Edmonton MLS® Report
- February 14/2012
Designers have started work on the plans for the former City Centre Airport site. One of the things they are working on is making the development pedestrian friendly. This is one way to help make the 217 hectare property environmentally friendly as well. Ideas are being brought up at public sessions throughout this week.
One meeting was held Monday, the remaining are on Wednesday and Thursday and are a follow-up to meetings held last October. Input from those discussions, as well as online messages will be discussed. The idea is to help architects from Perkins and Will to come up with a plan that addresses concerns for open green space, as well as other development issues.
One item is the number and type of roads in the development and the idea of having rental vehicles available for residents. The benefit is that the expected 25,000 to 30,000 homeowners won’t have to buy so many cars. If so, that means fewer parking spaces will be needed, freeing up that land for something else.
At least two, and perhaps three, LRT stations are planned. That third one just may be feasible if one less parking garage is constructed. The intent is to attract seniors and families to an area with easily available public transit, easy access to shops, entertainment and all else the downtown core has to offer, while keeping the home prices as reasonable as possible. After a second round of public meetings in May, the final proposal is expected in the fall.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- December 15/2011
CREW Poll Analyses Mortgage Rule Effects
A recent poll conducted by CREW confirms that the governments change in mortgage rules implemented earlier this year has changed how investors and homebuyers have gone about acquiring property. The majority surveyed noted that the rules did have an effect on their buying habits. Some 40.3 percent said there was no change.
A little more than 37 percent noted that changing the maximum amount on a refinance loan to 85 percent of the property value did affect their business practice. Slightly fewer saw this as a slight inconvenience.
The poll did not address the issue of shortening an insured mortgage to a 30 year term or to withdraw the CMHC support for HELOCs. But investors in the know seem to think the changes in refinance laws were more irritating.
Canada’s real estate market is still proving to be profitable, so investors are coming up with other ways to raise funds. These options include private lending funds, or the use of RRSPs and TFSAs.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- December 8/2011
Alberta Oil Sands May Be Vulnerable to Inflation
Alberta’s oil sands are once more producing product at near record numbers, making the province one of the most profitable in the country. But pulling oil out of that sand is an expensive process, which is fine as long as oil prices stay where they are, or get higher. But if they plummet because of a recession, that could be a problem.
Andrew Leach, who is an energy economist from the University of Alberta notes that Alberta’s oil industry is very vulnerable, simply because that industry is driven by inflation. Oil prices today are considerably higher than those in 2007, the last boom time for the industry.
Likewise, production costs are also higher. Today’s cost of producing oil is 250 percent higher than it was in the year 2000. Production costs were figured at $20 below the average price of a barrel of oil. Prices have gone up, but rather than having more of a gap between production cost and that barrel price, we are still looking at that $20.
Alberta energy experts predict that oil prices will fluctuate between $100 and $125 per barrel for at least the next ten years. The National Energy Board has different ideas. They think oil will fluctuate between $70 and $150 per barrel over the same time period. Another thing that may affect price is the increased use of fracking, a new technology that can draw oil and gas out of areas that were considered unreachable in the past. As technology improves, and oil becomes increasingly accessible, Alberta may find it no longer has such a corner on the market.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- October 20/2011
Asia Looks to Alberta for More Wood and Wood Products
Asia needs more wood and wood products. Mel Knight, minster from Alberta, wants to send them some. He said as much at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge this past Thursday. The Alberta Forest Products Association was holding their annual meeting and Knight was a prominent speaker.
Knight wanted to make sure that the lumber industry in Alberta is not overlooked in favour of the oil and gas industry. Almost 58 percent of the province is covered in trees. That can be used to generate another industry, or at least rejuvenate the one that already exists. This in turn would breathe new life into Alberta’s railroads and trucking industry. Those trees and products do have to get to market somehow.
The association has already been working on a plan to revive the wood product and the pulp and paper sectors, which are the biggest moneymakers in Alberta. Starting this past January they started putting together a plan that would increase investments and create innovative new products. Already $4 billion worth of product is exported annually with the bulk of that, some $2.3 billion, going to the United States.
But it is becoming more apparent that the economic recovery in the United States has stalled, so that means Asia is becoming a more important customer. Knight would like to see the industry expanded so that it can produce $7 billion in product with much of that headed towards Asia. The plan is fashioned after the one in British Columbia. That province now exports more wood products to China that it does to the USA. Such a plan would also mean the reopening of some plants that have been quiet for some time, bringing more jobs to forest communities.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- September 23/2011
First Film at Edmonton Festival is Edgy Canadian Love Story, With a Twist
There is no way you can say that the Edmonton film festival is behind the times. The annual event will open with a movie called Cloudburst, a tale of two lesbian lovers. Filmed in Canada, the production stars two familiar faces, Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker, both Academy Award Winners. The latter star will arrive Friday for the film’s debut.
Fricker, age 66, born and bred in Ireland, now lives in Dublin. In an interview given not too long ago, she noted that if she were younger she wouldn’t mind moving to Canada because of the people. The cast and crew spent more than two months in Nova Scotia in 2010 for the filming of Cloudburst. Directed by Thom Fitzgerald, who is also the author, it is the story of two elderly lesbians who simply want to be together and will go to extensive lengths to do so.
Fricker and Dukakis worked on “The Intended” back in 2002. The film, made in Borneo, kept the pair deep in the jungle for weeks. Nova Scotia was a pleasant change. Both are pleased with the film, which is funny, edgy and has more than a smattering of colorful language. Normally the first film of the festival is a bit more mainstream, so coming out with such an earthy surprise is a big change.
The Edmonton Film Festival opens Friday September 23rd and runs until Saturday October 1st. Over 100 short films and 60 full length features are on the books. There are more documentaries this year than normal, nearly 20, but that is just a reflection of the times. Films from around the world are featured, including offerings from Bollywood, India’s movie center. This year films will be shown at five different theatres. Stars from around the world have been known to show up, so there is no telling who you might run into.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- September 8/2011
Homes Continue to Appreciate in Canada, Helping to Offset Debt Load
The appreciation of homes in Canada means that for homeowners, their net worth increased by some 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2011. That translates into a cool $6.4 trillion. If we average that out per capita, then each person’s net worth went from $185,300 in the first quarter to $186,900 in the second.
But that increase was not quite enough to offset the household net worth decline of 0.3 percent, which came in at 184,300. This takes into account investments that Canadians make in mutual funds, into pensions and other equities. This second quarter showed the first decline in investments since 2010’s second quarter. Also of note for that quarter is, according to Statistics Canada, there was a 5.9 percent decrease in the Standard and Poor’s-Toronto Stock Exchange index.
Consumer debt also rose in the second quarter, both from credit borrowing and from having more mortgage debt. Interest rates are still at historic lows, which have encouraged an increase in borrowing. Income to debt ratio is currently at 147 percent. That is higher than the 138 percent to 142 percent considered to be in the acceptable range. Equity also saw a slight dip in the second quarter because of the increased debt loads.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- August 24/2011
RBC Releases Home Affordability Report, Most Canadian Areas Do Well
The Royal Bank of Canada just released a report that acknowledged that the affordability of owning a home hasn’t changed all that much here at home. This is in spite of the fact that home prices have gone up a bit based on a nationwide average and that in the second quarter of 2011 that affordability did dip just a bit. That temporary dip was largely due to slightly higher mortgage rates.
The RBC Housing Trends and Affordability report was put together by two economists, Robert Hogue and Craig Wright. The idea was to track ownership costs of different types of properties and calculate the affordability factor, based on the amount of household income it took to purchase and maintain that home. The higher the percentage, or the more of that income dedicated to housing, the less affordable the scenario.
Looking at the condo market nationwide, the affordability percentage averaged 29.2 percent, up 0.8 percent over the previous year. Detached single family, single storey homes came in at 43.3 percent, going up 1.7 percent over last year, and two storey homes worked out to be 49.3 percent, increasing 1.8 percent.
The most affordable province is Alberta. The average for condos was 21.3 percent, single family homes 32.8 percent and two storey homes at 36.4 percent. Vancouver worked out to be the least affordable place to live. A condo averaged a 50 percent affordability percentage, a single storey bungalow 92.5 percent and a two-storey property 95.5 percent.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- August 16/2011
TSX on Roller Coaster Ride This Past Week
Monday was a rough day at the Toronto Stock Exchange. It ended that disappointing day with the worst record in over two years. But the bounce-back during the rest of the week was equally amazing. On Friday, early trading showed the S&P/TSX index up 0.42 percent, or 52.27 percent to 12,592.07.
The beginning of the week started with a 4.04 percent loss. Over the next three days the market steadily gained, enough that if Friday remained flat, the week would have had an increase of 3.1 percent for the week. That would be considered the best record for a single week in over a year.
The United States also had a horrible Monday, but by Friday the Dow Jones was once again in the green. The average climbed 150.99 points, increasing 1.35 percent to read 11,294.30. The Nasdaq index was up 23.58 points, or 0.95 percent, showing 2,516.26. This rally may have had something to do with the report from the U.S. Commerce Department showing that retail sales in the country went up 0.5 percent in July.
Friday also had the Canadian Dollar up by 29 basis points to equal $1.0147 USD. Crude oil was up by 83 cents, going for $86.55 USD per barrel, and gold, dropping $1.70 USD, was flat, coming in at $1,749.80 USD per ounce.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- July 15/2011
Alberta Fund Gain Less than Expected
The $ 70 billion that Alberta has in its investment fun saw its annual return reported this past Tuesday. According to Leo de Bever, CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corporation, the result was a tad disappointing. Bever also noted that next year could be even more-so, depending on what happens to the high debt levels throughout North America.
For its fiscal year of 2011, the company showed a 10.3 percent return on its endowment assets and investment funds. For the entire block of assets, which includes short term government funds, the rate of return was 8.2 percent. In the fiscal 2010 year the total return was 12 percent and in 2009, the return showed a 10.1 percent loss. The fiscal year ended the 31st of March.
Bever was hoping to see a return of between 11.3 and 11.5 percent, but the firm had to do a lot of restructuring during the past year so he isn’t surprised at the result. The restructuring was done on the private equity portfolio because some of the long time private assets were underperforming. These were in the J-curve phase.
Quite a few of these holdings were sold, mostly in 2010 to minimize losses. AIMCo also just invested $850 million in a 50 percent ownership of six lane toll road in the country of Chile, as well as buying Australian forestland for some $415 million.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- July 7/2011
Double-Amputee Veteran Set to Conquer Kilimanjaro
A Calgary soldier who lost both legs under the knee in Afghanistan is poised to climb Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. Corporal Mark Fuchko is ready to make the ascent on his artificial limbs.
The 27-year-old will accompany three other soldiers who were wounded. The men will be joined on the climb by 34 other individuals that include doctors, business leaders and other professionals. The group will climb Africa’s highest peak to help raise some $575,000 for Royal Alexandra Hospital’s new Orthopedic Surgery Centre.
Fuchko said he wants to support the fundraiser because, as with other veterans, he will need new hips at some point in the future. He said he jumped at the opportunity to climb the 19,340-foot mountain. He confirmed his intention to make it to Kilimanjaro’s summit, even if he has to do it on all fours.
Joining Fuchko are Corporal Lucas Mullens, Warrant Officer Quinn Beggs and Corporal Dallas White. All of the soldiers sustained significant leg injuries during explosions in Afghanistan. Although participants are responsible for paying all expenses associated with the trip and must also raise a minimum of $5,000 per person, the Soldier On Fund will pay for the soldiers’ trips. This organization gives financial sports donations to current or former Canadian Forces members who have been injured in duty.
To train for the climb, many of the participants traveled to Jasper, Alta in June for a team-building experience. Fuchko said that during the event, he needed to take a break every 40 minutes to deal with his artificial limbs. As sweat would build in his upper legs, he risked losing the suction necessary to keep the prosthetics in place. Despite the inconvenience, Fuchko was successful in completing the climb.
Fuchko said that he already has the skill set that will enable him to endure the elements. His military experience has already prepared him well for the hiking and climbing.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- June 23/2011
Telus to Create Environmentally Friendly Green Space in Downtown Edmonton
Telus is planning on spending some $20 million on upgrading its two downtown office towers as well as the area adjacent to their holdings. The plan is to put in a park like green space between the 33-storey Telus House tower and the neighbouring Union Bank Inn. Telus House is the taller of the two buildings that make up Telus Plaza that sits at 100th Street and Jasper Avenue.
The idea is to create a space that is not only environmentally friendly, but that reflects Edmonton’s special cultural diversity and heritage. The city is also the home base for Telus. Geoff de Bruijn, the company president, wants to give the public the chance to let the company known what they would like to see in that space.
As far as the renovations to the buildings themselves, plans are to have a more open-concept work area, which means that there would be fewer doors and walls in the work areas. Telus, who has some employees that work offsite, and that frequently has workers in from other locales, will create special “hotel stations” so they will have some place to work when they are in town. The company has some 3,000 employees in the Edmonton area alone.
Telus, who renewed their lease in the towers until 2026, is reducing their square footage at this location. Still, throughout Edmonton, the company occupies some 1.7 million square feet of space. The company is in hiring mode, and plans to add at least 200 employees by the end of 2011.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- June 9/2011
Power to Municipalities is a Goal for New Alberta Party Chief
Glenn Taylor, the new leader of the Alberta party, says he has always looked out for the “little guy,” whether it is in business or in political issues. Municipal governments, often seen as the small stepchildren of provincial and federal governments, are going to get more attention, he says.
The 48-year-old Taylor served three terms as mayor of Hinton, and has evolved into a leader cognizant of big-city matters. He served ten years with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, and reached the title of vice-president. In this capacity, he said that municipal leadership is just important to Alberta as the larger forms of government. Importantly, he said, municipalities deserve more overall responsibility as well as more power to tax.
Under Taylor, the Alberta Party might be able to transfer the required power of taxation to municipal government bodies. One facet of property taxes is the education portion. Currently, this portion, accounting for almost a third of any given tax bill, goes directly to the province. Under a new structure, municipalities would be able to keep the revenue generated by property taxes, so they would not have to constantly approach the province for funds.
Taylor commented that municipalities need better access to tax-generated monies that are currently being held by the provincial and federal governments.
Transit is a special area of concern for Taylor, stemming from his work in Hinton in which a limited bus service was implemented. He said that the experiences he had in working with social service agencies and business leaders in the initiation of bus transit has provided him with insight in dealing with diverse groups.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- May 24/2011
Role Reversal Can Help Prepare For Personal Loss
We don’t like to think about loosing our partner in life. Perhaps it is always in the back of our minds, but it isn’t something we like to dwell on. And sometimes the unthinkable happens, whether it is a sudden death from an accident or an expected loss after a long illness. Either way, the loss, and sometimes the guilt for being left behind, is almost palpable.
Yet somehow, through all the grief, life must go on. There are bills to pay and houses to clean and yards to mow and all the little things that perhaps we had help with before. If there are children, then you might find yourself dealing with finding childcare, or figuring out how to get the kids to dance classes or hockey classes while still holding down a job. It’s not easy.
Many couples share household duties and financial matters. But some have a clear division in who takes care of home and family, and who takes care of the investing and the mortgage and in balancing the check book. The couples who share both the financial and the physical part of keeping a household together are better prepared to face one of life’s biggest challenges.
As baby boomers age, there will be more people getting into the twilight years, making the unthinkable more of a possibility. While it is difficult, and by some considered almost morbid, it would be wise to have a talk about financial matters. Perhaps an idea would be to do bit of “work exchange” where the spouse who usually avoids the checkbook pays the bills for a month or two, just to get the hang of it. The reverse could be done for the spouse that hasn’t a clue about the washing machine or how to boil an egg or cook pasta. A few cooking lessons would not be out of line. You might even decide that cooking together can be fun.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- May 12/2011
Edmonton Parking Tickets May Increase By $25
Parking tickets in Edmonton may soon be going up. This isn’t just a whim of city fathers, but rather a method to pass on the cost of a license plate search that is done when a vehicle is ticketed. The province is charging the city $15 every time a plate is run. On a parking ticket that could be done three times, the first to write the ticket, the second to send a reminder notice and the third if the ticket is challenged in court.
The fairest way to recoup the loss is to charge the offender. Otherwise the money has to come out of the city budget. Considering that Edmonton writes about 132,000 parking citations each year that is a lot of money. The city is thinking about eliminating the second search for the reminder, since that is done to make sure the address associated with the vehicle is correct.
The higher ticket prices are not expected to sit well with most people. Some already feel that tickets are given needlessly, sometimes on a whim and they aren’t being treated fairly. It is possible that more tickets end up being challenged. Currently parking at an expired meter will set you back $35. If you are parked in a disabled spot and don’t have a permit, that now costs $250. The bylaw comes up for vote in council on June 1st.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- April 7/2011
Edmonton Mayor Mandel and Council Agree on Arena Funding Plan
It appears that there is a bigger glimmer of hope for Edmonton’s downtown arena project. On Wednesday that city’s council spent 12 hours arguing the pros and cons. Finally Mayor Stephen Mandel hit on a solution that was acceptable even to the most skeptical of council members. A motion to allow city administrators to negotiate with the Katz Group, the party that put forward the idea, was passed.
The terms include that the arena must cost no more than $450 million, that there will be a ticket tax to help raise some $125 million of that sum, and that the Katz Group must guarantee that they are putting in $100 million for the project. Katz owns the Oilers hockey team and there must be an agreement that the team will stay in Edmonton for at least 30 years. Katz Group and the Oilers must agree to a community benefits agreement to help the inner city neighborhoods surrounding the arena. There must also be some sort of revenue sharing deal with the Katz Group.
The other big thing is that the suggested community revitalization levy, or CRL, which is tax money to be raised over a 20 year period to help fund the arena, will spend those taxes somewhat differently. Originally the anticipated $160 million was to go to the arena complex. Now only $20 million will go towards that project. The rest will be used for infrastructure improvements throughout the downtown core. The city would only contribute a maximum of $125 million to the arena project.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- March 23/2011
TransAlta Power Stacks in Wabamun Dismantled
The Wabamun power plant, belonging to Trans Alta Corporation, is no more. Its red and white stacks were literally blown down by strategically placed pieces of dynamite and blasting caps this past Friday in what is known in the industry as a controlled drop. It only took 15 kilograms of the dynamite and 75 well placed blasting caps to bring down the three 100 metre concrete stacks.
Quantum Murray, a demolition firm from Ontario has been dismantling the plant for the last year. The stacks were only part of the project. By placing the dynamite in the base of each stack in the direction where they wanted the stack to fall, the firm was able to drop them precisely as intended, one at a time.
It will make a difference in the view from the Yellowhead Highway. The stacks were built in 1960 and a landmark of the tiny hamlet of Wabamun, roughly 70 kilometres west of downtown Edmonton. The plant was built by Calgary Power at a cost of $8 million and at first used gas as an energy source but then switched to coal from the nearby Whitewood Mine.
Quantum Murray will take until the end of 2011 to completely dismantle the plant, sending out the old metal by rail for recycling. The only thing that will be left is the AltaLink substation, which is part of the current provincial electrical grid. The goal is to reclaim the land for a wildlife area and possibly turn part of Wabamun into a destination resort area.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- March 10/2011
New Business Park Planned for Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray is growing. That growth has spurred Calgary’s Pacific Investments and Development Ltd into purchasing 980 acres or Crown land just south of that city’s core for a $35 million price tag. The intent is to create a combination commercial/industrial business park. As soon as the land-use approvals are issued the deal closes.
Pacific has experience creating such developments. It is responsible for Spy Hill Business Park in Calgary and Saprae Creek Estates, a housing development in Fort McMurray. This new project is intended to be 20 percent commercial and 80 percent industrial. Layne Garder, marketing director for Pacific has noted that some energy firms and large national retailers have already shown interest in the site. The serviced lots are expected to be completed by the end of 2012 or early in 2013.
The development is five kilometres south of Fort McMurray in the Southland Area. It sits alongside Highway 63, the main connector to points south. The land sale is one of the largest seen for commercial and industrial use in the Wood Buffalo Municipality. Ray Danyluk, Minister of Infrastructure, notes that the area is growing and the need is there. The development is a positive move for the Fort McMurray area.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- February 25/2011
Edmonton’s Former Bishop Victoria Matthews Survives Quake in New Zealand
Victoria Mathews, who was Edmonton’s Anglican bishop for ten years, rode out the 6.3 quake in New Zealand at her new parish, the Christchurch Cathedral. The city, and the cathedral are all but in ruins but Mathews was able to get word out after two days that she was unharmed.
Mathew’s description of the place likened it to a war zone. Aftershocks were still coming and knocking down more structures, hampering rescue efforts. So far 76 are confirmed dead and roughly 238 are unaccounted for. Some may be under the rubble that until a short time ago was office buildings, restaurants and shops. Only half the city has electricity. Despite the hardship, the town has been working together to recover with few incidents of looting or squabbles.
All the churches are working together to find venues for funerals and to hold services. Members are checking on residents and helping to dig people out if needed. Most of the driveways and sidewalks are covered in rubble and are impassable. Homes not built on bedrock were instantly destroyed by what is called liquefaction. That is where the sand or soil mixes with ground water and liquefies, causing everything to shake and then collapse.
Jane Alexander, Edmonton’s new bishop is organizing a collection effort through the local diocese or online at the website for the Anglican Church of New Zealand.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- February 2/2011
Canadian Consumer Debt Load Continues to Increase
Many investors are feeling the bite of debt, especially since two major Edmonton firms recently filed for bankruptcy. Federal Mortgage Corp. and affiliate company Peers Foster Kristiansen Inc. owe tens of millions to investors who were victims of the company’s alleged Ponzi scheme. The firms relied upon new investments to cover for the companies’ failing finances. Now that the companies are defunct, thousands of Canadians are without savings for their retirements.
Although people affected by the FMC and Peers have received significant media attention, other consumers are also at risk for little or no savings in their old age. According to Scott Hannah, who is the Credit Counselling Society’s CEO, many Canadians are afflicted by heavy debt loads.
Household debt reached a new high of 148 percent of yearly disposable income during the July-September quarter of 2010. Interest rates may increase in the latter part of this year, making the debt situation even more severe.
Hannah, whose company provides credit education, counselling and debt-management services, said that many of his clients are a just a few paycheques away from disaster. He noted that his average customer is in his or her early 40s, and owes anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000 on their credit cards.
Since the financial meltdown that began in the fall of 2008, the overall Canadian economy has improved, as has the financial situation in Alberta. However, Hannah said, consumers dramatically increased their debt loads during the recession, and are still relying too heavily on credit. He said that in late 2008 and throughout 2009, his company experienced 50-percent growth in the number of individuals that contacted it for help.
The solution to debt problems? Hannah believes that Canadians need more education on managing their personal finances, beginning at the elementary school level. The Credit Counselling Society has just introduced a program to start educating children in fifth and sixth grades on financial responsibility.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- January 20/2011
Homeowners in Edmonton Should Keep an Eye On Rooftop Snow Build-up
Edmonton is having a very snowy winter. More than 50 centimetres of the white stuff has fallen on the city. While this makes lovers of snow sports happy, those who commute and those with a huge white blanket on their roof are not usually so thrilled.
Dave Jameson who is a project manager with General Roofing Systems notes that his firm, which does rooftop snow removal, is getting up to 120 calls a day from residential and commercial property owners alike. The company charges a minimum of $350 for residential snow removal. On a commercial structure the minimum is $750. This does not include the fee for the workers, running $79 per hour for residential jobs and as much as $165 per hour on commercial/industrial snow removal. Estimates are free.
Jameson advises that the snow isn’t as much of the problem as is the ice build-up underneath. Snow melts, it freezes and then is covered by a new layer of snow. The process repeats until the ice sheet becomes too heavy for the roof to bear. Trouble may not show up until the spring thaw when water that ended up freezing in the attic melts and comes through the ceiling. Then of course there is the possibility that all that weight will cause structural failure.
So far this season, structures are seeing a build-up of over a foot of snow, and it’s only January. Those choosing to do the work on their own may have trouble finding a roof rake. They’ve been flying off the shelves at Canadian Tire and are becoming scarcer by the minute.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- January 6/2011
Downtown Arena Gains Support
A modified application won the support of Edmonton city planners to re-zone a section of downtown Edmonton for an entertainment and arena area.
Gary Klassen, planning and development general manager, clarified that the support was not approval of the arena.
The modifications to the arena’s application include less parking and better pedestrian access after considering the design committee’s previous concerns regarding public art, architecture and sustainability. The application shows 4.5 metre-wide sidewalks along 104 Avenue with flanking trees and covers a vacant property west of 104 Street, the Baccarat Casino and its adjoining parking lot.
The re-zoning would allow for bars, hotels, casinos, boarding houses, apartments and flea markets among other buildings. If the re-zoning passes, the proposal will then need to send details about what the project will look like and how the pedestrian crossing over 104 Avenue will be built.
Bylaw amendments will be discussed at a public hearing by city council on January 18.
City council, the expectant owners of the arena, will need to accept the design. The proposal will be discussed after council members consider ways to pay for the arena and how it will operate.
The Katz Group has committed $100 million to the project and property and ticket taxes are also being considered.
Councillors are expected to make a final decision on the arena’s fate by the end of April 2011.
The Oilers are hopeful they’ll play in the new arena in 2014.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- December 13/2010
Phase Two of Alberta’s Health Care Infrastructure Plan Unveiled
The province of Alberta has allocated $1.3 billion to Phase Two of its three year plant to upgrade health care in the province. The funds are for projects that have already been proposed as well as new ones such as the recently announced “cancer infrastructure plan.” Alberta is spending $208 million to build a comprehensive cancer care centre. It is needed because the province’s population is not only growing, but aging.
In July, Phase one of the health upgrade plan was announced. This sets aside $1.2 billion for projects destined for outside of Calgary and Edmonton. These include equipment upgrades province-wide, investment in new technology, more facilities and better maintenance of facilities already in use.
Also announced was the plan to build new long-term care facilities, part of a promise to open up 1,000 beds a year for five years. So far in 2010, 800 new spaces have come online. The health capital infrastructure investment will spend $2.5 billion on health care services through the end of 2013.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- December 3/2010
Edmonton School Closures on Temporary Freeze
Parents and students are breathing a little easier—at least, temporarily. After closing five Edmonton schools in the spring of 2009, public school board trustees decided on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, that they will put a suspension on further closures.
Parents, community groups and students were angry last year with the board’s rulings and dissatisfied with explanations.
Parent Kevin Minakar said the board’s reasons for closures, including the need to fill other schools and the need for teachers at other schools, are not good enough. Minakar told the board their decisions jeopardize the quality of his child’s education at Riverdale School.
The trustees are at odds with their opinions and values, however.
Board trustee Dave Colburn said they need to find out how much is saved when schools are closed and how many schools would need to close in order to eliminate empty student space.
Trustee Catherine Ripley disagreed, saying she wants to maximize resources to invest in classrooms instead of investing increasing funds into schools that are aging and sparsely populated. Trustee Heather MacKenzie said she doesn’t believe that closing inner city schools to build on the outskirts of the city is a sustainable solution.
The two-year suspension is meant to give trustees time to answer these questions and potentially give them time to work with Edmonton and Alberta to redevelop central neighbourhoods.
Seventy schools are currently under closure review.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- November 25/2010
First Phase of Boyle Street Revitalization Project to Begin
Boyle Street is finally getting its facelift, at least the beginnings of one. The first phase of the revitalization project, known as the Boyle Residence was unveiled on Wednesday. What were simply lines on a page is now a scale model, giving shape to the buildings that will eventually provide 550 homes for the less fortunate.
The project will cover two and a half blocks sitting east of 97th Street, just south of the LRT tracks. It blends in with The Quarters, another project intended to revitalize Edmonton’s long neglected downtown eastern end. The first phase, costing $42.5 million, will be constructing 150 affordable homes in the YMCA’s Welcome Village. It will have an underground parkade, day care for 76 children and a brand new community centre.
The current community hall, home to the Inner City High School is set to be demolished in early 2011. The school will be moved. Part of the land, which belongs to the city, will remain parkland. A community garden that sits on the property’s western end will be moved closer to the LRT tracks. The first phase is scheduled to be finished in roughly 18 months.
Long time resident Thim Choy, who is also president of the Boyle Street Community League, is more than thrilled. Businesses have traditionally avoided starting up on Boyle Street because of its unsavory reputation. He is hopeful, as are others, that the revitalization will change that and new faces will start trickling into the area.
Edmonton MLS® Report
- November 9/2010
Edmonton Says No to Hosting the IndyCar Grand Prix of Edmonton
The City of Edmonton decided not to play nice guy with the promoter of the IndyCar Series. The result was the loss of the popular Grand Prix of Edmonton that was to have been held the weekend of July 23 and 24th. Both sides lost in this battle of wills. Edmonton lost an entertainment feature that many other Canadian cities would be happy to host. The IndyCar Series ended up with a hole its schedule during peak racing season that will be tough to fill.
The dispute centered around modifications that were needed at the venue, the Edmonton City Centre Airport. A track design was created based on the runway configurations. It would allow the use of the now closed runway while leaving the remaining functioning strip in use. But Edmonton refused to pay for the paving needed for a paddock and the track itself.
During the first four years the IndyCar race was held it lost money and city fathers were already grousing about that. But last year Octane Motorsports Events, Inc., a Montreal based firm, took over the promoter’s job and the hope of continuing the event blossomed. But Edmonton decided it did not want to kick in the $5.5 million to be a major race sponsor for the next three years.
Whether this hurts or helps Edmonton down the road remains to be seen. Its reputation as a reliable business/sponsor has been tarnished. Not only did the city say no, it waited until the last minute to do so, putting the IndyCar Series management in a bind. The only possible venues that they could substitute are too close to conflicting events or have tight travel windows. None of the sites being considered are in Canada.
