Tower 101 | 175m | 50s | Regency Developments | DER + Associates

What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    50
David A said:
I don't know where the person who said that comes from, but it sounds the like condescending type of comment from the "centre of the universe", that attitude is really nothing new, has been like that for decades.

Actually as pointed out, people are leaving there in droves, but perhaps the most smug and unaware just haven't realized it yet.
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The thing is though the people leaving the GTA are doing it because they want a single family home, not an apartment in a much less desirable downtown.

Edmonton DT does need a PR campaign coupled with a serious crackdown on social disorder to really attract institutional investment.
 
Offworld said:
My apologies for being unclear. I'm talking about the biggest financial groups in the country, namely pension funds, life insurance companies, and the like. Some of that money is run in-house and/or though third-party advisors and fiduciaries. You could also add corporations like Brookfield and Kingsett.

I would say that the opposite of institutional money would be small local or regional entities with limited financial clout and limited ability to source both debt and equity. Family offices would not normally included either.
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Surprising some like the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund isn't looking out here for new opportunities. One of the richest pension funds in the world and they always seem to be buying apartment building/condos. Maybe they have bought some out here that I don't know about but I do know they do invest in those kinds of ventures.
 
NicolBolas said:
The thing is though the people leaving the GTA are doing it because they want a single family home, not an apartment in a much less desirable downtown.

Edmonton DT does need a PR campaign coupled with a serious crackdown on social disorder to really attract institutional investment.
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Yes, that could help, but we need more than a PR campaign. A weak corporate head/office sector and civic indifference to attracting more has led to a downtown that has struggled for decades.

If we only want to attract companies that build warehouses and plants in suburban areas, that is where our economic vitality will be.
 
bodsbods9090 said:
Surprising some like the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund isn't looking out here for new opportunities. One of the richest pension funds in the world and they always seem to be buying apartment building/condos. Maybe they have bought some out here that I don't know about but I do know they do invest in those kinds of ventures.
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Ontario Teachers' real estate group is Cadillac Fairview. They're barely represented in the Prairies at all, and regrettably their focus is elsewhere. Edmonton doesn't have the kind of real estate that they're focused on (top tier only), and they've not been a fan of the overall Edmonton market. :(
 
^^ David that misses the vitality created by 1. the ICE District and 2. the Educational sector vis-a-vis MacEwan University, Norquest College and the UofA downtown campus -- all 3 are trying to grow their individual efforts re R&D. The downtown is growing organically and I don't see a rationale for focusing on the Office Sector with the transition happening worldwide on reducing corporate footprints on the white collar side of the equation. Sports & Entertainment and Education & Research are filling in the void just nicely. Downtown also has the benefit of the presence of all three levels of Government -- Municipal, Provincial and Federal. The seed is there; we just need to support those growth factors that are already in place.
 
archited said:
^^ David that misses the vitality created by 1. the ICE District and 2. the Educational sector vis-a-vis MacEwan University, Norquest College and the UofA downtown campus -- all 3 are trying to grow their individual efforts re R&D. The downtown is growing organically and I don't see a rationale for focusing on the Office Sector with the transition happening worldwide on reducing corporate footprints on the white collar side of the equation. Sports & Entertainment and Education & Research are filling in the void just nicely. Downtown also has the benefit of the presence of all three levels of Government -- Municipal, Provincial and Federal. The seed is there; we just need to support those growth factors that are already in place.
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disagree. Everything you’ve mentioned is driving temporary visits to downtown. Nothing building downtown culture. More importantly, nothing building brand recognition outside of edmonton. I completely AGREE that these things are great for Edmonton, but are missing the point why we are not going to have any legacy prime lot projects any time soon.
 
There are many factors affecting office growth -- of course the biggest is the remote work thing. But there is also AI which will put a downward pressure on hires in many office career fields. Computerization alone has decreased the needs for hires -- many tasks that used to require warm bodies can now be handled by one person instead of needing 3 or 4. The office matrix as it applies to downtown growth is likely going to be limited to single person or small groups of professionals -- doctors (especially specialists), dentists, lawyers, realtors, architects and engineers.

I don't see much residential rising to the status of "legacy" buildings anymore with very few exceptions -- the Parks, Qualico's build-out, ICE II are the most notable. I know I get flak for repeatedly saying so, but there is a rush by some developers to build downtown as cheap as possible -- maximum profits:minimum effort.

Mixed use is going to be the biggest potential for legacy projects in the fields that you have mentioned -- again the Parks, Qualico, and ICE II. That said there seems to be a convergence on a developmental attitude to avoid the "mixed part" of mixed use and to build crap with the call signal "what a good boy am I"

Otherwise the Legacy Potential rests on Arts and Entertainment Projects, Sports Edifices, and Post-Secondary Schools -- these are the types of buildings we should be heralding for downtown -- so far the architecture in these areas has been above par.
 
I agree mixed use is the most likely type of project for this site. It is frustrating nothing is happening here in such a prominent site while other several things have been built in other nearby areas of downtown.

Perhaps mixed use is more complicated to put together and that is part of the reason for the delay here. I suspect the current owner is not up to it.

There are various issues related to downtown that may be a factor, but I don't think this hinges on whether some large developer from elsewhere is interested in i,t or our city, or not.
 
ChazYEG said:
I could waste time debunking every single one of these points, but nothing propagates in the vaccum.
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