strathcona is covered with grass and dandelions, five years after city council approved a controversial condo complex for the site.

Westoak Development planned to build a 16-storey tower called the Mezzo on 81st Avenue and 105th Street.

The company's real estate office across the street is vacant with blinds pulled down and a 'for sale' sign in one of the windows.

City councillor Ben Henderson opposed the project when Westoak CEO Matthew McLash pitched it in 2016.

Henderson argued it was too high for the historic Old Strathcona, directly behind the historic post office on Whyte Avenue.

"Now we're left with a mess," Henderson said. "We just have an empty lot."

City council approves controversial highrise just off Whyte Avenue

Chris Dulaba, a placemaker with Beljan Developments, said the failed Mezzo reflects an inherent risk in the development game.

"This is an example of one that ultimately couldn't get past the goal line," Dulaba said. "Here we are left with a site that has a hole and is fenced up and become a little bit of a pockmark in the neighbourhood."

The lot is for sale with an asking price of $5.3 million.
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Oh well, we saw it coming I guess. Still a great site for somebody to pick up though!
 
IanO said:
It had less to do with sales or demographics and more to do with a company in turmoil.
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I don't know if that's even accurate. I attended some meetings very early on with the Windsor project, and it seemed like it was a one man show. I didn't and still don't know much about Matt, other than people said he was a good person and had come from Triple 5. If he had partners or other backing, I have no idea. But it was pretty apparent from the couple meetings I attended that he was a babe in the woods. I ended my involvement in the project very early as I knew it was likely going to be a giant waste of time chasing someone's dreams. Hopefully we can figure something out with Pagnotta on the resurrection.

First post here. Please be gentle.
 
Nice to see you here good sir and always appreciate your contributions here, there, other.

Mat has big dreams, good ideas and has pissed off a lot of folks here and there.
 
Marcel said:
I don't know if that's even accurate. I attended some meetings very early on with the Windsor project, and it seemed like it was a one man show. I didn't and still don't know much about Matt, other than people said he was a good person and had come from Triple 5. If he had partners or other backing, I have no idea. But it was pretty apparent from the couple meetings I attended that he was a babe in the woods. I ended my involvement in the project very early as I knew it was likely going to be a giant waste of time chasing someone's dreams. Hopefully we can figure something out with Pagnotta on the resurrection.

First post here. Please be gentle.
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At the end of the day it isn't how fancy the project or renderings are, it's the ability to execute. Matt had a big vision but imo lacked the team to execute. The fact that two of his projects ended up in receivership demonstrates this. At the end of the day track record counts.
 
Marcel said:
I don't know if that's even accurate. I attended some meetings very early on with the Windsor project, and it seemed like it was a one man show. I didn't and still don't know much about Matt, other than people said he was a good person and had come from Triple 5. If he had partners or other backing, I have no idea. But it was pretty apparent from the couple meetings I attended that he was a babe in the woods. I ended my involvement in the project very early as I knew it was likely going to be a giant waste of time chasing someone's dreams. Hopefully we can figure something out with Pagnotta on the resurrection.

First post here. Please be gentle.
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Welcome to Skyrise! Thanks for the info, and we're a pretty chill group so no need to worry haha
 
Marcel said:
I don't know if that's even accurate. I attended some meetings very early on with the Windsor project, and it seemed like it was a one man show. I didn't and still don't know much about Matt, other than people said he was a good person and had come from Triple 5. If he had partners or other backing, I have no idea. But it was pretty apparent from the couple meetings I attended that he was a babe in the woods. I ended my involvement in the project very early as I knew it was likely going to be a giant waste of time chasing someone's dreams. Hopefully we can figure something out with Pagnotta on the resurrection.

First post here. Please be gentle.
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Welcome aboard. Always appreciated your previous contributions in other conversations. Look forward to your insights on various projects/threads here as well! :D
 
So now what? We’re left with a slag heap pile of rubbish, dirt already amidst of bar hopping uriners at 2am on a Sunday morning? Can this clown sell it?
 
IanO said:
Was it not for sale (judicial?)?
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Now that's what I heard. The rule is that if you hear it 3 times from different sources then it is believable. Example (from noted comedian). Someone said: "In North America people swallow 8 spiders a year on average in their sleep. Now that is on average; in the far north it is too cold for spiders so fewer people swallow them in their sleep and in the deep south spiders are too big to swallow whole (tarantulas); so the people in between swallow more spiders in their sleep to support the average." Now if someone else said, "I heard that about 8 spiders are swallowed by people in their sleep in North America," then you begin to believe it. And if a third person says, " I heard that people swallow 8..." I know, I know -- spiders, on average, and in their sleep -- I am not an idiot! So when that fact sinks in then there is room for confirmation bias -- I heard that people in North America on average swallow 18 insects in their sleep. Makes sense to me -- they are already swallowing 8 spiders -- the spiders probably go in there chasing the bugs.
 
I might be interested to take over this project, does anybody has more insides about the total construction sq/ft? I wonder what was the construction cost at that time if there was any ?
 
jaymao said:
I might be interested to take over this project, does anybody has more insides about the total construction sq/ft? I wonder what was the construction cost at that time if there was any ?
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You should reach out to Matthew McLash at Westoak (the former developer) and see if he will divulge that information. I don't know him personally, but that's probably the best place to start.
 
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