Edmonton Construction 12 (December 2013) - Page 158

Kevin_foster · #**3141** Posted **Jun 6, 2014, 7:25 PM**

Blatchford development plans scaled back
CBC News Posted: Jun 05, 2014 5:49 PM MT Last Updated: Jun 05, 2014 5:49 PM MT

Redevelopment plans for the former City Centre Airport lands have been downsized from the original environmentally-innovative vision.

The neighbourhood, known as Blatchford, will no longer have a $91 million pneumatic garbage chute system and a $25 million plan to process sanitary waste on site.

More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/blatchford-development-plans-scaled-back-1.2666757

Kevin_foster · #**3142** Posted **Jun 6, 2014, 7:25 PM**

I had no IDEA there were plans for a $91,000,000 pneumatic garbage chute!! Should I be sad about this???

Hallsy's Toupee · #**3143** Posted **Jun 6, 2014, 7:30 PM**

^ Already discussed in Blatchford thread.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=183680

Oilers Laforge weighs in on Telus Field - want a 5-year-lease but stalled by redevelopment plan, plus they don't need the parking

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmo...given+five+year+lease/9914622/story.html

Hallsy's Toupee · #**3144** Posted **Jun 8, 2014, 6:49 PM**

Looks like another crane is going up at Kelly Ramsey.
More trees are being planted in front of First & Jasper

Black Star · #**3145** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 3:02 AM**

Thank Gawd.

Anything to block the plain Beige walls that they erected.

Black Star · #**3146** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 3:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin_foster

Blatchford development plans scaled back
CBC News Posted: Jun 05, 2014 5:49 PM MT Last Updated: Jun 05, 2014 5:49 PM MT

Redevelopment plans for the former City Centre Airport lands have been downsized from the original environmentally-innovative vision.

The neighbourhood, known as Blatchford, will no longer have a $91 million pneumatic garbage chute system and a $25 million plan to process sanitary waste on site.

More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/blatchford-development-plans-scaled-back-1.2666757

Helen Keller saw this one coming. What the City eliminated...pretty much excludes the neighborhood as a environment friendly hood.

Airboy · #**3147** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 3:38 PM**

Excavation continues at the McEwan site today. As I was passing a large circular concrete structure was unearthed. I am thinking this was the original round house back in the rail yard days. I do not remember there being a silo and looking at this structure it only makes sense.

The north side of the site along 105th ave is now designated to be parking as the new building is built.

ExcaliburKid · #**3148** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 4:15 PM**

Had a chat with a high-up City employee this weekend who told me, if all goes according to plan, we should see a hotel announcement as part of the Arena district by the end of June.
Katz Group may also be announcing a grocery store, Rexall pharmacy and other commercial units around the same time period.
Residential tower a possibility, but less likely to be announced right away

Hallsy's Toupee · #**3149** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 4:45 PM**

No plans to demolish Telus Field, says Mayor Don Iveson

Quote:

A somewhat frustrated Mayor Don Iveson spoke about the future of Telus Field Monday on Edmonton AM, saying there are no plans to demolish the baseball stadium.

He points to one line in the West Rossdale Urban Design Plan for the redevelopment of the Rossdale area that suddenly caused people to believe the city is tearing down the facility.

“Council has no plans to do anything different with Telus Field than continue to work with the Oilers to try to get a ball team in there that’s playing at a higher level," he said.

The Edmonton Prospects baseball club is playing at the Telus Field this season, however, it's a lower-level baseball league and Iveson would like to see a high-level team there.

The Edmonton Trappers, a triple-A professional team in the Pacific Coastal League that played out of Telus Field, were sold in 2004 and moved to Round Rock, Texas.

"The Prospects are good but we’d like to get a team like the Trappers in there again, that would be phenomenal," Iveson said. "That remains our focus. There is no will to take down the stadium and council has never even discussed it.”

Link
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/n...us-field-says-mayor-don-iveson-1.2669344

Daveography · #**3150** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 5:18 PM**

Some updates from Friday (been too busy a weekend to post them).

UCAMA:

Quarters Hotel:

Corner 1 (looks to be stalled...wondering if BCM isn't over their heads here?)

The Armature:

[/url]IMG_1751 by Daveography.ca, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/nAFir2]

RAM is moving surprisingly fast:

Haven't been close enough to get shots, but the towers at 85 St. & Jasper (whose name I forget) are moving up very quickly too.

hilman · #**3151** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 5:49 PM**

Isn't Corner 1 stalled due to it awaiting zoning approvals/permits?

Mycroft · #**3152** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 6:07 PM**

^ They haven't even applied for a building permit according to maps.edmonton.ca

Speaking of stalled projects - what happened to the GO Backpackers hostel at the former CKUA? It's sad to see it empty every time I walk by

SHOFEAR · #**3153** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 8:10 PM**

Just a reminder.... Public consultation meeting from 4-8 tonight at the Graham site trailer regarding the hoarding and blocked lanes. Make sure your voice is heard. don't just sit around and bitch about it online, go out and do something about it.

Coldrsx · #**3154** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 8:50 PM**

Portland for the Livable Cities conference... great so far, but my god is Portland not everything people say it is and more.

Reasonably priced, no stupid AGLC patio definition, in traffic LRT (MAX) with stops at the street edge, streetcars, many intersections without lights, just yields for less busy streets and crossing signals that are about 15seconds.

Photos to follow.

CMD UW · #**3155** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 8:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mycroft

^ They haven't even applied for a building permit according to maps.edmonton.ca

Speaking of stalled projects - what happened to the GO Backpackers hostel at the former CKUA? It's sad to see it empty every time I walk by

RedBrick has bought the building and will turn it into small boutique offices for start-ups and small entrepreneur enterprises.

CMD UW · #**3156** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 8:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHOFEAR

Just a reminder.... Public consultation meeting from 4-8 tonight at the Graham site trailer regarding the hoarding and blocked lanes. Make sure your voice is heard. don't just sit around and bitch about it online, go out and do something about it.

Well said.

Edmon · #**3157** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 10:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Portland for the Livable Cities conference... great so far, but my god is Portland not everything people say it is and more.

Reasonably priced, no stupid AGLC patio definition, in traffic LRT (MAX) with stops at the street edge, streetcars, many intersections without lights, just yields for less busy streets and crossing signals that are about 15seconds.

Photos to follow.

Isn't that always the case?

The City does have some projects that could be inspiration for what is happening here. I haven't been there in a few years, but I always think back about this little project called Division 43 from one of the larger builders --- but it was anything but bland. It consisted of some micro units and the look was intruguing but not overly expensive or hard to pull off. That project is long finished, but still sticks in my mind.

Look forward to the photos.

ue · #**3158** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 10:45 PM**

Unless it's changed and I doubt it has, the MAX still does operate on its own ROW, even if not underground downtown. It's no different than the SLRT, the NELRT, or the NAIT LRT. It doesn't stop at lights like the C-Train. The streetcar does operate in traffic, no different than Toronto or Melbourne in that regard, though, yes. But it isn't the transit spine for Portland that the MAX is. It's a cooler, higher frequency, and more permanent bus.

Portland's blocks are narrow and there aren't really any wide boulevards in downtown Portland, so I guess that's their argument for shorter signal times. Not sure about that one.

Portland is a model for American cities which didn't have the same planning principles that Canadian cities had post-war. There are many things that Canadian cities excel at far better from an urbanism perspective than Portland, but again, it is an American model.

The city is hip and quirky. Embrace the Eastside. Hawthorne, Mississippi, Alberta, St. John's, Milwaukie, Eastside Industrial. Portland is all about the fun and interesting neighbourhoods. The Pearl District in the NW is also a very successful "new" urban neighbourhood. I'd say it's far better than Vancouver's Yaletown or Seattle's Belltown. The small blocks really enhance walkability, too, and things like cycling and food trucks were cool here before every city on the continent decided to up and embrace it. These are Portland's strong suits, not necessarily LRT and streetcars.

kcantor · #**3159** Posted **Jun 9, 2014, 11:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Portland for the Livable Cities conference... great so far, but my god is Portland not everything people say it is and more.

Reasonably priced, no stupid AGLC patio definition, in traffic LRT (MAX) with stops at the street edge, streetcars, many intersections without lights, just yields for less busy streets and crossing signals that are about 15seconds.

Photos to follow.

yes, photos please...

and if it's not imposing, could you include photos of hillsboro and gresham and oregon city and salmon creek and note the time - and how and how far - it took you to get them from your boutique downtown hotel?

and maybe some photos of interstate 405 as it soars over and through the pearl district or where it connects with highway 22 or with interstate 5 at the other end of downtown...

as ue said, portland - sans suburbs - is a good american model and their civic advertising and promotion is about as good a model as it gets in actively and aggressively promoting their position as a good american model. we could take a good leaf or two from their promotion book but as a city i will take edmonton over portland in a heartbeat today and given another 30 years so will most others (except for the winters and the weather that will always make some things impossible here there that are taken for granted there).

GreenSPACE · #**3160** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 12:27 AM**

Fox II hoarding meeting happened today with concerned local stakeholders. About a dozen in attendance, all pretty peeved at Langham/Graham for not being very accommodating of our signature downtown pedestrian street. One told Reza to 'stop treating Edmonton like a second class city'. Another asked Reza to stop parking on the city sidewalk and obey the rules like everyone else.

City Transporation was apologetic and said it is looking at how it does hoarding requests downtown but we won't see the results of this process for a while yet. They are taking the feedback from tonight's open house and using it to formulate how to deal with the requests Langham has made to close the sidewalk on 102 ave and one lane of traffic.