Staples is so full of bull####. On the city of edmonton website they spell out the deal, and they mention this:
The Katz Group is paying $132.5-million. $112.8-million of their contribution will be paid to the City as rent over 35 years, and cover the City’s principal and interest costs. The remaining $19.7-million will be paid as cash.
He put up 19.7M up front! The city put up the rest, and they get rent paid over 35 years to make back a small percentage of it. The city threw Katz some other downtown land as well (I'm sure that had no value), and I believe the City was on the hook for the cost overruns too.
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