My main issue with the plan is the city backed CRL. The 'build and they will come' notion is clumsy. For the CRL to fly there has to be a significant amount of commercial development lined up and built right on the heels of the arena complex. But what are the chances a pile of commercial development dollars are going to materialize as we get further into a recession? The city has a glut of downtown office space and there seems to be piles of condo towers already going up elsewhere around the core. Is there need for more of those types of developments in the West Village any time soon?
It's concerning that was no talk of a development anchor to justify the CRL. The East Village has the Bow and a pile of residential on the go. Edmonton has some towers going up in conjunction to the arena. Seems a little too risky for the city to be left holding the bag if the tax revenue never materializes.
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