Quote:
Originally Posted by Zarley
I generally agree with your other points, but you are missing the mark on this one.
CMLC's existing East Village project is currently cannibalizing demand from other areas of the inner city that do not require intensive public investment while subsidizing private developers who build in the district. It's a matter of the City prioritizing the revitalization of a blighted area over the intensification of existing districts.
If we wait until the CRL for the East Village is paid back, we won't see any movement on the WV for over a decade. I think what you mean to say is that the West Village should proceed upon buildout of the East Village. If the Flames' West Village plan goes ahead I doubt you'll see construction starting for five years. The start of residential development in the WV would then coincide with completion of the EV (assuming absorption patterns hold).
By including an arena/entertainment complex within the WV (obviously under a revised master plan) we can jumpstart remediation/revitalization of the area and potentially attract higher (property tax) value commercial and retail development to the area. Also, rather than simply spending public dollars on revitalization to subsidize residential development, we can use some of that investment to provide a facility that will benefit all Calgarians.
Those of you who are writing off the concept in its entirety are missing the mark. There are some good ideas underlying CalgaryNext, but unfortunately poor execution is leading to the rejection of the idea as a whole. I would hope that the Flames bring an experienced developer on board and prepare a comprehensive master plan as a next step.
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Thoughtful post.
The question is, does an Arena/Stadium better enable redevelopment or potentially hamper it by virtue of a) additional money ($240m) required from a CRL to pay for the stadium AND remediation and other infrastructure costs, and b) taking up a significant amount of the land that's necessary to have high tax yields to pay back that debt?
Back of envelope, I can't see how the pro-forma adds up.